Baccarat is a casino game that is extremely popular amongst high stakes gamblers. This is because it is an extremely simple and elegant game. On an interesting sidenote, baccarat is the favorite game of the fictional British superspy, James Bond. He can be seen playing baccarat in the movie For Your Eyes Only.
In a hand of Baccarat, a player can bet on one of three options: “player”, “banker”, or “tie”. There are no actually players playing the hands, as each hand follows a set of proscribed rules. A hand can have a score from 0 to 9 and the player wins if they bet on the hand that comes closest to 9.
Basic Baccarat Hand
- Players bet on either “player,” “banker”, or “tie.”
- The cards are dealt, two to the “player” hand and two to the “banker” hand.
- The scores of each hand are determined. Face cards and tens are worth 0, aces are worth one, and twos through nines are worth their value. If the total of a hand is above nine, then the last digit is the score. This means if a hand has a score of 13, the real score is 3.
- The scores of the two hands determine if any third cards are dealt.
- After the additional cards, if any, are dealt, the players who bet on the hand that came closest to nine wins. If there was a tie, anyone who bet on “tie” wins.
Third Card in Baccarat
A set of rules determines whether or not a third card gets dealt.
- If either the player hand or the banker hand has a score of 8 or 9, neither hand gets a third card. This rule is more important than any of the other rules.
- If the player hand has a score of 5 or less, the player hand gets a third card.
- If the player hand does not receive a third card, the banker hand will receive a third card if the banker hand has a score of 5 or less.
- If the player hand did get a third card, the following table will show whether or not the banker hand gets a third card.
Baccarat Strategy
The strategy for Baccarat is this: Always bet on the banker. This is because the banker will win more in the long-run.
Mini-Baccarat
Baccarat can be difficult to find in casinos, as it is often sectioned off in a separate room, and the minimum bets are usually quite high. Mini-Baccarat is much more common and cheaper to play. However, the Mini-Baccarat experience isn’t anywhere near as invigorating as the true Baccarat experience.
Where to Play Baccarat Online
Most online casinos offer Baccarat. To view a full selection of where you want to play Baccarat online, check out our online casino reviews page. Otherwise, here are my top recommendations:
