Baccarat is an immensely popular card game enjoyed in land-based casinos, online casinos, and live dealer casinos. The game of baccarat is played between a banker and a player and there are several variations of baccarat available online for players to enjoy. The most popular variation of baccarat is known as Punto Banco, also referred to as North American baccarat.
This variation is known as a game of chance, as all moves are dictated entirely by the cards dealt. The player can only place his bet on the Player, the Banker, or a Tie. In Baccarat Chemic De Fer and Baccarat Banque, both the banker and the player have options, adding a degree of skill to the game of baccarat.
Basic rules of Baccarat
The objective of baccarat is to determine if the player or the banker will receive a hand closest to nine. Picture cards and tens will count 0 towards a hand while an ace will count as 1. All other cards contribute their value to a hand. The Banker and The Player are dealt two playing cards and the final score is determined by adding up the two playing card values.
It’s worth mentioning however, that should either the player or the banker have a value of over 10, the second digit will always be the value of the hand. For example, if the banker is dealt a 6 and a 9, totalling 15, making up a 5-point hand. Two cards are initially dealt to the Banker and the Player and the point totals will determine if either hand will get a third card.
The player hand will always be completed first. Should the player have a total of 8 or 9, the player will get no additional cards. This is also known as a natural hand and unless the banker has a natural 9 or a tie with a natural 8, no third card will be dealt and the player will automatically be the winner. The player hand will also stand when receiving a total of 7 or 6. A total of between 0 and 5 for the player will mean a third card needs to be drawn.
The rules for the banker are a bit more complex. The banker will also stand on 9, 8, or 7 and will draw on 0, 1, and 2, but other hands will be determined by the player’s third card. The banker will hit 3 unless the third card of the player is an 8, hits 4 unless the third card of the player is 9, 8, 1, hits 5 only when the third card of the player is 7, 6, 5, or 4, and hits 6 only if the third card of the player is 7, or 6. Bettors can also place bets that the two hands will end up in a tie. Winning bets when wagering on a tie will pay 8 to 1. This might sound very tempting, but this bet carries a 9.5% house edge, so avoid it at all cost.
How Live Baccarat Works
Land-based or online, baccarat is played in the same fashion as blackjack. The dealer will stand at a horseshoe table, and a player will sit across from the dealer. Some baccarat tables can support multiple players and both styles can be found in live casino sections.
In multiplayer games, the dealer will only have one hand, and every player will play against the dealer’s hand. All hands are also drawn from the same deck of cards. Online live baccarat operates by streaming the baccarat table and the real dealer through high-quality HD cameras. Each player can hear and see the dealer in action and players can either communicate with the dealer or other players on a multiplayer table through a live chat facility.
