Baccarat is one of the gaming options that you will find in online casinos. The game has been a favourite for punters for years not just because it is fun to play but its simplicity as well. Baccarat comes in three variants – baccarat banquet, punto banco and baccarat chemin de fer. The principle is the same in all the types, but the distinction occurs in the handling of the bank. You can pick which of these suitable your interest but not before knowing the basics of playing the game. With a few baccarat tips, you can learn how to implement strategies to increase your winning chances.
How It Works
When playing online baccarat, you have two options to bet on- the banker hand and the player hand. With most card games, you will have several hands dealt and then players can pick their favourite. With baccarat, you only have the two regardless of the people at the table. The bet you pick has to be placed before the game starts. You are wagering that one of the two hands will win.
Both the player and banker get two cards. The dealer who has the shoe passes the card facing up. The customer holding the biggest wager on the player gets the first card, and the next one goes beside the shoe. Then the following two cards are dealt for each hand. You can get a third card, but that depends on the kind of hand you are holding. The other option is to stand pat. In Punto Banco, the rules are more stringent than the others, and they include when to draw a third card and when not to. With the other two alternatives, baccarat banquet and chemin de fer, the customer has the freedom of making this call and, therefore, gets a certain power to influence the game. Your baccarat game strategy will determine the most effective call to make at this point.
With each hand holding its cards, the dealer will then proceed to call the point total. In baccarat, you win if the sum of your cards is nine. The dealer calls for the player hand first and then the banker hand.
Card Value and Winning
Before you consider baccarat games online, know the value of the cards because they determine every call you make. From 2-9 cards are worth their face value, face cards, which are the queen, king and Jack are worth nothing and so are tens while aces are valued at 1. The sum of the player’s cards is calculated separately from the banker’s. The total should not exceed 9, and if it does, the first number is dropped. Say a player has cards worth 13 total; the 1 is ignored, meaning the value is 3. The hand that is closest to the maximum (9) wins.
A natural win in baccarat means that the sum of two cards in a player’s hand is 8 or 9. It means that the hand wins and wagers are paid out. However, there is an exception if the banker hand ties an 8 or has a 9. If the player hand holds a 6 or 7 total, then it stands. Cards whose sum is 0 to 5 warrant a third card draw but only if the banker doesn’t have a natural. Note that when a customer asks for a third card, it may improve the hand or make it worse. For example, someone who had a 5 and gets a 6 in the third hand will have a total of 11, which translates to 1.
The rules for drawing the third card are a bit complicated for the banker. If the banker’s total is 6 or 7, it stands pat, and if it’s 0-5, it draws. However, other combinations are dependent on the player’s third card:
- If the third card drawn is 2 or 3, the banker has to stand if the hand is 5-7 and can draw if its 0-4.
- For a 4 or 5, the banker can stand with a 6 or 7 and draws for a 0-5.
- If it’s 6 or 7, the banker stays with a 7 and draws if it’s 0-6.
- For an 8, the banker has to stay if the hand is 3-7 and draw if it’s 0-2
- For 9, 10, ace or face card, the banker has to stay if it’s 4-7 and draw if it’s 0-3.
Master these basics rules, and you have a good chance of developing a baccarat game strategy that works.