Baccarat

Objective

The object of baccarat is similar to that of blackjack. The goal is to wager on a hand whose total will be closest to 9. The following will teach you how to play baccarat.

Playing the Game

While in blackjack, you lose automatically when the number 21 is exceeded, it is not possible to exceed 9 in Baccarat. All the cards usually worth 10 are now worth 0. When exceeding 9 the first digit of the number is dropped. For example, if a player is dealt a 8, 5 and a 4, the total is 8+5+4 = 17, but this is reduced to 7 by dropping the first digit.

In casinos located in the US, the dealer does the dealing for the entire game while in European casinos it is either the house or the players who deals the cards. Either way, it does not effect the outcome of the game.

In baccarat, up to 12 players can play at the same time. In front of each player are three boxes, each represents options for betting.

After all the bets are placed the dealer gives cards in the following fashion. One card to the 1st player and then one to himself, another to the following player and another to himself and so on. All of the cards are face down.

After all four cards are dealt, the dealer then gives the two unexposed cards to a player. This player, in turn, flips them over and passes them back. The dealer then reveals his cards and the two hands are then compared.

Whichever hand is a natural (totals either 8 or 9) wins, unless there is a tie. If a player's first tow cards total 0 to 5, then another card is drawn for the player's hand. If the first two cards total 6 or 7, then no more cards are drawn to the player's hand and play goes to the banker. The banker's hand is always played last.

If the player's hand did not receive a third card, then the following rules apply: if the banker's first two cards total 5 or less, another card is drawn to her/his hand. If the banker's first two cards total 6 or more, then the banker's hand must stand.

Baccarat Rules

The following table will explain rules for both the dealer and player: