Baccarat

Baccarat (properly pronounced "BAH-kah-rah") has been a high rollers' favorite card game for many, many years. Today, more budgeted players are sharing in the excitement of baccarat as well!

The rules are incredibly simple for both land-based and online casinos , and can be mastered in mere minutes. The objective behind Baccarat is to properly predict whether the dealer's hand will win, the player's hand will win, or the game will end in a tie.

The value of a hand is determined by adding up the values of its individual cards. Tens and face cards count as zero, while all other cards count as their numerical value. After summing the total, only the last digit is used. Therefore, Baccarat hands each have values from 0 to 9. The hand with the higher value wins. If the hands have equal value, the game ends in a tie. Initially, both the banker and the player are dealt two cards. If the two initial cards total 8 or 9, the hand is referred to as a "natural," and the game will end at that point. Otherwise, standard Baccarat "third card rules" determine if a hand should receive a third and final card.

Winning wagers on the player's hand are paid at 1:1 odds. A 5% commission is charged on winnings as a result of a bet on the banker, making the net odds on banker bets 0.95 to 1. A winning wager on a tie bet is paid at 8:1odds. If the game ends up resulting in a tie, bets on the banker or player are returned.

If you've got an abundance of pure luck, then Baccarat is your game. Baccarat is played with a fixed set of rules for the player and the dealer. Calculations have been made that show the odds of the player winning are 44.62%, losing 45.85%, and tying 9.53%. Therefore it would seem advantageous to bet on the house winning virtually every hand.

To even out the odds, the house charges a commission (typically 5%) on winning bets placed on the house. How should this change the way a player bets?

Factoring in the commission, you're still slightly better off betting that the house will win. This assumes the commission is the regular 5%. However, if the commission changes, then you have to adapt your strategy. If the commission is less than 5% then it is always advantageous to bet on the house, while if the commission is more than 5% it pays to bet on the player winning.

Removing the tie hands in the event there isn't a payoff, the odds of the player winning are 49.32% and for losing 50.68%. For various commissions we can calculate the following average payoffs then, assuming 100 wagers of $1 were made.

Baccarat

sometimes permits for a wager to be made for a tie, and sometimes does not (mini Baccarat typically played at online casinos usually does). Although the odds of 8 to 1 may sound appealing, it is considered one of the worst wagers in the casino, so don't bother making this bet part of your own Baccarat strategy.

Enjoy all your Baccarat playing experiences. And good luck!