Baccarat - Online History, Rules, Strategy, Probability, Tips

baccarat table

Baccarat (pronounced "bac-car-ah") has long held the attention of gamblers and an early version was played with cards from a Tarot deck back in the centerAges. A more modern variant originated in Italy (Europe) around 1490 and at the present time it is most popular in European casinos. The word Baccarat is derived from the Italian word baccarat, meaning zero, and refers to the zero value given to all of the face cards and tens. In the 1500s, it was introduced to French aristocrats looking for a new and exciting game of chance by their Italian counterparts. They called it "Chemin De Fer," the French term for railroad. In the 1900s, when the game became fashionable on the French Riviera (game of choice for the French nobility), players nicknamed it "Chemmy" or "Shimmy." Chemin De Fer traveled from Europe to South America and found a new home in Argentina. Casinos in Mar Del Plata (Argentina) became a gambling paradise for wealthy South Americans. When the game reached Cuba, it underwent a rule change that turned it into American Baccarat (in American Baccarat each player bets against the house; in Chemin De Fer, players bet among themselves). In 1958, at Capri Hotel Casino in Havana (Cuba), a young casino executive named Francis "Tommy" Renzoni, spent countless hours watching gamblers play Baccarat. When Renzoni left Cuba and settled in Nevada, he persuaded the owners of Sands Hotel to open up a Baccarat pit. But the game was not an overnight success in the United States. The separated pit and the game’s sophisticated aura intimidated American gamblers, who at this time were mostly craps players who had picked up a liking for the dice during military service in World War II. During that time a special form of Baccarat was introduced in many Las Vegas casinos and the game has become even more popular. In this variation of Baccarat the role of banker is usually held permanently by the House or Casino; only one non-Banker hand is dealt, and bets may be played either with or against the Banker. Its popularity increased steadily in the United States, Australia and England during the past century. Traditionally, the Baccarat pit is set aside from the main casino area, away from all of the "common" games, and "common" players.

The goal of this relatively straight forward game is to draw a two or three card hand with a value closer to 9 than the bankers? hand.

The Value of the Cards

Numbered cards have their face value.
10, Jack, Queen and King count as 0.
Ace counts as 1.
If the value of your cards is more than ten, you subtract 10. So a 8-9 hand totals 7 (after subtracting 10 from 17)

How To Play

Two hands are dealt in Baccarat - The Banker's hand and the Player's hand. Prior to each deal, the player wagers on whether the Player's hand or the Banker's hand is closest to a total of 9. The player also has the option to wager on a tie (i.e. both the banker's and player's hands total the same).

Baccarat is a card game that is dealt from a shoe that holds 6 or 8 decks of cards. Two hands are dealt by the house dealer, the "banker" hand and the "player" hand. Before the hands are dealt, bets may be placed on the banker hand, on the player hand, or on a tie. Winning bets on banker or player are paid 1:1, but a commission of 5% is charged on bank bets making the net odds on such bets 0.95 to 1. Some casinos may charge a lower commission (e.g., at time of writing, Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas charges 4%.). Some sources report that tie bets are paid 8:1, while others claim that tie bets are paid 9:1, so this may vary from casino to casino. If there is a tie, bets on the banker or player are returned.

Once a bet has been placed, there are no opportunities for further decisions -- both the banker hand and the player hand are dealt according to fixed rules, resulting in final hands of either two or three cards for each.

The value of a hand is determined by adding the values of its individual cards. Tens and face cards are counted as zero, while all other cards are counted by the number of "pips" on the card face. Only the last digit of the total is used, so all Baccarat hands have values in the range 0 to 9 inclusive. The hand with the higher value wins; if the hands have the same value, the result is a tie.

A game is started by dealing two cards for the player hand and two cards for the bank hand. An initial hand with a value of 8 or 9 is called a "natural." If either hand is a natural, its holder must expose it and the game ends. Otherwise play continues, first with the player hand and then with the banker hand, according to the following rules.

Rules for the player hand:

If the player's first two cards total 6 or more, then the player must stand without drawing a card. If the player's first two cards total 5 or less, the player must draw one additional card.

Rules for the banker hand:

If the banker's first two cards total 7 or more, then the banker must stand without drawing a card. If the banker's first two cards total 0, 1, or 2, then the banker must draw one card. If the banker's first two cards total 3, 4, 5, or 6, then whether the banker draws is determined by the whether the player drew, and if so the value of the player's draw card, as shown by the table below.

BANK DRAWING VS PLAYER`S DRAWS
CARD	PLAYER`S DRAW
	N	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	D	D	-	-
5	D	-	-	-	-	D	D	D	D	D	-
4	D	-	-	D	D	D	D	D	D	-	-
3	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	-	D
2	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
1	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
0	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

D = draw, N = no card drawn by player

But as for any other casino game there is always room for improvement and if you want to establish an effective Baccarat strategy there is a few things to consider don't bet on "tie".

Playing Baccarat you have only a choice of three bets, but it does not mean you don't have any options at all.

Betting on the Player Hand - the house edge is 1.29%.
Betting on the Bank Hand - the house edge is 1.01%.
Betting on a Tie Hand - the house edge is 15.75

The house edge numbers mean that Banker hand wins more often in the long run. Even after paying a 5% commission it is still a slightly better proposition than betting on "Player hand". So, there is only one good bet to make - Bank Hand.

As for betting on Tie hand the casino will pay nine for one odds. Unfortunately, the casino advantage on this bet is over 15%. So, don't bet on "Tie".

Well, it may be a very boring when you have only one good bet to make, but still the game of Baccarat has one of the best odds in casino if you know this.

As mentioned, Baccarat offers one of the best house edges in the casino, whether it is and online casino or a land-based casino. With the exception of the tie bet, the house edge is very low compared to other games.

The house edge is explained as follows:

Probabilities in 8-deck Baccarat
Bet	Combinations	Probability	House Edge
Bank	2,292,252,566,437,888	45.86%	1.06%
Player	2,230,518,282,592,256	44.62%	1.24%
Tie	475,627,426,473,216	9.52%	14.36%

A common feature of Baccarat tables is the scorecard. Many players use scorecards and pencils in order to see what cards have gone before, and therefore are attempting to use a type of card counting. However, for most, it is simply a case of betting on the bank time after time. After all, in real terms the player is expected to lose, on average, 1.06% of their money as opposed to 1.24% when betting consistently on the player and 14.36% when betting on the tie.

One may ask why it is wise to play Baccarat if systems and strategies pose no use in the game. And the answer is simple. Baccarat naturally gives one of the lowest House Edges in the online casino. There are only three bets a player can make, one of which should be avoided at all times. Of the two other bets, they are relatively close in odds, although it is advisable to play only one of these bets. Thus, Baccarat is a smart game to play no matter what. Here are the strategy tips a player can and should follow to optimize their success at online Baccarat.

1.Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time

Depending on the number of decks being played, the casino advantage for the Player hand wager is generally 1.25%, whereas on the banker hand it is only 1.06%. The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2.5%. However, when the wager is counter-weighed by the player hand, the edge lowers to more near the 1% mark. This tip is not to say that a player should never bet on the player hand, for sometimes a hunch can be the best thing going for a gambler. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. However, in the long run, a player should be making more bets on the banker than on the player. Going back the card-counting issue, if a player does indeed insist on counting cards, they should pay attention to 6's and 4's. When more 4's are leaving the deck, the banker bet has slightly better odds, whereas when 6's leave the deck, the player bet has a slightly better chance of winning than it does from the start of a fresh deck. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.

2.Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks

Many online casinos will offer different versions of Baccarat, such as a one deck version, and a 6 or 8 deck version with higher minimum betting amounts. Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. A Baccarat game using eight decks will deliver a probability of 45.86% of winning on the bank hand, 44.62% of winning on the player hand, and 9.52% of winning on a Tie. These same probabilities in a Baccarat game with six decks are 45.87% on the banker hand, 44.63% on the player hand, and 9.51% on the Tie. A slight difference of only one hundredth of a percent shows, which is also apparent when looking at the House Edge. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 1.06%, whereas it is 1.05% in a six deck game. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, however, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games - Another reason to stick with the banker bet. Although this difference is so negligible that most players do not advise picking one version of Baccarat over the other, it is advisable to take all the advantage one can possibly take.

3.Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible

On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage. Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 1.05%. However, sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately .6%. Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino. If you can get a 4% commission, by all means take advantage of it - and bet on the banker every time.

4.Manage your money wisely, without a "system"

As I said before, any system like the Martingale, which is designed to cover losses, should be avoided. Unless you play Baccarat with a very hearty bankroll, and do not mind losing every bit of it, play with a money management system that does not try to chase after losses. If you want to take your chances, then by all means use a system - just know when to quit baccarat. As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time. At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.