The Baccarat or Baccarat , is a very popular card game, so as to be either in land casinos or in online casinos. How it works is very simple: baccarat has very few rules, all very clear, and only three betting options.
Contrary to popular belief, baccarat is a game suitable for everyone, even though it is often referred to in cinema and literature as a pastime of the aristocratic or financial elite.
In this complete guide, we will talk about the history of this casino game, the rules of baccarat and how it is played, but we will also not forget the strategy of baccarat and we will open a window on its variants: the punto banco, the chemin de fer and the baccarat banque.
- The history of baccarat: from Macau to Europe
- The rules of baccarat
- The variants of baccarat
- Chemin de fer and baccarat banque
- The Banco point
- Differences between classic baccarat and online baccarat
- The best strategy to win at baccarat
The history of baccarat: from Macau to Europe
The first historical notes regarding baccarat date back to the fifteenth century. In fact, it seems that the game was invented in Asia, more precisely in Macao , and that it was imported to Europe, where it would have found its first admirers in Italy and especially in France , at the court of King Charles VIII .
The reputation of aristocratic gambling is due to the fact that baccarat became particularly popular among the French nobles of the nineteenth century, although during the era of Napoleon Bonaparte , so before casinos became legal (in 1907), the French played baccarat in private gambling halls.
Just the beginning of the twentieth century we have the first written records of baccarat, a game that is described in the ‘ Album des jeux of Charles Van Tenac ; chemin de fer and punto Banco would instead arrive a few years later.
The rules of baccarat
Let’s move on to the rules of baccarat, which basically see only two protagonists: the dealer and the player. However, it should be noted that a large number of players (up to 14) can intervene at each play, who can bet on the victory or defeat of the player and in some cases even on a draw.
In general the rules of baccarat are rather schematic . In its variants, the player’s freedom of choice changes more than anything else. The croupier, after shuffling the decks, deals two cards to the player and two to himself , face down. At this point, the sum of the two cards is calculated: the figures are worth 10 (or 0, you will soon understand why), while the other cards have their face value.
From the sum only unity should be extrapolated. For example, if the cards held by the dealer are for example a 9 and a 6, the result is 9 + 6 = 15 and therefore we consider 5 , removing the ten. If the cards are a 7 and a 3, the result is 10 = 0 : the score of 0, among other things, is called baccarat.
If one of the dealer and the player has totaled 8 or 9 (called “natural result”), the hands are revealed and whoever has the highest score wins: in case of identical score, the hand is considered a tie.
If a “natural” has not been achieved, one proceeds according to other rules. If the player has rolled a 6 or a 7, he draws no cards. If, on the other hand, his result is lower, he will receive another discovery.
At this point it is the dealer’s turn, who acts according to the value of his cards:
- if he has totaled 7, he “stands” and does not draw any cards;
- if he has a total of 6, he draws a card if the player’s face-up card is a 6 or a 7;
- if he has a total of 5, he draws a card if the player’s face-up card is 4, 5, 6 or 7;
- if he totaled 4, he draws a card if the player’s face-up card has a value between 2 and 7;
- if he has a total of 3, he draws a card unless the player’s face up is 8 or 9;
- if he has totaled 2, 1 or baccarat, he always draws a card.
We also talk about the deck. The famous Punto Banco version involves the use of four, six or eight decks of French cards, jokers excluded. In chemin de fer, the most popular version in France, six decks of French cards are used. In baccarat banque the number of decks varies, although usually three are used.
The variants of baccarat
As we have already mentioned, baccarat can be played in three variations: chemi de fer, punto Banco and banque. The main difference is that in Punto Banco the moves are forced by the cards received by the player, while in chemin de fer and baccarat banque both the player and the dealer can make choices.
Chemin de fer and baccarat banque
To understand how to play baccarat banque and chemin de fer we must assume that these two variants are very similar. The main difference is that in the banque the position of the banker is much more fixed than in the chemin de fer: the dealer can retire of his own free will, or if he has exhausted his finances.
In chemin de fer and baccarat banque, the players arrange themselves in a circle and all shuffle the cards in turn. Whoever interprets the dealer first puts the amount he wants to bet next to the shoe and the player who takes the cards can bet it entirely (calling “dealer”) or partially (calling “table”), leaving the other players the opportunity to bet as long as the amount decided by the dealer is achieved (“dealer coverage”).
In the case of partial bets, a player can decide to “beat the dealer”. In this case, players who have placed partial bets must withdraw their bets. If two players want to beat the dealer, the one who precedes the counterclockwise round and possibly the “losing” player also called “wounded” have precedence.
The dealer deals a total of four cards, two plus two. The opponent (known as a “bet”) can call, or ask for another card, or stand, or not want any more. The dealer can proceed in the same way.
As in baccarat you have to “knock down” with 8 or 9. In this case the game stops and the third card is not called. The score is calculated by adding the value of the cards bearing in mind that the tens are not counted and therefore never “bust”.
If the dealer wins, he can:
- continue to play , leaving the stake (which has doubled compared to the previous round minus the ” cagnotte “);
- halve the stakes;
- declare “there is a sequel” or withdraw and keep for himself the amount of the bank accumulated up to that moment; in this case the bank is auctioned.
In chemin de fer, if the opponent wins, then the amount of the dealer will be up to him, continuing the sense of play. In this variant, if a dealer obtained through the auction loses, the turn starts again from the player to the right of the player who had withdrawn.
In all of this, the casino retains a percentage called “ bitches ” (usually 5%) for every hand the dealer wins .
The Banco point
The Punto Banco is actually the name by which the baccarat, and is the most popular and played in all casinos both live and online is the most universally recognized.
The Punto Banco rules therefore follow those of the scoring seen previously, but the development of the game has a well-defined path, from which it cannot be varied.
All the work in conducting the baccarat game is done by the dealer , while the player is only required to place his bet. As we have already mentioned, the Punto Banco baccarat rules have three possible outcomes:
- Banco victory
- Player victory
- Draw
Before the start of the hand the players place their bet, and only after that the dealer will draw two pairs of hole cards from the deck. The score determined by these cards will affect the course of the hand , as both player and dealer will have to make forced moves based on the point in their possession.
If the player has a score between 6 and 9 his hand is over and no cards will be dealt. If he scores an 8 or a 9 he wins the hand or at the most ties with the dealer, and this score is called “natural” in jargon.
On the other hand, if the player’s score is 5 or lower, an additional card will be awarded.
The conduct of the game in baccarat follows a precise path even for the dealer .
The dealer will have to stand if his pair of cards will score a 7, 8 or 9, while he can draw an additional card in case of 0, 1 or 2.
In case of other scores the dealer will have forced moves according to this scheme :
- If his score is 6, the dealer draws another card if the player’s third is a 6 or 7.
- If his score is 5, the dealer draws another card if the player’s third is between 4 and 7.
- If his score is 4, the dealer draws another card if the player’s third has a value between 2 and 7.
- If his score is 3 , the dealer draws another card if the player’s third is other than 8.
Differences between classic baccarat and online baccarat
Although baccarat originated in private gambling halls and established itself on the general public in Italian and French land-based casinos, today all respectable online casinos offer online baccarat . But what is different from its “physical” counterpart?
From the point of view of the rules, nothing changes: as you play classic baccarat, so you play online baccarat. The only difference is that in online baccarat all operations are handled automatically by the software, eliminating all downtime and thus allowing the player to play a much higher number of hands per hour.
There is also live online baccarat , which we can define as a sort of middle ground between classic baccarat and online baccarat: the game is hosted in a virtual room, but the operations are managed by a live dealer.
The best strategy to win at baccarat
It would seem impossible to sketch out a strategy for baccarat, being a game where all the work is done by the dealer, and the actions follow a rigid pattern based on the score. Therefore the only possible field of action for the player is when the bet is placed, and to understand which strategy can be adopted it is essential to know how the different bets are paid .
Before we mentioned the type of bets possible in baccarat, which are 3 (bank, player and tie), and each of these provides a different payout if it is the winning one:
- The player’s win (or point) is paid evenly ( so 1: 1 )
- L ‘ égalité or tie , therefore a tie, is paid 8: 1
- The house win pays 19:20 , so with the house applying a 5% deduction
In light of this difference in payouts, everyone will be able to develop their own baccarat strategy by mixing the bets and amounts on the different types of bets from time to time.
