Baccarat Rules

Baccarat is one of the oldest gambling games that there are. It is a traditional casino game that was introduced to the world over 500 years ago. The earliest Baccarat game was reported to be played in the 1400s in France. The game itself is Italian and was named Baccarat to mean zero in Italian. Zero plays a significant role in this game because all the face cards have a value of zero.

Baccarat was never played in casinos until hundreds of years later when it became a prominent game that was mostly played by French royalty. There are many versions of the game itself. The North American version originated from Europe, however made its way to North America from South America.

In North America, there are two types of Baccarat that are played in casinos. One version is the big table version and the other version is the mini table version. The big table version tends to attract high rollers who have more money to bet. The mini version offers lower bets which also decrease the losses of each player. There tend to be more mini Baccarat tables than big Baccarat tables because more customers are looking to placing lower bets.

The Baccarat game is a recent addition to casinos, though it has been played for many years. There has been documentation that prove three types of Baccarat are played. These three types are Baccarat with two tables, Chemin de Fur, and Punto Banco. The game itself is a variation of blackjack, pontoon, and vingt-et un. Baccarat itself is a simple game to learn that has become a favorite among high rollers. What makes Baccarat so fun to play is not the simplicity but instead the high stakes of playing the game.

The Rules of Baccarat

The game of Baccarat is extremely simple. The game is easy to learn yet the stakes are extremely high. Each player is dealt two cards. A third card can also be dealt however, that card is optional.

When looking at the cards it is important to know that the face cards all have a value of 0. The object of the game is to have a sum of 9. If the sum of the cards goes over 9, then the sum will automatically be 0 again. When adding up the sum of two cards, take off the first digit. For example, if your hand holds a 6 and a 7, then the sum is just 1. Though the sum is really 13, all you have to do is take off the first digit which is a 1. The only time the first digit is taken off is when the player only has a pair of cards in hand. The third optional card counts as its own number. This means that if the pair add up to 1 and the third card is an 8, then the sum of all three cards in 9.

The simplicity of the game is what can make this card difficult. The only strategy of this game is to ask for a third card or not. The most popular form of Baccarat in the Unites States is Punto Banco. This version was spread to the United States through Latin America where it made its way to Cuba and then to the U.S. Americans currently refer this type of Baccarat as Baccarat-Chemin de Fer.

The Variations of Baccarat

Three types of Baccarat have been noted. The first of which was the Chemin de Fer. The name means the iron road. The name originated from the fact that the cards were always placed in an iron box.

To play this type of Baccarat, 6 decks of cards are used that have been neatly shuffled together. In this version, players are all seated randomly at an oval table. The layout of the game is that the discarded cards go in the center. Each player, starting at the right takes a turn to shuffle the deck until the deck is returned to the dealer. The dealer than has the person to their left cut the deck.

One player at the table is made the banker while the rest are punters. The banker is the one that decides the wager for the round. Everyone else can either match the banker or not. The person who has made the highest wager is selected to lead the non-banker group. Two cards are handed to the banker and the player. If the sum of the cards do not reach 8 or 9 the players have the option of adding a third card. The decision must be made and the sums are then compared to decide which side won. Casinos that use this game often include mini tables that have low stake games.

Trivia on Baccarat

1.) Baccarat is the favorite game of super spy, James Bond. One of the most notable novels that he played the game in was Casino Royal which was written in 1953. The game Baccarat did not make an appearance in the 2006 film version. Instead poker was the game because of the huge boom in the popularity of poker.

2.) Baccarat, though being the most prominent in France, was actually invented by an Italian. The Italian’s name was Felix Falguiere who invented the game in the Middle-Ages. The first form of Baccarat was introduced by the Italians to Charles VIII of France.

3.) The game was first played in the United States in 1911. The game was introduced in Saratoga at the race track as well as in Palm Beach at the resort.

4.) Baccarat was first introduced to Las Vegas in 1959.

5.) More than p of the high rollers who play Baccarat are Asian.

6.) The entire plot of Casino Royal centers around the game Baccarat.

7.) In the movie Rush, Chris Tucker’s photo mistook the Baccarat game for blackjack.

When playing Baccarat listen to the following tips…

• Only play the game at a reputable location.
• Practice the game for free to know and understand the game.
• Bet of the banker’s bets.
• As a rookie, start-out with the mini tables.
• Baccarat is a game of chance which means that going off of a winning streak is not a good idea.
• The fewer decks that are in the game is better
• Know what your limits are in betting. Do not try and exceed your limits ever or a lot of money will be lost.