Baccarat

Baccarat is one of the easiest table games, even though it's considered a high-rollers game, given seclusion and prestige in land-based casinos, its rules are quite simple and straight forward. Baccarat, a game of chance, usually played by up to eight decks of cards, where the bets are placed on who will have the better hand; either the “Banker”, the “Player”, or a tie between the two. The “Player” and the ‘Banker” are not set, as they might change with every hand. Bets are placed before the dealing takes place, and the best hand is that with a card total value closest to 9.

The player and banker are each dealt two cards, if the player's total value is 5 or less, then a third card is dealt. The banker then gets dealt a third card as well if his total hand value is now less than that of the player's. Tens and face cards have a value of zero, aces count as one, and all other number cards are worth their face value. The total score can't be higher than a 9 and in the case that it is, the right digit will become the new score of the hand. For example, the score of a hand showing a 7 and a 5 is 2 and not 12.

Baccarat Rules

The object of baccarat is to obtain a hand with a point total closest to 9. Aces count as one; 2 through 9 as their face value; tens and picture cards count as zero. If the value of the hand is ten points or more, subtract ten, and the remainder is the baccarat point value of the hand. For example: 7+6=13=3 and 4+6=10=0

Cards are dealt from a shoe that holds 6 or 8 decks of cards. The decks are shuffled each round.

The gambler has 3 choices to wager on: player, banker and tie.

The player closest to 9, wins.
If you bet on the player and the player wins, you are paid at even money (1 for 1) on your bet.
If you bet on the banker and the banker wins, you are also paid 1 for 1 minus 5% bank commission (vigorish).
If both the player's hand and the banker's hand have equal totals, the game result is a ‘tie'. If you have placed a bet on the ‘tie' field, your payoff is 9 for 1.

Keep track of the games to identify trends to make an educated wager on the next event. A baccarat player learns from experience that if trend runs of 2 or 3 have not shown on banker for some time, probability suggests to begin wagering on bank wil have a run of 3.

Third Card Rules
The following baccarat rule chart governs when the player and/or the banker will automatically be dealt a third card in the baccarat game:

Player

Banker

Choose a Casino to Play

If either the player and /or the Banker has a total of 8 or 9, they both stand. This Rule overrides all other rules.