Baccarat – Easy to Learn and Exciting to Play
If you’re looking for a table casino game with European flair and James Bond-style glamour, baccarat is the place to go. It’s easy to learn and offers three possible outcomes per hand – a player win, banker win or tie. Baccarat is played with a large table and numbered betting areas on green felt. There is a croupier who deals cards from a special dealing box, called a shoe. Usually, eight standard 52-card packs are used. The dealer deals two cards to the Bank and Player hands, and a third card may be dealt to either or both. The player or banker who has a hand closest to nine wins the round.
Baccarat is a slow-moving, ritualistic game and requires high minimum bets. It was popularized in the United States by Tommy Renzoni, a professional gambler who brought the game from Cuba to Las Vegas. Now, it’s played in all brick-and-mortar and online casinos in US states where gambling is legal, including Nevada and New Jersey.
When you play baccarat, the goal is to correctly predict which of three possible outcome each round will have: a banker win, a player win or a tie. Those who correctly bet on a winning player hand will qualify for a 1 to 1 payout. Those who bet on a winning banker hand will have to pay a 5% commission, reducing the payout odds to 19 to 20. A winning tie bet qualifies for an 8-to-1 payout. Score sheets are available at live baccarat tables to help players keep track of their score.
Unlike blackjack, where the shuffle and cut of the cards can alter the house edge dramatically, the shuffle and deal of the cards in baccarat is entirely random. The game is known for its high stakes and the large specialized baccarat tables are typically found in special rooms, blocked off from the main casino floor to make it easier to control your wagers. The game is played for real money and the bets are placed using chips, tokens or checks.
Although baccarat has a low house edge, the game is still not as lucrative as other casino games. This is mainly due to the Tie bet, which has a 14.1 percent house edge. Smart players ignore the Tie bet and judge baccarat on its two main bets: the Player and Banker. The game also has some unique rules that are not the same as in other table casino games. For example, the ace has a value of one in baccarat, unlike in other games where it is worth nine. This rule makes the game more predictable and the banker side has a slight advantage.