Baccarat

/ Editor / 20 August 2007 / Leave a comment

Baccarat is the game of choice for High roller casino players and does have a reputation as being reserved for the well dressed snooty crowd of industrialists and bankers.

Table limits tend to be high and can hit 100,000 USD a hand in Vegas. In fact, between October and November 1997, Melbourne's Crown Casino lost $55 million to high-roller baccarat players.

Lending to its prestigious reputation, Baccarat has featured in various novels and films, including the original 1953 version of Casino Royale, the very first James Bond film. In the 2007 version of Casino Royale however, Baccarat was replaced by Texas hold 'em, clearly to capitalise on the current popularity of this poker game. Nevertheless, historically, Baccarat is the game of choice for the James Bond character, appearing in various 007 films.

Object of the game

To bet on the hand that comes closest to nine. The hand with nine or closest wins.

Card Values

No card scores more than 9. Aces score 1, face cards and tens score 0, and 2 to 9 score at face value.

Quick Rules

Baccarat is played with played with 8 decks, which are reshuffled after each hand. Play begins by betting either on the player, banker, or a tie. The terms do not necessarily represent the actual dealer or the actual players. You may bet on either the player or the banker but not both, but you can bet on both player and tie, or both banker and tie.

After all bets are down, two cards are dealt each to the player and the banker. The score of the hand is the right digit of the total of the cards. For example if the two cards were an 8 and 7, then the total would be 15, and the score would be a 5. The scores will always range from 0 to 9 and it is impossible to bust.

A third card may or may not be dealt to either or both the player and the dealer depending on Third Card Rules

Natural

A natural is when the original two cards dealt total 8 or 9. This ends the game, and no cards can be drawn by the other hand. A natural 9 cannot lose, and a natural 8 loses only to a 9. If the player and the banker have identical natural hands, the game is a tie.

Pay out

A winning player hand bet is paid 1:1. Banker hand bets are paid 1:1, less 5% commission. Winning Tie bets are paid 8-1. If the player and banker hands are of equal value, any bets placed on the player or the banker result in a push.

Strategy

There is no way to influence the actual game play in Baccarat. However, you could improve your chances by employing a staking strategy. Staking strategies can be applied to any game where you are betting on an outcome which you cannot control, such as roulette. A popular staking strategy is to follow the shoe. This strategy is based on the fact that you will rarely see a run that alternates as follows: player, banker, player, banker etc. Normally there will be a run of either. Therefore, after a player win, you continue to bet on the player for a defined number of hands (which you can set for yourself), or until the banker wins, at which point you bet on the banker and continue until the player hand wins, or after a set number of hands.

The basis for this strategy is debatable, as according to probability, each hand is an independent event, meaning that the outcome is not affected by previous hand results. However, many players who have succeeded with the strategy of following the shoe, at least in the short term, will endorse it.

Tags: Baccarat, Casino