Baccarat Rules
Compaired with other casino games, Baccarat is a relativity easy game where the players simply place a bet and watch the action unfold. Although the game looks very similar to Blackjack there are some major differences, first off the player is not required to make any major decisions during game play, the decisions required are made before the hand is dealt. The second difference is that the players can bet on a tie between the player and the bank, on the player or the bank. Yes that's right, the player can bet against themselves.The object of Baccarat is place a bet on the player or banker that will have a point total closest to 9. The point total for a hand is calculated using these values:
- 10s and Face cards are valued as 0
- Aces are valued as 1
- 2 through 9 are valued at their face value
Hands that would total 16 (9 and 7) or 11 (8 and 3) in Blackjack total 6 and 1 respectively. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to have a hand value that exceeds 9 in Baccarat. Any hand with a value greater than 9 has the first digit dropped leaving the second digit to form the value of the hand.
The Baccarat dealer will deal 4 cards, 2 cards to the player and 2 cards to the house. If either hand is an 8 or a 9 they are called a 'natural' hand and no other cards are dealt. If the value of the hands are the same the hands are tied and the bets are returned, any wagers placed on a tie win. Things get tricky when neither hand is a natural. In this case additional cards are dealt to resolve the hand. The rules to resolve the hand are below:
If the plays hand is 6 or more then they must stand and cannot recieve an additional card. For a hand 5 or less an additional card will be delt to the player. The house must stand on a hand with a value of 7 or more and if their hand equals 0, 1 or 2 they must receive an additional card.
In the case where the house hand totals 3 and the players hans is anything other than an 8 (remember in Baccarat the player recieves there card before the dealer), the house will hit.
If the house has a hand total of 4 and the players hand totals anything other than a 1, 8, 9 or 0 the house will hit.
If the house has a hand total of 5 and the players hand total is a 4, 5, 6, or 7 the will hit.
If the house has a hand total of 6 and the players third card is a 6 or 7 the house will hit.
Once a hand is complete it is time for the payoffs. Payoffs in Baccarat are pretty simple. Betting on the players hand and winning will pay out at 1 to 1, Betting on the house and winning will also pay out at 1 to 1. If you place your wager on there being a tie and you win you can expect your pay out to be 8 to 1. Please make sure to check the table rules before playing as these numbers while the most popular payouts are just examples.
