Baccarat
is an exciting card game that
was a featured plot device
in the James Bond novel Casino
Royale by Ian Fleming. It
originated in Italy during
the middle ages and derives
its name from the Italian
word for "zero",
because the face cards and
Tens – which normally
are high value cards in most
games – are counted as
zero in Baccarat. At some
point it migrated to France
where it was embraced by the
aristocracy. Today, Baccarat
is a favorite game of high
rollers and famous gamers
around the world.
The object is to bet on which
of two hands (the "Player"
or the "Banker")
will have a score closest
to 9. You can bet on either
hand – or you can bet
on a tie.
Dealing and Scoring
Baccarat is played with a
single deck of 52 cards (no
Jokers), shuffled after each
hand and placed in a "shoe."
Each hand will receive at
least two cards, but no more
than three. The first and
third cards dealt from the
shoe constitute the Player's
hand and the second and forth
cards constitute the Banker's
hand. If required, a third
card is dealt to either hand
according to specific rules
outlined in the charts below.
All cards are dealt face up.
Card values are:
The score of each Hand is
the last digit of the sum
of the card values in the
hand. Thus, a hand with an
8 and a 9 would have a score
of 7 (since 8 + 9 = 17). This
is why Tens and Face cards
count as zero – only
the last digit counts, so
a 10 has a value of zero.
The scores will always range
from 0 to 9 and, unlike Blackjack,
it is impossible to bust.
Examples of point scoring:
A Natural
Since the object of each
hand is to get as close to
9 as possible, getting a score
of 8 or 9 with the first two
cards is a good thing. This
is called a "natural",
and if EITHER hand scores
a natural, BOTH hands must
stand. Naturally (pardon the
pun), the only score that
will beat a natural 8 is a
natural 9.
Game Play
Two cards are dealt face
up to both the Player and
the Banker. If one hand has
a natural, that hand wins.
If both hands have a natural,
the higher natural wins. If
both hands have the same natural,
it's a tie.
If neither the Player nor
the Banker has a natural,
then play goes to the Player.
The Player's hand stands
on a score of 6 or 7. If the
score is less than 6, the
Player draws one card and
receives a new score based
on the value of all three
cards.
Rules of Play for Player
Now it is the Banker's turn.
When the Player stands on
6 or 7 (and therefore did
not draw a third card), the
Banker's play is quite straightforward.
The Banker must draw on scores
of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 and
stand on 6 or 7.
Rules of Play for Banker
when Player Stands on 6 or
7
However, if the Player did
draw a third card, the Banker's
play gets more interesting.
In this case, the Banker stands
on a score of 7 but draws
or stands on scores of 6 or
less depending on the value
of the Player's THIRD CARD
(not on the score of the Player's
HAND). The rules governing
whether the Banker draws or
stands are as follows:
Rules of Play for Banker
when Player Draws a Third
Card
Winning
The hand with the highest
score closest to nine wins.
Winning bets on the Player's
hand are paid at 1-to-1.
Winning bets on the Banker's
hand are also paid at 1-to-1.
However, a winning Banker
bet pays a 5% commission to
the House. Each time you win
when betting on the Banker,
5% of the winning amount is
automatically deducted from
your Account balance.
If both hands result in equal
scores, the Tie bet wins,
paying 8-to-1. When a tie
occurs, all bets on either
the Player or the Banker are
a push (neither paid nor taken).
