Baccarat. A game many have heard of. But not necessarily the most obvious go-to in a typical casino. Loads of players instead gravitate to the slot machines. Or the roulette wheels. Or the blackjack tables. Those are all lots of fun. But if you want a game of luck and purity. A game with good odds and no needless complexity. Then baccarat’s the one.
Let’s see how to play baccarat.
An Intro to Baccarat
First let’s take a moment to introduce this glorious game, as it’s got a rich history to it that’s well worth learning about.
So, baccarat (which can also be called baccara in some regions) is a card game. Some say it goes back many centuries, as far back as the 1400s, even. Others say it’s a bit more recent than that (around the 1800s), and experts believe it stems from similar sorts of games that were first played in Asian nations like Japan and Korea, ages ago.
Either way, it got popular in Europe a long way back, especially in places like fancy gentleman’s clubs in England and noblemen’s courts in France. These days, it’s massively enjoyed worldwide, thanks to the advent of online casinos. You can play it any time, anywhere, and it’s an influential force in the growing global card game market.
How to Play Baccarat?
There are a bunch of baccarat variants. Like punto banco, mini baccarat, midi baccarat, and so on.
They follow the same basic concepts, but vary a bit in rules, like how the different sorts of poker and roulette can vary too. So, when it comes to how to play baccarat, it actually depends on which version you want to play.
Knowing how to play mini baccarat is a bit different from learning the fundamentals of baccarat banque. But, here’s the general gist of the game to get you familiar with the basics:
- There are two hands. One’s the banker hand, the other is the player hand. You can bet on either hand to win, but you place your bets before any cards get dealt.
- When the bets are in, the dealer deals two cards in each hand. The cards are dealt face up, so you can see each one right away.
- You add up the values of both hands (tens and faces are worth nothing, aces are worth one). If the value goes over 10, the last digit in the value is used (so, if the total value is 17, the hand is worth 7). The winning hand is whichever is closest to 9.
- If either hand lands on either an 8 or 9 with its two cards, that’s called a “natural win” and the hand is over, so all bets get cashed out. But if not, the player adds a third bonus card to their hand if its value is 0-5. The banker may then draw a third card too, but it depends on the value of the two hands (if their hand is low value, they’ll usually draw a card).
Here’s how we decide if the banker draws a third card:
- Player draws 9, 10, face, or ace, banker’s hand is 0-3 in value, they draw.
- Player draws an 8, banker’s hand is 0-2 in value, they draw.
- Player draws a 6 or 7, banker’s hand is 0-6 in value, they draw.
- Player draws a 4 or 5, banker’s hand is 0-5 in value, they draw.
- Player draws a 2 or 3, banker’s hand is 0-4 in value, they draw.
Once all the cards are out, you add the values, see which is closest to nine, and cash out the bets. If it’s a tie, nobody wins and bets are returned.
Baccarat: How to Play Like a Professional?
Baccarat is a game of luck in lots of ways, but there is a bit of strategy to it.
These tips should help you win a bit more than you lose:
- Try the Martingale strategy, which is where you double your bet after each hand you lose. That way, you should eventually win and get a net profit overall. But note this is risky, as you might get really unlucky and lose a lot in a row.
- Bet the banker hand most (or all) the time. It’s got a slightly statistically better odd of winning. This is down to how the player is the one that draws first.
- Rather than just sticking with one variation, mix your bets. It gives yourself more different ways of winning. Try spreading multiple chips around different bet types on a single hand, too, so you’ve got more chance of winning at least something off it.
- Don’t chase losses and take time out now and then – you can always play some other games for a while, like 1Win Aviator, and go back to baccarat later.
- Watch guides like how to play baccarat video guides online and spectate expert players in action to see how they do things and the bets they tend to make. Then try and copy their moves.
