Baccarat History:
Baccarat’s exact origin is like many other games still unclear. Most people believe that Baccarat was originated in Italy although there are some who would argue that it was in France. The game of Baccarat dates back to the middle ages and there are reasons to believe it derived from Tarrochi which was a game played with a deck of Tarot cards. Others believe that the Baccarat sourced from an ancient Etruscan ritual, where a virgin threw a nine sided die to decide her fate.

The game of Baccarat spread to France in the late 15th Century where its name was changed to “Baccarat en Banque” and then to “Chemin de Fer”. This later version of the game was played by and became popular among the aristocracy in France. Popularity increased even more once the game reached England and the English version of the game became known as “European Baccarat”.

Overview:
Baccarat is a game based entirely on chance. The game is considered to be glamorous and is frequently played by the elite of society. However, underneath Baccarat is one of the easiest casino games to play once the rules are known. In a matter of fact, the rules are not necessary to play but can contribute to getting into the spirit of the game.

Game Rules:
Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards which are shuffled by the dealer (“croupier”) who then reshuffles the cards and put them in a box called the “shoe”. The banker is the player with the “shoe” who can place the bet either with the bank or the other players. Any of the players have a chance to be the dealer.

The wager is put on either the Player’s or the Banker’s hand will have a total value closest to 9. Each hand receives at least two cards but no more than three. The first and third cards dealt from the shoe go to the Player and the second and fourth cards to the Banker.

The hand with the biggest point total closest to 9 wins.

Card Values:
Face cards and ten count as 0
Aces count as 1
All other cards count as face value

The hand value is the addition of the card’s values. If the total is over 10, then the first digit is omitted. Hence, a total cards value of 14 will worth 4.
A “Natural” is when the value of the first two cards drawn for either hand is 8 or 9 and no further cards will be drawn.

Payouts:
Winning bets are paid evenly (1:1)
Winning “Banker” bet pays 5% commission from winning
“Tie” bet wins are paid 8 to 1
*When tie occurs, all bets on “Player” and “Banker” are neither paid nor taken

The Player’s hand is played according to the following rules:
When the first two cards are equal – if the cards are 6, 7, 8, or 9 player stands and for anything else, the player draws one card. The player hand can only receive one additional card and it must stand after the third card regardless of the value.

The Banker’s hand is played according to the following rules:
The Banker hand is more complicated and it is determined by the Player hand’s 3rd card. If the player has a 6 or higher value and the banker’s first two cards total less than 5, then the banker draws.
If the player drew a 3rd card then whether the banker will always draw if first two cards equal to 2 or less. If the value is 7, 8, or 9 then the banker always stands.
Otherwise, if the value is 3, 4, 5, or 6 the banker draws according to this table.
3 -> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10
4 -> 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
5 -> 4, 5, 6, 7
6 -> 6, 7