Baccarat rules

In this article we tackle the rules of baccarat which may overwhelm beginners however they can be mastered quickly.

Basic principle

During a round of baccarat, a player goes against the dealer also known as the banker. 14 other people can also place their bets. Each can bet on the player or dealer’s hand. To win, you need to choose the strongest hand which is closest to 9. You can also bet on a draw between them.

The various bets

The bets don’t pay much, if you bet on the player’s hand and it is the strongest, you are paid once your initial bet. It is the same for the dealer. However, a 5% commission will be deducted from your entire winnings for this bet. The tie bet pays better. You can be paid between 7 and 9 to 1. Depending on the guidelines of the payment table.

The value of the cards

Each hand has a value the ace wins 1 point, the face cards, jack, queen, king equal are 0. The cards from 2 to 9 equal their nominal value. To calculate the value of a hand, add all the cards together. However a hand can not equal more than 9. If you get more than 10, the tens digit are not counted. In other words let’s say a player has a 5 and king the total of his hand is (5+0). As for the dealer, if he has 8 and 5. His hand totals 3 (8+5=13 but the 1 in the tens is not counted).

The procedure of a round

The first thing to do in baccarat is to bet on the player's hand, on the dealer’s or equality between them. Then the banker distributes the cards. The player and the dealer each receive 2 face-down. When one of them has a natural, all cards are shown and the highest hand is declared the winner. If the hands have the same value, the game is a draw. A natural is the name we give a hand of 8 or 9.

When neither of them has a natural, the game continues according to precise rules which depend on the player's hand. If the latter is between 0 and 5, he has to take a hit another face up card. But if it is 6 or 7, he must stand.

In this case, the banker must draw a card if his hand is between 0 and 5. But he is forced to stop if his game is worth between 6 and 9. If the player had to draw an additional card, the dealer must also play by codified rules .He takes into account the last card received by the player. When the dealer's hand is 7, the latter must always stop. When the value of his game is 6, he takes a card if the latter obtained by the player is a 6 or 7.When the banker's hand is 5, he draws a new card if the player’s last hand is between 4 and 7. When the value of his game is 4, he takes another card if the player's last hand was between 2 and 7. When the dealer's hand is 3, he draws a new card if the player’s last hand was not an 8.With a set value between 2 and 0; the banker draws always an additional card.