The Basics of Baccarat

Author: Neha Agrawal

Go to Baccarat Information

Baccarat has long been known as the game of the rich, and it has been glorified in movies such as the James Bond franchise. While baccarat in land-based casinos is generally a rich man’s plaything, in the online casino gambling world, baccarat is playable by all; although like poker, blackjack, and any other card game there exists a high stakes version too.

To put it as bluntly and basically as one can, the primary objective of baccarat is to get the cards counting as close to nine as one possibly can. But there is a twist. The player is not responsible for the playing of the cards or the game in fact. The truth of the matter is, that baccarat (also known as Punto Banco) is played against the dealer. All the player is required to do is to decide how to wager.

A player can bet that either the dealer will win, the player’s cards will win, or that the result of the hand will be a tie. It really is as simple as that; but what about the cards themselves? For that is where baccarat really must be understood.

Again basically, there are two cards that will be dealt to the player and to the dealer. Whichever hand is closest to nine in total will win. However, on occasion a third card will be drawn for either the player or banker depending on the baccarat drawing rules. Should the total of the cards accumulate to a figure above nine, the first ten is dropped.

For example, a baccarat hand that consists of a four, a six, and a Queen will add up to twenty. In this instance, first the Queen is dropped because that value is a ten. That leaves ten remaining which is also above a nine, so it too is dropped. The result from the set of three cards will therefore be a total of zero. If a player were to have a three, a six and seven in their hand, then it would add up to sixteen; minus a ten from that because the total is over nine, and you are left with six.

In baccarat the aces count as ones. Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings all count as tens and all the remaining cards count for the value that is displayed upon them. For example a two of hearts counts as two.

Very, very simply that is the basic premise and rule of baccarat. Of course there are strategies to win, and things you should and should not do, but that is something you will need to learn. With the information above, you should be prepared enough to play the rich man’s game.