Baccarat is one of the most elegant of casino games, associated with high-rollers, fancy dressers and beautiful casinos.
Learning to play this card game is easy. It is played at a baccarat table with the participation of a croupier, two dealers and up to 14 gamblers. The croupier stands at a spot half-way down the table, making calls on the hands and directing players as regards play procedure. The two dealers are positioned behind the chip rack; they pay and/or take the players' bets depending on the results for the hand.
As a game of baccarat is about to start, the dealers shuffle eight decks of cards together. The croupier then takes two decks worth of cards from the top and shuffles, or "laces" them into the remaining cards before placing the cards in a covered "shoe."
The player at the #1 spot is given the chance to be the "Banker," who will deal two cards for each hand. No player is obliged to deal. Only two hands are dealt in a given round; they are referred to as the "Player's" hand and the "Banker's" hand. The baccarat players must predict which of the two hands will get a point value closest to 9. Aces count as ones, 10 cards and face cards count as zero. Suit is irrelevant. Any total over 9 drops the left digit. For example, 9 + 8 = 17, which counts as 7.
 | Aces count as 1. |
  | All cards 2 through 9 are valued as numbered.
2 stands for 2 points,9 - nine etc. |
    | 10s and face cards count as 0 (zero) |
The hand with the highest point value wins.
To clarify now; individual baccarat players do not receive cards in the course of the game. Instead, players bet on whether what are called the Player's and the Banker's hands are going to win or tie.
The Banker and the Player are each dealt a hand of 2 cards. In some circumstances, play may advance to a third card, but never beyond. The first card is the first Player card and goes to the croupier. The second card is the first Banker card and goes under the corner of the shoe. The third card is the second Player card and goes to the croupier. The initial deal is finished with the fourth card, the second Banker card, placed under the corner of the shoe.
At this point, the croupier passes the Player's cards to the player with the highest bet on the Player's side. If nobody has placed a bet on the Player's side, the croupier simply exposes the cards.
Hands worth both 9 and 8 are called "naturals," with 9 beating 8. If the Player hand or the Banker hand has a natural 8 or 9 and the opposing hand has a lower point value, the natural hand wins.
= 7 the hands which do not exceed 9 are very simple to calculate.
= 4 Queens, 10's, Jacks and Kings are equal 0, so this hand totals 4.
= 7 Ace counts as 1, therefore this hand totals 7.
= 1 Ace counts as 1, while all face cards are 0, therefore such a hand totals 1.
= 3 8+5=13, this is higher than 9, then the ten is dropped, so the hand totals 3.
The rules according to which a third card may be drawn are mildly complicated. Have no fear, however, if you are a new player; just acquaint yourself with the rules and trust that with a little experience the rules will be second nature to you, as they are to the croupier, who really cannot cheat in this, as observers would blow the whistle on him and he'd either be out of the casino, job hunting, or talking to a lawyer about defense strategy.
Here are the circumstances under which a third card may be dealt. The Player gets the first option for receiving a third card.
 - When player/bank has a total of 8 or 9, cards are not drawn.
- The Player's hand draws a third card when the Player's total is 5 or less.
- If the player doesn’t draw a third card, the bank stands on 6 or more and draws on 5 or less.
- If the player takes a third card, the bank draws a third card according to Bank's third-card-rule to the right.
|  - If the Banker's total is 2 or below, then the Banker draws a card, no matter what the Player's third card was.
- If the Banker's total is 3, the Banker draws a third card unless the Player's third card was an 8.
- If the Banker's total is 4, the Banker draws a third card unless the Player's third card was a 0, 1, 8 or 9.
- If the Banker's total is 5, the Banker draws a third card if the Player's third card was 4, 5, 6 or 7.
- If the Banker's total is 6, the Banker draws a third card, if the Player's third card was 6 or 7.
- If the Banker's total is 7, the Banker stands.
|
Below there is a table with detailed drawing rules on a third card. The first table (Player's Score) tells you when the player has to get a third card. The second table reflects banker decisions on different hands with different player's third cards.
| Player's Score |
|---|
| 0-5 | H (Except when banker has 8, 9) |
| 6-9 | S |
- H
- — Hit
- S
- — Stand
| Payout Table |
| Winner | Payout |
| Player | 1 : 1 |
| Banker | 19 : 20 (5% commission) |
| Tie | 8 : 1 |
| Banker's | Player's third card |
| Score | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| 8 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| 7 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| 6 | S | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | S | S |
| 5 | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | S | S |
| 4 | S | S | H | H | H | H | H | H | S | S |
| 3 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | S | H |
| 2 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| 1 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| 0 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
Betting in Baccarat presents you with three options; Player, Banker or Tie. If you bet on the Player and win, you will receive a 1 to 1 payout. A winning bet on the Banker also pays out 1 to 1, but you must pay a 5% commission back to the casino, collected at the end of play, not after the individual hands. The commission exists because the Banker has a statistical edge over the Player. The Tie bet pays out 8 to 1, but a tie is the least likely of outcomes.
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