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Basics
of Baccarat
By Henry Tamburin
Why play baccarat? Because there are no complicated rules and playing strategies
to memorize, the casino's edge is low, and a low stakes version called mini-baccarat
is available for players with a limited bankroll. How easy is it to learn this
game? Hey, by the time you finish reading this article you'll know everything
you need to start playing.
The object of baccarat is to guess whether the bank or the player hand will
have a total closest to 9. Each card counts its face value except picture cards
are 0 and the ace is 1. Two cards are initially dealt to the two hands. Unlike
blackjack, a hand can't 'bust" in baccarat. If the cards total over 9,
you simple subtract 10 to get an adjusted total. For example, a 9 and 8 = 7
(not 17). Likewise, a 7 and 4 = 1.
Let's try a few hands so you get the hang of this. Suppose the bank hand has
a queen and an 8 = 8 and the player hand had a 7 and 9 = 6. The bank hand would
win "8 over 6".
Besides betting on the bank or player hand, there is a third betting option
and that's to bet on the tie. Players who bet the tie are hoping that the two
hands end up with the same total. If they do, the player(s) who bet on the tie
would get paid at 8 to 1. Although it's nice to be paid at eight times your
original bet, a tie doesn't occur enough times to justify making the tie bet.
With an 8 to 1 payoff, the casino's edge is a mighty 14.1%. Unless you're very
wealthy and don't care to donate money to the casino, I highly suggest you avoid
the tie bet.
The bank and the player hand initially receive two cards. Sometimes one or both
hands will draw a third card. Now don't panic - it's not necessary to learn
which hand is suppose to get a third card. There are specific rules that determine
this and the casino dealer will determine if a hand gets a third card.
At the very least you should know that the third card rules are based on the
total of the hand and the rules are not the same for both hands. To show you
how easy this is, here's the third card draw rules for the player hand in a
nutshell-draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 to 9. This means if the player's first two
cards total 0 through 5, the player hand must draw a third card. If instead
it totals 6 through 9, the player hand must stand. It doesn't matter what the
bank hand holds - the player hand draws based on the total of the player's first
two cards. Period.
I'll admit the third card rules for the bank hand are a little more complicated.
But remember you don't have to memorize them, the casino dealer will know when
a third card draw is required.
One of the unique characteristics of baccarat is that the bank hand wins more
than 50 percent of the time (excluding ties). This occurs because of the
slight differences in third card draw rules for the bank hand compared to the
player hand. If the casinos did nothing about this we could bet exclusively
on the bank hand, win lots of money, quit our jobs, and live the easy life.
Unfortunately, the casinos even out the score by charging a 5 percent commission
every time the bank hand wins. So if you bet on bank hand and win you'd be paid
at 1 to 1 payoff odds but the dealer will place an IOU marker in the commission
boxes on the layout. You are expected to pay up your IOU's when you quit playing
or when the cards are reshuffled.
The 5 percent commission turns off a lot of baccarat players. You pay it when
you win a bank hand but not when you win a player hand. Most players therefore
mistakenly believe the player hand is the better bet. However, this is not true.
Even when you factor the 5 percent commission on winning bank hand bets, the
casino's edge is slightly lower on the bank hand (1.17%) compared to the player
hand (1.36%).
The main differences between baccarat and mini-baccarat are: 1) baccarat is
a more formal game played in an area set off from the main casino known as the
"baccarat pit" whereas mini-baccarat is played on a blackjack-size
table in the main casino floor, 2) players deal the cards in baccarat and in
mini-baccarat, the casino dealer deals the cards, and 3) the minimum bets are
higher in baccarat.. Whether you play baccarat or mini-baccarat, the playing
rules are the same.
There is another major and important difference and it has to do with the speed
of the game. There are normally about 80 hands dealt per hour in baccarat and
about twice as many hands in mini-baccarat. The reason is that players take
a lot more time dealing the cards and facing them in baccarat compared to a
casino dealer who does all the dealing in mini-baccarat. The fast pace
of mini-baccarat means that you will have a lot more decisions per hour and
the more likely you will be behind. Therefore it behooves you to slow down your
play. How? By playing mini-baccarat with a full table of players and by not
betting on every hand. I suggest betting only on the bank hand and then when
you lose a hand do not bet on the subsequent hand. This will automatically slow
down your play.
The next time you are in a casino, give baccarat or mini-baccarat a try. With
a little luck and a run of bank hand wins, you could walk away a winner.
***************
Henry Tamburin is one of America's premier casino gambling writers and the author
of his latest book Henry Tamburin On Casino Gambling - The Best of The
Best plus 6 other best-selling books. For a free catalog call
1-888-353-3234 or visit his web site for casino players at http://www.smartgaming.com.
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