How to Play the Baccarat Game?

The baccarat game is one of the most popular you can find in both online and

land-based casinos. It has a very strong following that has been amassed for

more than 5 centuries. Indeed, with records of baccarat being played in France

since the late 1400s, it is one of the oldest games of chance that are still being

played in modern times. It first came to France from Italy, where it was known

as Baccara, but it gained so much popularity with the French that they

practically made it their own.

There are three major variations of the baccarat game: North American baccarat

(punto banco), baccarat banque and chemmy (chemin de fer). However, the first

version, punto banco, has become so popular in casinos throughout the world

that most players don’t even know there are other options. Unlike its more skill-

based counterparts, the punto banco version relies solely on luck, and that’s

probably where its incredible popularity comes from. As the chances of you

encountering any version other than punto banco in casino game are worse than

you winning 20 hands in a row at any baccarat game, we will focus on teaching

you how to play this version alone.

Basic rules

As you have heard before, the baccarat game is a very simple one. Even if more

players are at the table, only 2 hands will be drawn, that of the “banker” and that

of the “player”. Two cards are initially dealt to each hand and, depending on the

outcome, one extra card can be drawn by both player and banker. Before the

hands are dealt, players have to guess which one of the hands will win and bet

on it. If you bet on the banker and the banker is closest to 9, then you win. It’s

THAT simple, see that on Rich Casino.

How each card scores

In the baccarat game, cards don’t have the scores you have grown to expect

from them. For example, any face card and the 10 will give 0 points. So if one

initial hand is a king and jack, that hand’s score will be a 0. Meanwhile, cards

from 2 to 9 will keep their regular value, while the ace is worth 1 point.

Furthermore, if the total of a hand is higher than 9, only the second digit will

count. So, if a hand gets two nines for a total of 18, that hand’s score will be 8.

And if it gets a 6 and a 4 for a total of 10, its score will be 0. Thus, unlike in

games like blackjack, going over the target score does not equate to an

immediate and utter loss.

When to Draw the Third Card

The rules concerning the drawing of the third card in the baccarat game might

seem a little bit complicated at first, but they’re pretty easy to learn. If either the

banker or the player has an 8 or a 9 total, the game ends automatically. This is

called a natural win. If the player’s total is between 0 and 5, a third card is

drawn, but only if the banker doesn’t have a total of 8 or 9. If the third card

gives the player a total of 8 or 9, the banker does not draw a third card. But if the

player’s total, even with the third card, is 7 or less, the banker will also draw. If

the banker’s third card gives it a better total than that of the player, the banker

wins.

The tie and why avoid it

In the baccarat game, there is also the possibility of a tie. A natural tie occurs

when both the banker and the player have an 8 or a 9 from their initial hands.

Ties are also possible after each hand is dealt a third card. Players can also bet

on a tie, but it is generally accepted that this bet should be avoided more often

than not. The reason for this fact is extremely simple. Ties have a much lower

chance of occurring than either the player or the banker winning the game. So,

only players who are feeling particularly lucky should make this bet. In any

other cases, you are far better off betting on the player or the banker.

Strategies

Due to the nature of the punto banco baccarat game, developing a playing

strategy is rather useless. The game is nothing like poker and its variations,

where skill plays a very important part. Here, luck is the only thing that matters.

Playing according to a specific strategy will do you as much good as praying to

any divinity you might believe in. And we all know that the gods care little for

games of chance in which anything less than a human life is involved. And even

then, they aren’t too troubled. What you can do is observe how hands play out.

If the player won the last 5 or 6 rounds, it might be a good idea to start betting

on a banker, because the chances of the player winning another hand are very

small. However, you never really know what’s going to happen in the baccarat

game. For all you know, the player or the banker might win 20 rounds in a row.

Or you could get 5 ties in a row. Anything could happen, and that’s the magic of

baccarat. You can experiment exactly that on Rich Casino.

This is just about everything you need to know about the game. We have given

you all its rules and principles. If you love the game but you want to play a

version that relies more on skill, you should try to find one of its other

variations. But that is going to be very hard to pull off. However, if you want to

relax in front of your computer and give yourself the chance to win some extra

money, playing the baccarat game online is a very good option.