If you’ve ever been to a sticky-floor California card room or walked through the doors of one of the world’s most exclusive casinos—the ones in Monaco, for instance—you have probably seen the game of baccarat being played. It’s a game that has a long history in Europe and Asia, but in the past twenty years it’s become the casino game of choice among Asian high rollers, and now it’s growing in popularity in the United States. According to Bill Zender, a former Nevada Gaming Control Agent, casino dealer, executive, and consultant who literally wrote the book on managing casino games, baccarat’s growth in the US is due to its relative ease of play, larger payouts, and cultural relevance with Asian players.
In a nutshell, baccarat is a comparing hand game in which players bet on either the player or banker hands to win. The goal is to get a score closest to nine, but cards are worth their face value (except for tens), and aces count as one. The winning hand is the one that totals closest to 9. A tie is also possible if neither the player nor banker hands have a total of eight or nine.
The game is played on a table with nine or more seats, and each seat has a betting box. After a player announces they want to bet on the “player’s hand,” or the “banker’s hand,” the dealer deals two cards to the player and banker. The player and banker then compare the hands to see which is the winner. If either of the hands have a total closer to nine than the other, it wins. If a player’s hand has a total of nine, it is called a “natural,” and there is no further scoring.
A tie is the third possibility in baccarat, and it occurs when the banker’s and the player’s hands have the same total when all the pips are added up. When a tie happens, the banker’s bettors will receive 9:1 odds, while the players will receive 8:1.
Baccarat is a game that has been around for centuries, and it was once popular with European royalty and aristocracy. The rules have changed over the years, and now there is only one dealer, but the game remains a favorite of Asian high rollers, who often prefer it to other games. Baccarat has also inspired variations and additional ways to bet on the game, including side bets and Mini Baccarat. Baccarat is a simple and easy game to learn, but it’s important for players to know the rules before betting any money. It’s also a good idea to keep a record of the winning and losing hands to help players improve their chances in future rounds. In addition, players should know the rules of edge sorting, which is a practice that can give them an advantage over the banker and other players. This method of edge sorting has been banned by some casinos, but others have embraced it to help players maximize their profits.