Baccarat: A Card Game That’s Easy to Learn, Exciting to Play
Despite its mystique and association with the high-roller scene, baccarat is an extremely simple and entertaining casino game. It’s a game of chance and the first step to playing it well is understanding the rules, strategies, and betting system.
The rules for baccarat vary slightly depending on the variant you’re playing, but the basic gameplay is similar across all forms of the game. The dealer sets an initial bet amount, and players move around the table in counterclockwise order, announcing if they want to “go bank” and compete against the banker’s bet amount. If a player announces they’re going bank, the dealer will deal two cards to the player and two to the banker. The hand that totals closest to nine wins, with the exception of a tie.
After the dealers finish dealing, they will tally up each hand and declare a winner. If the Banker’s hand is closest to 9 (without going over), it wins, if the Player’s hand is closer to 9, it wins, or if there’s a tie, your bet on either the Player or Banker will be paid out at odds of 8:1 depending on the variation you’re playing and online casino you’re using.
A 5% commission on winning Banker bets is collected by the dealer and recorded in the banker’s box. While some players claim they can beat baccarat in the long term, no one has ever proven to be able to do so.