Baccarat Rules

Baccarat is an interesting game in that you are going to be making the only decision you make in the game before any of the cards are dealt. That decision is whether to take one of three options with your wager. In this game you can bet on the "Player," bet on the "Banker," or bet on a tie between the two. After that, you just kind of sit back and watch the game unfold.

The procedure works like this: two cards are dealt to the "Player" and two cards are dealt to the "Banker." The side that wins the hand is the one that winds up closest to the point value of nine (9). Obviously several things must be said first. One of them is that the card values are counted in a much different way than another card game such as blackjack. When you're playing baccarat, the Aces are only counted as one (1). Anything that goes from two (2) to nine (9) is counted at its face value, while all tens (10's) and face cards (Jacks, Queen, King) are counted as zero, meaning that in effect they are not counted at all. To give you an idea of how this is carried out, let us say that a hand was dealt that consisted of a four (4) and a Jack. The total of that hand would be four (4). So another way to put it is that when there is a double-digit total on a hand, the first digit is ignored and the second digit becomes the operative total.

So how does play proceed from there? Well, if the Player is dealt any hand that totals six or higher, there is an automatic "stand" on that hand. When the hand totals five (5) or less, a third card is drawn. Three cards are the maximum any hand can contain. For the dealer (Banker), it is a bit different, in that a hands of seven (7) has to be stood upon, while totals of six or less require a third card. When either side has either an eight (8) or a nine (9) on the first two cards, that is referred to as a "natural" and a third card is never drawn. Whoever is closest to nine at the end wins. If either the Player or the Banker wins, the bet is paid off at even money, though a 5% commission must be paid to the house on all winning bets on the Banker. If a tie happens, bets on the Player and Banker are returned, and those who wagered on a tie will be paid at 8-to-1 odds.