Understanding Baccarat Game
Baccarat is one of the casino’s most exclusive games, along with games like Unibet sports betting, and is usually nestled away in secluded rooms reserved for high rollers. Indeed, requiring little skill and relatively low edges, the game often attracts those who are willing to bet hundreds or even thousands per hand. Indeed, one of the world’s most famous poker players, Phil Ivey, was recently involved in a dispute with a London casino following a £7 million winning session.
While there are a many varieties of baccarat, the main game you’ll find in casinos, both live and online, across the world is Punto Banco.
Each new hand in a game of baccarat is known as a coup and involves the dealer (bank) and the player each being dealt two cards each. If either the player or the bank hits a total of 8 or 9 during this stage of the game then coup is over and the person with that total wins.
However, if this doesn’t happen then the player is dealt a third card based on certain drawing rules, i.e. if the player has a total between 0 and 5 they draw, if it’s 6 or 7 they stand.
If the player has to stand on their total, then the same rules are applied to the dealer when assessing whether to draw another card. However, if the player is given a third card then the dealer must abide by the following set of rules:
If Player drew a 2 or 3, Banker draws with 0–4, and stands with 5–7.
If Player drew a 4 or 5, Banker draws with 0–5, and stands with 6–7.
If Player drew a 6 or 7, Banker draws with 0–6, and stands with 7.
If Player drew an 8, Banker draws with 0–2, and stands with 3–7.
If Player drew an ace, 9, 10, or face-card, the Banker draws with 0–3, and stands with 4–7.
After this process has been completed the dealer will announce who has won and depending on which bets you’ve made you’ll either win or lose money. Indeed, because you’re able to bet on either the player hand or the bank’s hand (5% tax on all winnings), it doesn’t necessarily matter if your hand isn’t the best at showdown.
Baccarat can seem like a complicated game on the surface, but once you’ve familiarised yourself with the drawing parameters then you’ll find it’s a pretty simple. Indeed, with some canny betting (namely opting to bet on the bank more often) you can make a healthy profit from the game.
This variation is often use for playing baccarat online: Punto Banco is considered to be American Baccarat.
This baccarat variation is believed to be the classical one: it was the first variant of the game.
It is played preferably in Europe and it is difficult to find in land-based casinos of America.