The popularity of baccarat, especially at casino destinations in Northwest Indiana, attracts the attention of gamblers who aren't familiar with the game but still have a desire to play.
The game has a long history. For decades it was segregated from the main casino floor and played in an upscale room with upholstered chairs and tuxedo-clad hosts. A favorite of high-rollers, baccarat is veiled in romance, legend and lore, but today it has been adapted to mainstream casino gambling.
Baccarat is a card game that requires no skill. In many respects, it's just a guessing game, comparable to calling heads or tails on the flip of a coin.
Multiple decks of cards, generally eight, are shuffled up and dealt out of an elongated plastic shoe. Individual players do not receive cards.
At the start of a game, the dealer draws two sets of two cards and positions them in front of him on the table for all to see. One set is the player's hand and one set is the banker's hand. In baccarat, face cards and 10s count as zero value, 2s through 9s carry face value, and Aces count as one. Suits are irrelevant.
In order to determine the value of each hand, you merely drop the value of the "tens" place. For example, if the hand is comprised of a pair of 9s you add them together and get 18, then drop the digit in the tens column. The hand has a value of eight.
The object of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible, with 9 being the highest hand. If either the player or the banker has a hand that totals 8 or 9, it is considered a "natural" winner. The higher value hand wins.
The player has three options: Betting on the banker's hand, betting on the player's hand, or betting on a tie.
Keeping in mind that the dealer does all the work, a third card will be dealt to the player's hand if the player's total is less than or equal to five.
A third card will be dealt to the banker's hand in the following cases: If player's hand does not take a third card, banker's hand draws a third card on total of 5 or less; if bank total is 0, 1 or 2, bank draws a third card; if bank hand totals 3, bank draws a third card unless the player's third card was an 8; if bank hand totals 4, then bank draws a third card if player has drawn a third card of 2 – 7; if bank hand totals 5, bank draws a third card if the player has drawn a third card of 4 – 7; if bank hand totals 6, bank draws a third card if player has drawn a third card of 6 or 7; if bank hand totals 7, bank stands.
Winning Player bets are paid at even money (house edge 1.24 percent). Winning bank bets paid at even money less a 5 percent commission (house edge 1.06 percent). Winning tie bets are paid at 8 to 1 (house edge 14.36 percent).
Many players like to keep track of the decisions on a white card and base their bets on past performance, but the value of doing this is questionable.
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