How to Play Baccarat - Baccarat Strategy

Baccarat is one of the most popular games that can be found at almost every American casino. Though it was a derivative of a famous game played by the Europeans, the game actually has a French spelling that means zero. It was first played back in the 1400s and can be traced to Italy as its first origin. In 1959 it came to Las Vegas and became a flourishing game for the establishments there.

How to Play Baccarat

How To Play

To play Baccarat is quite simple. The Baccarat table has fourteen players and a dealer. The dealer is dubbed the “call man”. The dealer turns the cards so that they are face-up after they have been dealt to the bettor. The dealer is responsible to call out the points totals of the hands and stating whether the bettor gets another card. This is all subject to his/her (house) set rules for the game.

Typically, there are two dealers that are seated by the main call man. They make sure everything is going according to plan, and they pay the winning bets, as well as collect money from those who have lost bets. There is a version of the game that is played with just one dealer, this is called Mini-Baccarat. This person is responsible for all three dealer positions, and they have learned how to juggle the responsibilities. However, a game with three dealers moves much faster and is preferred.

Baccarat Strategy

How to Wager in Baccarat

How to Wager

There are specific rules in how to wager for baccarat, but they are simple. There are 3 choices, a player can bet that the dealer’s hand will win, they can bet that the player will win, or they can select that the two will tie. All bets must be placed before any cards are dealt. There are both advantages and disadvantages to all of these betting choices. For those that are concerned about the house has an edge, there is a slight one at less than 1.5% on the banker’s bets and less than 1.40 on the player’s bets. If the house wins at an American casino, they usually take home about five percent on banker’s bets. The players don’t have to pay a commission on each and every round. Rather, the dealer keeps track of how much each player owes and they can pay at the end of the shoe, or when they are done playing.

How to Consistently Win at Baccarat

The Hand

The cards, 2-9, hold their face value in Baccarat. Face cards have no point values, but the ace gets one point. It is kind of tricky to understand the highest hand value can only be 9, especially since a single card can be worth that amount. There is a trick to it all. First, the hand value is obtained by figuring the sum of all the cards. If a person would happen to have 2 nines in their hands, their hand’s value would be 8. That is because when adding 9 and 9 together the sum is 18. However, the rightmost number would be 8. The bettors don’t have to worry too much about calculating values; the dealers in place will do it for them.

How the Score is Counted in Baccarat

How the First Two Cards are Counted

Cards are dealt in a specific manner according to rules regarding pre-set numbers. This will determine whether or not a third card will have to be dealt. This doesn’t concern the player too much; the dealer will make the call on whether it has to be dealt.

Baccarat Winning Strategy

The Third Card Rules for the Banker

The banker’s rules on whether or not to draw the third card are complex. If a player has two cards, the banker will use the same rules as the player does. However, if the player doesn’t go for a third card, the banker has a more complex set of rules to take into consideration. His rules are:

If the card was a 2 or a 3, the banker acts taking the third card that was drawn into account:
If it was a deuce or a three, the banker pulls with a hand that has a value of 0 – 4, although standing holding a 5- 7.
If it was a 4-5, the Banker draws with a hand that holds a value of 0-5 while standing with a 6-7.
If it was a 6-7, the Banker draws with a hand that holds a value of between 0- 6 while standing with 7.
If it was an 8, the Banker draws with a hand holds a value of between 0-2 while standing with 3 – 7.
If it was a face-card, a 9-10 or an ace, the banker draws between 0 – 3 while standing with 4 -7.

The Third Card Rules for the Player

The rules that the bettors need to concern themselves with is that if and when a third card is drawn, they need to see if they have a value that is between 0-5 and whether the value adds up to a 6-7.

The Final Result

Baccarat is one of the games that is pretty difficult to have a strategy for. Some have tried and developed specific ones, like the Martingale, Labouchere, Paroli, and d’Alembert. However, these strategies can be applied to all casino games, not just this one. There is no real tactic because the player doesn’t make any decision that will affect the outcome of their hand. Baccarat is a game based purely on chance and it is beloved by many high rollers.