How to play Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the oldest of all casino games and records suggest that the game may have been played as far back as the fifteenth century in France, where it is sometimes known as punto banco. There are just three bets to make and the game is often played for quite high odds. In traditional casinos Baccarat tables are often kept separate from the rest of the casino in a ‘Baccarat Pit.’ The Baccarat table is easy to recognize as it is often quite big and can have seating for as many as twelve players.
Baccarat is a card game played with a single deck of cards. The objective of the game is to predict which of the two hands (banker’s or player’s) that are about to be dealt will be closer to the value of 9. Players can also bet on a tie, a less likely scenario but should the hands be a tie, the payout will be larger.
Baccarat is played with a single standard deck of cards. Two hands of cards are dealt, one for the player and one for the banker. Each hand will contain either two or three cards. These cards are dealt according to a set of rules that are the same wherever Baccarat is played.
The amount to be wagered on each game of Baccarat is displayed in the ‘Bet’ box. This amount may be adjusted by clicking on the 'Increase' or 'Decrease' buttons. These buttons will increment or decrement the amount wagered.
Once the size of the wager has been determined players must decide which of three possible bets they wish to make before the cards are dealt. Players can decide to bet on the banker’s hand winning, the player’s hand winning or the possibility of a tie. The player clicks on the appropriately labeled buttons to place these bets. Once the bet has been placed the two hands are then dealt.
The winning hand will be the one whose value is closest to nine. The value of a hand is calculated by adding up the value of the cards. Aces have a value of 1. Picture cards and tens (10s) have no value and do not contribute to the value of the hand. All other card values are as they appear.
If the value of a Baccarat hand exceeds 9 then the value of the hand is taken as the "unit" portion of the total. For example if a hand consists of an 8 of diamonds and a 7 of hearts the total for this hand would be 15. You would ignore the "tens" portion of that total, giving you a value of 5.
Similarly if the total of the cards were 20 you would ignore the 2 (tens portion) giving you a hand value of 0.
Once the winning hand is determined the game is over.
