Baccarat
Have you ever wondered what game James Bond is playing as he woos the women in Monte Carlo? Well, what he is playing is Baccarat and it is a favorite amongst high rollers and recreational players all over the world. In Macau, which is the Asian gambling hub of the world, Baccarat takes precedence over all of the other games in the casinos.
Baccarat is a great game to play because it is one of a few table games you can engage in where the house has just a slight edge, around one percent, which means you face less of a statistical deficit right from the get-go. The other great thing about Baccarat is that it is a very simple game to play. There is no worrying about hitting, or standing, no picking from a big grid of numbers to bet on like in roulette, or decisions to make like in poker. In fact, there is not a lot of strategy that goes into Baccarat, which makes it a great “gamblers” game.
Playing Baccarat
The premise of Baccarat is simple. There are two hands dealt, and in the end, the higher hand wins. You can choose to bet on either hand, one being the “Player” hand, and the other being the “Banker” hand. The names are fairly arbitrary, as you can bet on either hand to win. Betting and winning on the banker will usually require you to pay a commission of some kind, as there is a slight edge to the house when betting on the player, but a smaller one when betting on the banker. You usually will pay your commission at the end of the game session. No matter how many folks are playing, there is still only one “Player” hand and one “Banker” hand. What you are betting on is who will have the higher total once the dealing is done. You may also bet that it will be a draw, however the house edge on a draw bet is a tremendous fourteen percent. At first, two cards will be dealt, and under certain circumstances, a third card may be dealt as well. Unless you are a serious Baccarat player, I wouldn’t invest the time in learning what rules call for a third card, as it doesn’t matter after the bet has been placed.
Baccarat Scoring
In Baccarat, Aces count as one point, face cards are zero points, and the numbered cards are worth their face value in points. One tricky thing to remember when playing Baccarat is that only the last digit of the point total is used for scoring. For example, if the hand is dealt a ten and a six, the hand has six, not sixteen.
If you play a lot of Baccarat in a live casino setting, one thing you will see is that folks are constantly making notes. What they are doing is writing down what hands are winning, whether it be Player or Bank, and trying to spot patterns and trends. This is not recommended because unfortunately an inanimate deck of cards has no memory. Much like flipping a coin, the odds are always the same.
Baccarat can be a great game to choose to play when trying to clear an online casino bonus because of its low volatility. Give Baccarat a try if you are looking for a great game that you can play for a long time without taking on a ton of risk.
