Part of
what makes Baccarat a
great game is that it's
so simple. The Player's
decision is limited to
deciding what kind of
bet to make. From there
on it's in the dealer's
hands and you collect or
pay when it's over.
In Mini
Baccarat, which is the
only version most of us
will ever see in play,
you don't even get the
option of handling the
cards. In the "whale"
games of European
Baccarat they get to
mangle the cards
whenever they like just
for personal
entertainment. But then
they're dropping $1000
or more a hand and you
can bet that that buys a
lot of replacement
cards.
Betting
Bet on
your own hand (Player)
and you face a house
edge of 1.24%. Bet on
the Banker's hand and
the edge is either 0.6%
if there's a 4% House
cut or 1.06% is their
cut is 5%. Finally
there's the Tie bet
which at best gives the
house almost a 5% edge
(Pay 8:1) and at worst
14+% (Pay 9:1). Forget
the Tie bet for obvious
reasons. Unless you can
find a game with 4% vig
on Banker bets, betting
Player or Banker is six
of one, half a dozen of
the other.
Strategy
The
first thing a casino
player asks themselves
when stepping up to a
game is "how do I
improve my odds?" The
answer in Baccarat is
easy: you don't. Other
than avoiding the Tie
bet there's nothing you
can do.
What
about card counting you
ask? After all, everyone
seems to do it on TV.
Save yourself the
trouble because it's a
facade. Statistical
analysis has shown that
card counting in
Baccarat is totally
ineffective until the
game hits the bottom of
the shoe and even then
it's a miniscule
advantage. It basically
boils down to paying
yourself $10 an hour for
risking $1,000,000.
You're better off
getting a squeegee and
washing people's windows
for spare change.
As to
playing the game, that's
it. As to knowing what's
going on, it's a matter
of strict and fixed
rules, and here they
are:
The
Objective
-
The objective of
Baccarat is to draw
a two- or three-card
hand that totals
closer to 9 than the
banker.
-
10, J, K, Q count as
0, A is a 1 and all
other cards are face
value.
-
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.
The Rules
-
The banker and the
player each draw two
cards.
-
If either the player
or banker total 8 or
9, both
automatically stand,
no exceptions.
-
If the player's
total is 6 or 7, the
player stands.
-
If the player
stands, the banker
hits on a total of 5
or less.
-
If the player's
total is 5 or less,
the player
automatically hits
and the banker gives
the player a third
card.
-
If the player
receives a third
card then the banker
draws a third card
according to the
following:
-
Banker's hand
totals 0,1,2:
Banker always
draws a third
card.
-
Banker's hand
totals 3: Banker
draws if
Player's third
card is
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-0
(not 8)
-
Banker totals 4:
Banker draws if
Player thirds
2-3-4-5-6-7
-
Banker 5: Banker
draws if Player
thirds 4-5-6-7
-
Banker 6: Banker
draws if Player
thirds 6-7
-
Banker 7: Banker
stands.
-
Once the final cards
are dealt, the one
with the total
closest to 9 wins.
