Baccarat is a top-rated game in online casinos worldwide; however, it seems that its name imposes fear since not everyone dares to play it. Many believe it is an elitist game or a game for high-level players, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The truth is that Baccarat is quite a simple game since its objective is simple: bet on the player or the banker and hope that your hand is the winning one. Of course, things can get more complex as you get deeper and deeper into the possibilities of the game, as the more experienced players do. In this game, you can employ strategies and logical thinking to predict the hand’s outcome based on previous results.
In this article, we will go over the game’s rules and what you need to know to start walking your way in the route of Baccarat; then, you have to look for any trusted online casinos for baccarat tables and place your bet!
How to play Baccarat
The objective of Baccarat is to obtain a hand that adds up to 9 or as close to this value as possible. To know how much each card adds up, you must know the values that are assigned to each one, and they are the following:
– Aces are worth 1
– Cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value.
– The tens, jacks, queens, and kings are worth zero.
When the sum of the cards gives a two-digit number, you should ignore the first one and consider only the second one. The score obtained will always be between 0 and 9; there is no way to overdo it. If you get more than 9 points, ignore the digit in the “tens” column and focus on the digit corresponding to the “ones” column. For example, if your two cards are a 7 and a 6, they add up 15, which means your score is 5.
The first thing to do at the start of the game, once you have found any trusted online casinos for baccarat tables, is to place your bets; you can bet on the player, the banker, or the tie. Additional bets include Banker’s Pair, Player’s Pair, Perfect Pair, Any Pair, Big and Small.
Player’s Pair and Banker’s Pair are awarded if the first two cards dealt with making a pair in that hand. Any Pair wins if the first two cards of the Player or Banker (or both) make a pair in that hand. The Perfect Pair is similar, and it is won if the first 2 cards dealt with the Player or Banker are a pair of the same suit, such as a pair of 5 of diamonds. In “Big” you win if the total number of cards dealt between the Player and the Banker is 5 or 6, and in “Small” if the total number of cards dealt between the Player and the Banker is 4.
As mentioned above, the best score you can get in Baccarat once the cards are dealt is a 9. The dealer initially deals with two cards, and if the total is between zero and five, a third card is dealt. If the total is between six and nine, the Player’s bet stands, so no more cards are dealt.
When a hand totals eight or nine, it is called a “natural” and is automatically the winning hand against any hand of the Banker. In case the Banker also totals 8 or 9; if the Player has a total of 8 and the Banker 9, the Banker wins and vice versa.
How the cards are dealt
The first to receive a card is the Player; then the Banker is dealt one. On the next hand, the exact mechanism is repeated. If a third card is required, the Player draws first, then the Banker. The game is played with 6 decks, and the cards are automatically shuffled between hands. Usually, 6 or 8 decks are played in the shoe. Or sometimes with only one which the Banker handles. When 6 decks are used, a slightly higher house edge is created on the draw than an 8-deck shoe.
Conclusion
Online Baccarat is a game you should try. It is not an extremely difficult game as people tend to think. Of course, you will need to practice to learn the more complex part of this game, but that is the fantastic thing about online casino games; that you can play the demo versions before gambling real money. That way, you will be able to play little by little until you become an experienced player!
