Baccarat

This Italian card game has been one of the most highly regarded online casino games ever. This may be due to its long history and fabulous array of charismatic players seen playing the game. The year 1953 saw Ian Fleming’s adapted novel Casino Royale. In the film, agent 007 is seen playing the game, and although the new release of Casino Royale substitutes Baccarat with Texas Hold ‘Em, one can deduct that back in the day, Baccarat may have been as famed as today’s Hold ‘Em. The game may appeal to players who are into the game of Roulette. Essentially, one bets on two variants – Player or Banker – similar to betting on black or red in Roulette.

Baccarat (Punto Banco) is strictly a game of chance with 3 possible outcomes: 1. The player wins, 2. The Banker wins, or 3. The game is a tie. In the online world, the online gamer wagers on one of these three possibilities. It is important to understand that ‘the player’ does not refer to the client of the Baccarat table, nor does the ‘Banker’ refer to the house. Effectively, the online player bets on one of the two parties that receive cards. These cards add up to specific points that compete head to head. If the values are equal then the game is a ‘tie.’

Card Values:

Cards from 2 to 9 have face value. Aces comprise of 1 point while 10’s and all face cards (J,Q,K) have a value of 0. Two cards are dealt to the parties of the player (punto) and the banker (banco). The player gets dealt first - this is called the initial deal. If the sum of the cards on each side of the draw adds up to 8 or 9, then no more cards are dealt. The important aspect here is that the tens digit is dropped if the sum of the initial two cards dealt exceeds 9. For example, when dealt a 7 and a 5 (7 + 5 = 12), the tens digit drops out (7 + 5 = 12 = 2). The sum then becomes 2. The name Baccarat comes from the worst possible hand dealt, which is anything adding up to the value of 10 e.g. 4 + 6 = 10 = 0 = Baccarat! The highest value being 9 can be correlated to a Blackjack as it is in most cases the winning value. There are however specific rules that need to be followed after the initial draw is made:

If the initial hand adds up to 6 or greater, the player is required to stand. For the sum of 5 or less, the player will be dealt a third card. Concurrently, if the banker’s hand adds up to 7 or more, the house must stand. If the banker’s total adds up to 0, 1 or 2, the banker must take an additional card. If the banker’s hand totals 3, and the players third card is anything other than an 8 (player always receives his cards before the banker), the house will hit. If the banker’s hand totals 4, and the player’s hand is anything other than 1, 8, 9 or 0, the banker will hit. If the banker’s hand totals 5 and the player is dealt a 4, 5, 6 or 7, the banker will hit. If the banker’s hand totals 6, and the player’s third card is a 6 or 7, the banker will also hit.

Betting System:

The betting system in Baccarat is pretty straight forward as betting on either the player or the banker pays 1 to 1. If one bets on a tie, the payoff is 8 to 1!