How to Play Baccarat
Baccarat is an incredibly popular casino game and graces the lobbies of both land based and online casinos. To expand your gaming options, baccarat is a highly recommended game due to its simple nature and comprehensive set of rules. It’s also often referred to as Punto Banco in the Asian casino scene.
It is thought to have originated in Italy or France in 1330 and has, for centuries, been added to the lobbies of successful and influential online casinos.
So if you are looking to play something entirely different and stand a real chance of winning, learn how to play baccarat right here in a matter of minutes!
The Basics of Baccarat
Both the dealer and the player are dealt a hand and players can bet on either hand. The player plays against the dealer and there is always a winner and a loser in the round. Two cards are dealt with both the banker and the player. The table is marked and there is a total of 3 betting boxes: one for the banker, one for the player, and one for a tie. The hand with the highest total wins.
Calculating Points in Baccarat
As this is a game based on the highest winning hands, the total of each hand dealt determines which the winning hand is. The highest score in baccarat is 9 and as such anything totaling over 9 is not counted. Cards ranging from 10 to King are counted as zero. Cards ranging from 2 to 9 are face value cards and an Ace counts as 1 point.
When the value of a hand reaches a double digit, the first digit falls away. For example, if a player's hand is valued at 17, the first digit falls away leaving the total at 7.
Playing Baccarat at DuckyLuck
Bets are placed on either the ‘Banker’, ‘Player’ or ‘Tie’ and they are placed before hands are dealt.
The casino dealer (banker) will have what is referred to as a ‘shoe’ and will shuffle the deck of cards followed by sliding a card facing upward in the ‘Players’ box. This step is followed by the dealer doing the same in the ‘Bankers’ box. The player is then dealt with another card, once again followed by the dealer’s card. Cards are then flipped to reveal the winning hand.
Baccarat Terms
A Natural Win – This is referred to as the hand that has initially been dealt and produces a win of points that total 8 or 9.
Third Card – If both hands have yet to reach a total of 8 or 9 a third card is drawn and revealed to show which hand wins.
There are rules for both the banker and the player when a third card is drawn as is as follows.
When the player's hand reaches 8 or 9 it is a win. When this doesn’t happen a third card is dealt with. The player's hand, if it reaches a total of 6 or 7, will always stand. A third card is drawn when the hand totals anything up to 5 unless of course the banker's hand is valued at 8 or 9. In this instance, the banker will win.
The rules for the banker are as follows:
If the banker's hand totals 1 or 2 he will then draw a third card unless the player has reached 8 or 9. The banker will also draw a third card if the player's hand ranges from 1 to 9. It is important to note that the banker will stand if the player’s third card is 8. There are more rules for the banker than there are for the player and playing in accordance with these rules comes more naturally than one would expect.
The Winning Hand in Baccarat
The winning hand, after all cards have been dealt and bets have been placed, is the hand that reaches the total points closest to 9. The game that has been gripping the interest of gamblers for centuries will never exceed the total of 3 cards per player. A tie results in neither party winning and there is no money exchanged. Finally, if players wish to do so, they can bet on the outcome of being a tie which allows bets to be placed on the box that states ‘Tie’. However, this is rarely bet on as the chances of the game being a tie are slim though not impossible.
The Bankers Commission
All players should note that no matter where you play baccarat the banker will always take a 5% commission. However, the commission is only paid when the banker's hand wins. There is a specified ‘Commission’ box and the amount is paid on each winning hand in favour of the banker.
The commission is null if the game is a tie.
Baccarat Strategies
It is important to form a strategy, especially if you are playing to win. The good news is that baccarat is a casino game that can easily be strategized. Despite being a game of chance, simply by understanding the rules, players improve the odds against them and stand a chance of winning.
Betting on streaks is a common practice amongst baccarat players. This is a strategy that is used in part of betting on a pattern. Players will bet on ‘Player’ then ‘Banker’ and so forth and use this as a streak until they hit a win. Alternatively, players enjoy free baccarat games before wagering real cash, another popular strategy utilized by gaming enthusiasts.
This game of chance is based solely on guessing the outcome of the game and as such the banker has the advantage. This gives the house edge a percentage of 1.36% of each bet. The house edge is the profit the casino makes from having the advantage. This particular casino game offers a low house edge and as a result, it has become a preferred game amongst players with lower bankrolls. The banker's hand will almost always win 45% of the time which is why it is important to come up with a strategy. A tie will win roughly 9% of the time, clearly showing how rare a tie is albeit not altogether impossible. This gives the bank the advantage and is why it is advisable for new players to bet lightly until some skill is formed and the game and payouts better understood.
By managing your bankroll and placing bets with precise money management, players have already formed a reliable strategy!
Baccarat at DuckyLuck Online Casino
Baccarat is one of the most played casino games and with reason. It is a simple game that is easy to learn and even easier to play. There are variant of the game but the general rules are applied to each of these variants which allows players the advantage of selection without having to learn a whole new set of rules. Play baccarat today and find out why it has become so popular and widely appreciated by gaming enthusiasts.
