Baccarat is a high-class casino card game usually played in a separate casino area. This is the game of Kings, Queens, the Rich and James Bond. There is a certain elegance associated with Baccarat at land-based casinos and for that reason it can be a very expensive game to play in this type of environment. The playing table is about the size of a craps table with three casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. There are just two principal bets to make: banker or player - Banco or Punto, plus the rarely used Standoff. Baccarat is played from a six-deck or an eight-deck shoe. All face cards and 10s have no value. Cards less than 10 are counted at face value, Aces are worth 1. Suits don't matter. Only single digit values are valid. Any count that reaches a double digit drops the left digit. 15 is counted as 5 and 25 is also counted as 5. The object of the game is to bet for the side whose cards have a point total closest to 9. Point totals are calculated in the following way: aces count as 1, cards 2 through 9 count at face value, and 10 as well as all face cards count as 0. But it's important to note that if you're dealt a 9 and a 7, for example, the total is not 16, but 6. If you're dealt a 3 and an 8, the total is not 11, but 1. In other words, it's impossible to have a combination of cards that totals more than 9. If your total is more than ten, you drop the ten. So a 7-9 hand totals to 6 (16, drop ten). There is no such thing as a bust hand.
In Baccarat, the dealer deals four cards, two each for the house and player. Each player, may bet on either Punto or Banco but it is customary for the dealer to bet on Banco. If the point total of either or both sides is 8 or 9, it's called a natural and no more cards are dealt. If the point total of both sides is the same, of course, it's a tie. The only complication in Baccarat is when the house or the player's points, after the initial two cards, don't add up to a natural, or when there is no tie. In this case, one additional card will be dealt according to specific rules as described below.
If the player's initial hand adds up to 6 or more, he must stand and will not be dealt additional cards. For 5 or less, the player will be dealt an additional card. If the house hand, meanwhile, adds up to 7 or more, the house must stand. If the house total adds up to 0, 1 or 2, the house must take an additional card.
If the house hand totals 3, and the player's third card is anything other than 8 (in Baccarat, the player receives his cards before the house), the house will hit. If the house hand totals 4, and the player's third card is anything other than 1, 8, 9, or 0, the house will hit. If the house hand totals 5, and the player is dealt a 4, 5, 6, or 7, the house will hit. And if the house hand totals 6, and the player's third card is 6 or 7, the house will hit.
Payoffs in Baccarat are straightforward. If you bet on a winning player's hand, you'll be paid at 1 to 1. If you bet on a winning house hand, you'll also be paid at 1 to 1. If you bet on a tie, the payoff is 8 to 1. Online Baccarat tables usually have a minimum bet of $1 and a maximum bet of $250. Check with your online casino.
| 
