The famous Baccarat

Baccarat Chemin de fer

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:32:40 +0000

This type of Baccarat is played with 6 decks of 52 cards. There is a basket in the middle of the table where the used cards are put. First the croupier shuffles the cards and then he gives them to the player on his right, who is going to be the banker (the dealer). The other players are called punters. The dealer puts in front of him the amount he intends to play with and the punters bet. Every punter is allowed to say “Banco” which means he plays against the whole banker’s stake. If no one does that, every player puts his stake before him. Then the banker deals four cards face down as follows: the first one for the punters, the second one for himself, the third one fro the punters, the fourth one for himself. The player with the highest stake represent the others. If the player has point total of 8 or 9, he shows his cards, announces his points and the hand ends. If the banker has more points, the bank takes the punters’ stakes. If the punters have more points, the banker pays each of them an amount equal to his stake. The game continues and the next stakes are to be made. If the banker did not win, the cards are to be dealt by the next player who becomes a banker. If nobody has 8 or 9, the dealer is to offer a third card. If a punter has points total of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, he takes the card. The third card is dealt face up. If a punter has 6 or 7 points, he has to refuse the card. If he takes the card having 6 or 7 points or he refuses to take it having 0-4 points, he violates the procedure. This is called a “false draw’.

The sum of the initial two cards

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:29:39 +0000

If the sum of the initial two cards of the player or the banker is 8 or 9 points, no more cards are dealt. If not, they act as follows:
1.    If the player has 0-5 points, he draws a card. If the points are 6 or 7, he stands.
2.    The actions of the banker depend on his point total and on the points of the player (in case he drew a third card):
-    In case the player did not draw a third card, the banker draws if he has 0-5 points and stands if he has 6-7 points;
-    If the player draws 2 or 3, the banker draws if he has 0-4 points and stands if he has 5-7 points;
-    If the player draws 4 or 5, the banker draws if he has 0-5 points and stands if he has 6-7 points;
-    If the player draws 6 or 7, the banker draws if he has 0-6 points and stands if he has 7 points;
-    If the player draws 8, the banker draws if he has 0-2 points and stands if he has 3-7 points;
-    If the player draws a face card, an Ace, 9 or 10, the banker draws in case he has 0-3 points and stands if he has 4-7 points.

The croupier deals the cards according to the table and announces the result.

Punto Banco – North American Baccarat

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:29:02 +0000

This type of Baccarat where the casino banks the game all the time is played in the US, Macau, Canada, Australia and Sweden. Players can bet on the player or on the banker. The cards are dealt (face down) the following way: one for the player and one for the banker, then again one for the player and one for the banker. After the first two cards are dealt, they are turned over and the croupier announces the result. Then they use a table to determine whether more cards should be drawn. Depending on their two initial cards, the player and the banker can draw a card or to stand.

Strategy

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:26:16 +0000

The most popular strategy is based on the players’ believe in luck. Besides, each of the players get special cards where they write the results of the hands. Many of them prefer to bet on the last hand’s winner hoping that luck in not going to fail them. But it is absolutely clear that this strategy is not better than any other strategies. Baccarat is a game of chance. Since the result depends totally on the luck of the player, many superstitious players try to have some influence on the result. For those type of players here we have some tips:
-    Do not forget that the house is taking the commission at the end of the game. Make sure you’ll have enough money to pay;
-    Since you are not playing against other players, it makes no difference how much they bet on the same slot as you. Your chances are the same;
-    It makes no difference what is your position or your opponents’ position at the table;
-    Do not forget that suits don’t count.
-    As for the cheats, the most popular way to cheat in Baccarat is to deal a card from the bottom of the deck or to switch cards. That’s why players should be very careful when the cards are going to be dealt. One mistake can cost them a lot. Usually cheats put cards in their shoes or replace the 8 decks but that is much more difficult.

James Bond and other famous Baccarat players

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:25:35 +0000

Baccarat became even more popular since the movie about the legendary British secret agent 007 was released. James Bond was a brilliant Baccarat player and he was enjoying the game in many movies. Long before we started to play and the law allowed the game, we all had the opportunity to watch James Bond’s playing. There were attractive elegantly dressed secret agents who were losing huge amounts of money in a twinkle. Although many of us probably saw the game for the first time in these movies, the game is older than Hollywood and Ian Fleming. Sean Connery enjoyed the game centuries after it was invented.

In February 1990, Akio Kashiwagi – a Japanese investor, also known as the “Warrior”, enjoyed the game of Baccarat in Trump Plaza Casino, Atlantic city. He bet $ 200 000 a hand until he won the record-breaking amount of money of $ 6 million. Unfortunately, he didn’t know when to stop and he came back in May. This time he wasn’t that lucky and lost $ 10 million in a six days Baccarat session. This is the largest single loss in the history of Baccarat ever.

Baccarat odds and payouts

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:25:24 +0000

If you bet on the player’s hand, the payouts are 1 to 1 and the house edge is 1,36 % i.e. for each dollar you’ll be paid a dollar; if you bet on the banker’s hand, the payouts are 1 to 1 as well but the house takes 5 % commission i.e if you win $10, the house is going to take 50 cents. The house edge is 1,17 %; if you bet on the tie, the payouts are 8 to 1 or 9 to 1 depending on the rules of the casino i.e. for each of your dollars you’ll be paid 8 or 9 dollars. But the house edge is 14, 12 % (when the payouts are 8 to 1). The hand is tie when the banker and the player have the same point total. Usually, that does not happen very often and it is not a good idea to bet on it. If you want to reduce the house edge, you should bet on the banker.

Examples:

1. The player has a Queen and 9 (9 points); the banker has – 4 and 4 (8 points). Both hands are natural. No more cards are dealt and the hand ends. The winner is the player.

2. The player has 4 and 2 (6 points); the banker has an Ace and a Jack (1 point). What happens in this case? The player cannot draw a card since he has 6 points. The banker draws a card since he has point total of 2. If he draws 7, he wins.

3. The player has a King and 5 (5 points); the banker has 2 and 4 (6 points). The player has to draw a card. If he draws 7, he is going to have point total of 2 since 5+7=12 and 12 -10=2. In this case, if the banker stands, he is going to win. But since he has to follow the rules and the player drew 7, the banker has to draw a card as well. The only thing he has to pray for is not to draw 5 since 6+5=1 and he is going to have 1 point total. If he draws 6, then it is a tie. But if he draws 8, he wins.

4. If the player has an Ace and 3 (4 points); the banker has 8 and 7 (5 points). What will happen? The player has to draw a card and if it is 9, he is going to have point total of 3 (since 4 +9=13 and 13-10=3). According to the rules, if the banker has point total of 5 and the third card of the player is 9, the banker stands. In this case, the banker wins with 2 points. (the player has 3 points and the banker has 5 points since he stands).

The third card rule

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:21:34 +0000

The third card rule

-    if the player or the banker have point total of 8 or 9, no more cards are dealt and the hand ends;
-    if the player has point total of less than 6, he draws a card;
-    if the player draws a third card, then the banker follows the third card rules which are as follows:
-    if the banker has a point total of 2 or less, he draws a card;
-    if the banker has a point total of 3, he draws a card in case the player did not draw an 8;
-    if the banker has a point total of 4, he draws a card in case the player did not draw 0, 1,

2, 8 or 9;
- if the banker has a point total of 5, he draws a card in case the player did not draw 4, 5, 6

or 7;
-    if the banker has a point total of 6, he draws a card in case the player did not draw 6 or 7;
-    if the banker has a point total of 7, he does not draw a card;
-    if the player does not draw a card, the banker does not a card in case he has a point total of 6 or more and he draws a card in case he has point total of 5 or less.

The rules

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:20:38 +0000

Usually Baccarat is played in a separate space of a casino since the table is very large. There can be up to 14 players and 3 bankers at the table. The rules of the game are simple enough but wherever we play we have to remember that there is such a thing like house odds. The game is played with six or eight card decks of 52. First, all players place their bets trying to predict who is going to get total of nine or closest to nine points. They have three betting options – on the player’s hand, on the banker’s hand or on a tie. After the betting round, the initial two cards (each) are dealt. Depending on their cards i.e. points, the player and the banker are allowed to draw a card or to stand. Wins the hand with the highest total. The value of the cards is the following: Aces are always one point; cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value i.e. 9 is 9 points, 7 is 7 points etc; tens and face cards such as Queens, Kings and Jacks are zero points. The points are to be counted as follows: if a hand has 10 or more points, it has to be reduced by 10. For example, an Ace and a 10 are 1 point since (10+1=11; 11-10=1); If a hand consists 4 and 6 it has zero points since 4+6 is 10 and 10 -10 is zero. The point total cannot be more than 9! If you have a total of zero points, you have a Baccarat! If the first two cards of the player or the banker are 9 or 8 points total, the hand is called “natural” and the round ends. If the point total of the player and the banker is the same, then it’s a tie.

Baccarat in America

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:19:34 +0000

As for the American version of the game, it was brought from Britain and was introduced to South America in the middle of 20th century. In 1950 it was brought from France to Argentina. In 1950 Baccarat became very popular also in Cuba. In the beginning of the 20th century there were a lot of casinos there. After the revolution, most of the casino owners immigrated to the US. In America the game was brought from Francis Tommy Renzoni who used to be a casino manager in Cuba and who is also known as the “Father of American Baccarat”. At that time, there were only two variations of the game – the European Baccarat and the French Baccarat (Chemin de fer). In the American casinos one of the most popular Baccarat is the mini-Baccarat. In mini Baccarat the players are not allowed to touch the cards – they are dealt by a dealer.

The origin of Baccarat

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:06:45 +0000

Where the game came from is still a matter of dispute. Mainly, between Italy and France. It is really difficult to say where the first game took place since variations of the game exist in many countries. In Spain, for example, there is a similar game called “Punto Banko”, in France, there is a game called “Chemin de fer”, in other countries it is called “nine” or “macao”. According to the most popular theory, the game was invented by the Italian Felix Falguierein. Baccarat is the Italian for “zero”. This game is one of the few games named after its worst hand. In the Middle Ages the game was played with Taro cards. It was introduced in France in 1490 and for a very long time was the game of aristocracy. only. Years after that Baccarat was played in all casinos in the world. According to the legend, Falguierein created the game based on Etruscan ritual of worshipping the nine gods where by throwing dice was decided the fate of virgins. If a young woman got 8 or nine, she was becoming a priestess. If it was 6 or 7, she was forbidden to take part in any religious rituals but if it was less than six, the woman had to be thrown into the sea. Actually today we use the same scheme but not in that dramatic form. For years Baccarat was considered the game of the aristocracy and high rollers. There were even special requirements relative to the clothes. This reputation used to scare many card players but today we can say that the situation is totally different and many gamblers have the opportunity to enjoy the game.