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History and rules of baccarat
Baccarat is a popular casino table game, traced back to an Italian game called ‘baccara’ (it means ‘nothing’ in Italian). It became popular when the game was introduced in French – nobles of the country took pleasure in playing this simple, yet captivating game of chance. For a long time, it was reserved to the wealthy – high rollers played baccarat in VIP rooms, even after the game made it to the Las Vegas casinos in the late 1950s – with minimum bets of at least $20.
In the 1980s a smaller version of the game – mini baccarat – was developed, that became available to the casinos’ general public. It was placed on the same floor with other popular table games, like blackjack.
Baccarat has a specific set of rules when it comes to hand values and gameplay.
The basic rule of baccarat is that only the rightmost number of any sum counts. This is reflected by baccarat card values – Aces (normally worth 11 points) have a value of 1 point, numbered cards (2 to 9) have their respective value each, and face cards and tens – normally worth 10 points – have a value of zero.
The same rule applies to hand values – these are calculated by summing up the values of the cards and looking at the rightmost value. For example, if a hand of baccarat consists of one 3 and one 9, the total is 12, and if we only take the rightmost value, the final hand value will be 2.
Baccarat gameplay
Big table baccarat is played by up to 14 players, usually in a separate area of online casinos. Midi bacarat has a smaller table, and the mini baccarat table is the smallest. The rules are the same for each variation. The number of decks used is usually eight.
The only active participant in the game is the dealer. The only thing the rest of the participants have to do is bet. The dealer – acting like some kind of master of ceremony – deals the cards, counts the values and announces the winning hand.
There are only two hands dealt – one for the player and one for the house. Both hands consist of maximum three cards – two initial cards and one more that is dealt if it’s needed. The values of the cards are summed up – the hand with the value of 9 or closer to 9 wins.
Betting in baccarat
The bets are placed at the beginning of each round. Participants can bet on the player hand, the house hand or tie. Bets on the player hand pay even money. Bets placed on the house hand pay 19 to 20 (even money, minus a 5% commission taken by the house). Bets on tie pay 8 to 1.
