BACCARAT RULES
Baccarat is one of the most popular games of chance around the world, especially in Asia and among high rollers. There are three different, popular types of baccarat ruleswhich have been developed over the years and you may find each of them described below:
AMERICAN BACCARAT RULES
Up to 14 players may take part in a game of American baccarat. The seats are numbered from 1 to 15, excluding 13, becase it is believed that 13 is an unlucky number. Each of the players places his bet on the table in front of himself. There are 3 zones for placing bets in front of every player, corresponding to the different bet opportunities for every player to be – player, tie and banker. The player may place bets on one, two or all of the zones. When placing a bet on player, the player bets on his own cards. If he bets on tie, he will win if the player and the banker have equal hand value. If the bet is on banker, the player will win in case the hand of the dealer is winning.
Baccarat is played with 6 or 8 decks, depending on the rules of the casino. In order to calculate the value of each hand, you need to sum the values of the cards it consists of, in the following way: the cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value; 10s the face cards (10, Jack, Queen, King) are valued 0 points; the Ace is 1 point. For example, a hand consisting of 6 and 2 is worth 8 points (6 + 2 = 8). A hand consisting of King and 3 is worth 3 points (0 + 3 = 3). A hand consisting of Ace and 8 is worth 9 points (1 + 8 = 9).
If the value of your hand is 10 or more, the tens digit is ignored. For example, a hand consisting of 7 and 9 is worth 6 points (7 + 9 = 16, but tens digit is ignored so the value is 6 points). A hand consisting of 9 and 2 is worth 1 point (9 + 2 = 11 = 1 points). A hand consisting of 7 and 8 is worth 5 points (7 + 8 = 15 = 5 points). If you have a hand valued 0 points (10), you have baccarat and this is the worst hand possible. For example, a hand consisting of 6 and 4 is valued 0 points (6 + 4 = 10 = 0 points) and is called baccarat.
If the value of your hand is 8 or 9, it is called natural.
The game start with placing the bets and after that the dealer deals two cards to every player and two to himself. After that the value of all hands is calculated. When the calculation is made, there are several for the game to continue:
- If only one of all the hands is natural (8 or 9 points), it is the winning hand;
- If there are two or more natural hands, but only is valued 9, it wins;
- If there two equally valued natural hands, the game is tie;
- If none of the above is the case, then one more card is dealt to the player first and then to the dealer. After that the value of the hands is calculated again and the hand that is closest to 9 wins. If the value of the hands is equal, the game is tie.
Third card is dealt according to the following rules:
- If the hand of the player is valued 5 or less, he gets third card;
- If the player’s hand is valued 6 or seven, he doesn’t get third card;
- If the dealer’s hand is valued 7, he doesn’t get a card;
- If the banker has 6, he gets a third card only if the player’s third card is 6 or 7;
- If the banker has 5, he gets a card in case the player’s third card is 4, 5, 6 or 7;
- If the banker has 4, he gets a card only if the third card of the player is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7;
- If the dealer has 3, he gets a card in any case except for when the third card of the player is 8;
- If the banker has 0, 1 or 2 he gets a third card in any case.
When the player places a bet on the zone player he will win only if the value of his hand is higher than the dealer’s. When this happens the odds of winning are 1:1.
When the player places a bet on the zone banker, he will win when the value of the hand of the dealer is higher than the player’s. In this case the payout is 1:1 again but there is a 5% commission for the casino.
Bet on tie – if you bet on the zone tie, you will generate winnings if a draw happens with odds of winning 1:8. This is the worst bet possible, because it happens rarely and the house edge is 15.75%.
CHEMIN DE FER BACCARAT RULES
Another version of the baccarat is Chemin de Fer which is a French version of the game. Chemin de Fer means railway in French and you can find this game in some European casinos (mostly French). The object of the game is the same as in the American baccarat – to get a hand as close to 9 as possible (the hand values are the same as in the traditional baccarat).
Unlike the American baccarat where the casino plays the role of the banker, in Chemin de Fer each and every player has the opportunity to be a banker and the players bet among themselves. You cannot bet on Player or Banker, you must be one or the other. The bank rotates counterclockwise among the players as every player may refuse to be a banker and then it passes to the next player. In Chemin de Fer the casino is not taking part in the game, but is just making sure that the rules are followed by all players and is taking commission (usually 5%) for that. Another difference is that the players may choose whether to draw a card or not in certain occasions. If the player has 5, he has the option to choose whether to draw a card or to stand.
BACCARAT EN BANQUE RULES
One of the most renowned variations of the baccarat is called Baccarat en Banque. Baccarat en banque differs from the American baccarat in several aspects, and is more common to Chemin de Fer. A difference in the rules of baccarat en banque, compared to chemin, is the number of decks which is three (sometimes two or four may be used but three is usual number), unlike the other types of baccarat which use eight.
The baccarat banque table has a place for the banker and on his left and right he may have up to five players on each side. He deals one hand on each side and one to himself. Only the banker may play the banker’s hand while the players may bet on the hand on their side of the table or they may place their bet on both sides. The players may bet an amount that is up to the amount in the bank. If this amount is reached, no more bets can be placed.
In baccarat banque each and every player may become banker but if a player wants to become a banker, he needs to say “Banco” and to cover the bet of the current banker. If he wins, he will have the right to be the banker until someone else busts him. If the player fails to beat the banker and to become a banker three times, he can no longer call Banco.
The drawing rules are usually the same as with Chemin de Fer but the rules of baccarat banque may differ greatly from casino to casino, so you need to make sure you know what the rules at a table are before sitting and playing on it.
You may play free baccarat and test our baccarat strategy in one of the casinos below, either by signing up for a fun account with virtual money balance or by depositing and taking advantage of the hot bonus offers we have gathered for you.
PLAY THIS GAME WITH VIRTUAL MONEY
CLICK HERE
Tags: baccarat rules
Strategies