Baccarat Basics

Baccarat is gambling game that has been around for centuries. The game of Baccarat is purely based on the luck of the cards. Gamblers wager on one of two hands known as the player's hand and the banker's hand. Whichever hand is closer to a total of nine is determined to be the winning hand and those that wagered on it are paid off.

History

Felix Falguierein, an Italian gambler, developed the game of Baccarat in the middle ages. At that time, it was a game played using Tarot cards and an Etruscan ritual determining the fate of an individual with the church. Later in history, the game was altered to resemble the gambling game we know today by the French in 1490.

Goal Of Baccarat

In Baccarat players can wager on either the bank, the player or for a tie. The game of Baccarat is based entirely on chance with no skill involved. The hand that has the closest point value to nine is determined to be the winning hand, and everyone that bet on that hand wins their wager. If the two hands tie with a nine on the first two cards dealt to each, this is known as a natural nine. Bets on the player and bank are paid off at even money and those that bet on the tie are paid nine chips for each one wagered.

Card Values

In the game of Baccarat, all face cards and 10s have a value of zero. Aces have a point value of one. All other cards in the playing deck have a point value of their face value. The player's hand and banker's hand values are the total of two cards point values dealt to them. If the point value is higher than 10, the first digit of the number is dropped with just the second digit being used. All cards in Baccarat are dealt face up.

Drawing Rules for the Player's Hand

If the player's hand has a value of either eight or nine after the first two cards, both the player and the dealer must stand. If neither the player or dealer has an eight or nine after the first two cards, the player must draw a third card with a total of five or less and stand with six or more.

Drawing Rules for the Dealer's Hand

If the dealer has an eight or nine, both the player and dealer must stand with their cards. If this is not the case and the player's hand did not draw a third card, the dealer stands with six or more points and draws a third card with less than six points.

If the player's hand drew a third card, the dealer's hand faces a different set of rules for drawing. In this case if the dealer has a point value of zero up through two, she must draw a third card. If she has a point total of three after two cards, she must draw a third card unless the player's third card was an eight. With a total of four points the dealer draws a card if the player's third card was not a zero, one, eight or nine. If the dealer has a point total of five after two cards, she draws a third card if the player's third card value was zero through three. If the dealer's hand has a point total of six, it draws an additional card unless the player's third card was a six or seven. If the dealer's hand has a point value after two cards of seven, the dealer standard regardless of the player's third card.

Determining the Winner

Those that bet on the hand with the value closest to nine, either the player's hand or the dealer's hand, win even money for their wager. If a tie occurs other than ties for natural nines on the first two cards, the players wagering on the tie space are paid even money and the other players receive their wager back. All players that win on a wager made on the banker must pay a 5 percent commission of their winnings to the casino. This total is kept as a running total as long as the player is playing and is paid before the player leaves the table.

Odds

The banker will win a slightly higher percentage of the time than the player's hand. This is why there is a commission paid by gamblers that win bets when wagering on the banker. According to the Gambling Systems website, the banker's hand wins 45.84 percent of the time, the player's hand wins 44.61 percent of the time, and there is a tie 9.54 percent of the time. The Gambling Systems website also lists the house advantage as 1.06 percent for wagers on the banker's hand, 1.23 percent for wagers on the player's hand, and 4.57 percent for wagers on the tie space.