Baccarat is a card game known for the aristocratic and glamorous style of its players. Ladies wearing famous designer toilets and gentlemen with expensive tuxedos are used to exchanging large amounts of money at the table during the game and drinking expensive Dom Pérignon champagnes. Baccarat is an easy and fast game ideal for high stakes players. The simplicity of its rules and the extremely low house edge are the main reasons for its popularity. In this guide, you will learn how to play Baccarat like a pro!
Best Baccarat Sites
Important facts in Baccarat:
✔️The goal of baccarat is to get as close as possible to 9.
✔️The player can choose the winner either the banker or the player.
✔️You can play baccarat online without money to practice before you actually play for real money.
The rules of Baccarat
Baccarat is the perfect game if you do not like the countless and difficult rules. There are no complicated bets and different hand values to memorize. Regardless of your level, you will definitely feel comfortable and be able to enjoy the game. During the game, the decisions you have to make are limited! You just need to have a basic knowledge of maths, be able to count to nine, and know the three bets you can make. Everything else is purely a matter of luck.
- Baccarat’s table
On the table, you will see the numbers of the players. A classic baccarat table has 14 numbers marked 1-15, bypassing the number 13 which is considered unlucky by the founders of the game. Above the player number, you will see 3 boxes. The first box closest to the player’s number is the “player”, followed by the “banker” and at the end the “tie” box. You can select one of the three boxes to place the bet chips.
- Baccarat Rules
The 52 cards of a deck are used in baccarat and you will see two hands being formed on the table, the player and the banker. To the two of them are dealt 2 cards each. Your goal is to choose the hand that is closest to nine (9) by adding the card numbers. There is also the possibility of betting on a tie if you consider that both hands will have the same sum. All you have to do is decide who to bet on and the amount you would like to place. If the sum of your cards is 8, it is called Le Petit, while if the sum is 9 it is called Le Grande. If one of these sets is drawn with the first two cards dealt, Le Petit or Le Grande wins and the round is over.
- The value of cards in Baccarat
All cards in the Baccarat game have their face value, with the exception of aces, which are worth one (1) and figures that have no value and are zero (0). In the counting of the given cards, only the single-digit cards are counted. In other words, if a player has a 2s and a 9s, his total will be 1 and not 11. If he has a 6s and an 8s, his total will be 4 and not 14. Just subtract ten from any two-digit number, ie 18 – 10 = 8 and 17 – 10 = 7. In conclusion, so as not to be confused, remember:
Aces always count as 1- Cards 2-9 have their face value
- The suits are irrelevant in counting
- All figures (J-Q-K) and tens have zero value
How to win at online baccarat
If the player has a total of 8 or 9 he wins automatically, unless the dealer also has 8 or 9. If the player has any other total, the dealer can give him a third card, always depending on the hand. There are special rules for the player and the dealer concerning the third card. A player will receive a third card if the total of the first 2 cards is less than or equal to five. This is not at the discretion of the player, it is automatically determined according to the rules of the game. Similarly, the dealer’s decision to draw a third card himself is predetermined by the rules of the game. The one with the biggest hand is also the winner of the round. So basically, there is nothing you can do after betting to affect the result.
Hands in Baccarat
In baccarat online whether the dealer will need to draw a third card depends on both the player’s hand and that of the banker. But let us better explain what happens every time. The banker draws a third card when:
The banker has 0, 1, 2, 3- The banker has 4 and the player’s third card is 2,3,4,5,6,7
- The banker has 5 and the player’s third card is 4, 5, 6, 7
- The banker has 6 and the player’s third card is 6 or 7
Baccarat bet
Baccarat is a game where players have the opportunity to bet on either the player or the dealer to win. Players can also bet that the player and dealer will draw, but this bet is very unlikely and should be avoided. You can place your bets in the relevant betting box on the table before the dealer deals the cards to the players, so you will have to make a decision before they show your cards. In total there are only three bets, without the possibility of adding more.
Baccarat bet selection – Payouts
- Bet on the player (punto) is paid 1: 1
- Banker bet (banco) is paid 1 to 1, but with a 5% commission at the casino
- The draw is paid 8: 1 in most casinos, sometimes (rarely) 9 to 1.
*The Banker wins more times, hence the 5% commission in the casino.
Depending on the casino you choose, you will find that there are several variations of baccarat that you can play. This is a common variant of baccarat. The minimum and maximum bet limits are much lower and dealers do most of the work for players. Mini baccarat has the same rules with some minor differences: This is the traditional and most popular form of the game, played either live or in online casinos. In this version, each player has the option to bet on the banker, the player, or the draw and the casino receives a commission of 5% on all banker winnings. It first appeared in France in 1400 and is still played today at Live Casinos. In this game, the casino has a passive role, which means that a lot of the action takes place between the banker and the players. Players can decide whether to draw a third card without being dictated by a rule. This option affects the players’ strategy and makes it more difficult than the other variations. In this variation, the casino plays an active role and sets the minimum and maximum betting limits for players. Each player can choose to bet on the banker or the player’s hand. When the cards are dealt, the people who bet on the player choose to fold or draw when the value in their hand is 5, unlike other games that do not have this option. Some casinos allow the banker to choose a third card without restrictions, but most follow the rules of the American variant. This variant of baccarat was created in Europe and uses only 3 decks, as opposed to the 6 or 8 commonly used in the most popular and official versions of the game. In this game, three hands are dealt with two players and a banker. It looks like Chemin de Fer because in this variant the casino does not represent the banker. A player assumes the financial obligations of the banker and sets the maximum bet limit.
Baccarat variations
Baccarat Strategies
There are various gambling strategies that can be applied in Baccarat. Progressive betting strategies such as Fibonacci, Paroli, and Martingale can also be used in this game depending on how you want to play. But remember that all of these systems have a huge negative aspect. A bad streak can cause you big problems and you risk losing all your bankroll. That is why we do not recommend them to you. Knowing the odds, what is your profit and what is the casino rake, all you need is a little bit of luck!
The history of Baccarat
Baccarat history proves that is one of the oldest casino games still played today. It is believed to have been introduced to France as early as the end of the 15th century. The original was called Chemin de Fer and was a popular game of the French aristocracy, due to the very high cost of card printing. It became popular in the 19th century when during the reign of King Louis Philip (1837), card games with money became illegal. This fact, combined with the increase in printing capabilities made the game known to all social classes.
The game was then transported to America via European immigration, which led to the creation of another variation called Punto Banco, famous in casinos in Mar del Plata, Argentina, which is still played in many casinos today. From there it was introduced alongside the popular blackjack and craps games in Las Vegas casinos, and thus became one of the most popular casino games. The game became widely known mainly in the 1962 James Bond movie, in which he played baccarat against his enemies. However, online baccara is extremely fun for all types of players, not only for those who bet extreme amounts, but also for players with a low budget.
