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Baccarat is a game with only two bets,
banker and player. The odds are very nearly 50-50 for each, as in most
casino games, the deciding factor is most often nothing more than pure
luck. The baccarat table is oblong with seven numbered positions on each
side of the table. Just like in hotels, the number 13 is skipped, so the
numbers reach 15 at most games. At each position there are three bets.
The "Banker", the "Player" and the Tie. The position of the Tie bet is
generally above the Banker and Player. Three dealers work the games at
all times and perform similar functions as the dealers at the craps
table. Two dealers sit or stand behind the chip rack and pay or take the
player's bets on each side of the table, depending upon the outcome of
the hand. A croupier, sometimes referred to as the "caller". stands in
the middle of the table and makes the calls on the hands, directing the
players on the procedures of the game. Baccarat is the only game where
the players deal the cards. Before starting the game, the dealers
shuffle eight decks of cards together and place them in a covered shoe.
Even the shuffling procedure is elegant. The croupier takes two decks
off the top of the deck and laces them throughout the remaining cards.
Player number one is offered the opportunity to be the banker. As
Banker, the player deals two cards for each hand. The first card is the
first Player card, and goes to the croupier. The second card, the first
Banker card, goes under the corner of the shoe. The third card, the
second Player card, goes to the croupier, and the initial deal is
complete with the forth card which joins the first Banker's under the
shoe. The croupier then passes the Player's cards to the player at the
table with the highest bet on the Player's side. If no one is betting on
the Player side, the croupier exposes the cards.
Players need not to accept the shoe to
act as the banker. It is not considered incorrect to pass the shoe,
particularly if you plan to make a Player's bet. But you make take the
shoe and bet the player's side. Other players may comment that you are
betting against yourself, but, once again, the rules are predetermined
and the cards are already in the shoe, so it does not really make any
difference what side you bet when you deal the cards.
The rules of the game determine
whether a third card can be taken, but in the end, the winner is the
hand with a total closest to nine. Face cards and Tens have no value and
when the total of the cards is more than nine, the left hand digit is
dropped. For instance, in baccarat, eight and seven equals five, because
you drop the ten-count of the true total of fifteen.
The only other bet that a player can
make in baccarat is the Tie bet. It is a side wager that is usually
placed along with a Banker and a Player bet. When a tie occurs, the two
hands end up with the same total. Neither the Banker nor the Player
loses and the casino pays the bets that were placed on the tie for that
hand only. Ties pay 8 to 1, but the odds favor the house to such extent,
the tie wager is considered a bad bet.
Because the banker bet has a slight
advantage - without ties the Banker bet wins 50.7 percent of all hands -
a winning wager on the Banker option owes the house a five percent
commission, in other words winners are paid out not at evens but at 19
for 20. The dealer keeps track of your commission in a box in front of
the chip rack by using plastic lammers designating the amount owed. You
may pay this commission at any time, but is must be collected after the
shoe is completed. Player bets are paid even money. The Tie bet is paid
eight-to-one, but the odds are more like nine-to-one, making the Tie bet
the worst at the baccarat table.
After placing his bet, the Player has
no more decisions to make. There are no double downs, splits, or free
odds. The game proceeds according to a set of complicated rules that
need not concern the casual player. With simple choices and clear cut
decisions, the game is a real favorite with those gamblers who really
like to rely on systems.
Read:
The
rules of baccarat
The history of
baccarat
Basic baccarat
strategy
Back to Casino
Game Rules
or
See the top online
casinos for baccarat
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