How to Play Baccarat

Learn the rules and basics of Baccarat

Baccarat Screenshot from Vegas Red

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Baccarat is a game that is usually played in a separate section of the casino and if you’re not playing then you’re usually not permitted to enter. It’s typically a high stakes game where players don’t mind throwing around a lot of money and the odds are fairly good for players. The house only has about a 1% advantage when starting the hand or about a 14% advantage when going against a tie.

In baccarat the casino will either use six decks of cards or eight decks of cards with all tens and face cards having absolutely no value in this game. Aces are worth one and cards 2-9 are worth the face value of that card, and the suits don’t matter in this game.

To begin each hand the players around the table betting will need to decide whether to bet on the banker, player or standoff. When betting on the banker you’ll be betting for the dealer’s hand to win, when betting on the player you’ll be betting on the player’s hand to win and when betting on standoff you’ll be betting on both hands tying. You want the hand that you think will have the highest value once the cards are dealt, and if you think the two hands will tie then you’d bet on standoff. When you bet on banker or player the payoff is 1to1 and if you bet standoff and win you get 8to1.

The highest possible hand value you can get in baccarat is 9 and the goal is to get as close to 9 as possible. After the betting has taken place the dealer will deal two cards out to the player hand and the banker hand, with the player getting the first hand. The cards are flipped over to see who wins. If either the player or banker hand is 8 or 9 total value then the hand is over and that hand wins. So for instance if you bet on the banker and the banker shows 9 then you’ll win and same for everyone else who bet on the banker. When you bet the banker you’ll and win you’ll need to pay a 5% tax which is another house advantage to making money.

In some occasions there will need to be a third card drawn and these situations are done automatically based on a set of rules. These rules are irrelevant for new baccarat players though and will just confuse you. When a third card is needed the dealer automatically does this and there is rarely a mistake. When there is a mistake there is about ten other players fixing the error quickly. As you begin to play baccarat you’ll learn the rules for the third card at the table at your own pace.

The above information will allow you to bet on baccarat whenever you want. It may seem like an intimidating casino game because it’s usually separated from everything else, but it’s really easy. The entertainment is always awesome in the baccarat rooms as well because in casinos there one of the best moneymakers. People drop thousands of dollars in this casino game each hand, but you’re not playing against them so don’t worry about their bets and stick to your bankroll. The odds of winning are fairly good, and it’s a game of complete luck so hopefully you get lucky and ride the wave.