How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is a fun-filled gambling game that is more often than not mistaken as craps. The game, which is commonly referred to as the high-class gamble, stands out among other gambling forms because of its high rollers. Moreover, it is only available in elegant and top-of-the-line gambling arenas, making it indeed a game for the higher class. It is perhaps because of this reason that many beginners and casino newbies develop this aversion towards learning and understanding the game. Nonetheless, at the dawn of the modern decade, baccarat has become a game for all casinos. Today, baccarat or Punto Banco is well-received in terms of its unique gameplay and interesting feats. And since the game can cater to 12 to 14 gamblers in one sitting, it is not surprising how it became the game for the masses and not only for the higher class.

Humble Beginnings: The History of Baccarat
Baccarat is a French word that means zero. Thus, many people claim that it originated from the French. Nevertheless, other nationalities and countries also put claims and asserted themselves as the real developers of the game. All thanks to an in-depth study on the roots of the famous diversion, the real mind behind the game was discovered. According to this comprehensive study, it was a Felix Falguierein who developed this game using his tarot cards. Falguierein was an Italian gambler, who devised a way to generate a more exciting card game. However, since he was using tarot cards and not gambling cards back then, many people believed that he was actually practicing his fortune-telling skills. It was only after a few years when some of his friends noticed the potential of his game, by which Punto Banco was officially incorporated into the casino. Recounts even claimed that early royalties and noblemen were the most common players of this game that it officially became the pastime of the rich and the moneyed.

Baccarat Contraptions and Setting
The game baccarat requires at least three dealers for the game to ensue. Each dealer has its own special participation in the proceedings of the game. One will be assigned to act as the croupier and stand at the middle area of the gambling table. It is important that he stays at the middle since there are about 12 to 14 players in every round. They are distributed evenly throughout the gambling table area. The other two dealers are to stay at the back of the chip rack. They are the ones assigned to pay the winning players of every round. On the other hand, the croupier will be the main leader. He is in-charge of the flow of the game as well as the verification of the results and the winning players.

Gaming Mechanics – Playing Baccarat
Due to the large number of players for every round of the game, it is necessary that a baccarat table is equipped with eight card decks. At the beginning of the game, the two dealers standing behind the chip rack are to shuffle all the cards. When cued that the shuffling is done, the croupier will take away two decks. He is to lace these decks with the other stack of cards prior to laying all of them down in a covered “shoe” fashion. The first player on the right of the croupier will take the role of being the banker. The croupier will take away four cards from the deck and give two of the cards to teh banker, while the other two stays in his hands. After which, all of the players including the banker himself is to guess whose hands has the total value that is closest to nine. If the banker has the closer value, the players who wagered for his hand will win the said round if not then the players who wagered for the croupier’s hand will win.

Value System

 Face cards and the ten cards are considered to have a zero value
Aces have a special role. They are taken as one if the hand will be equal to nine. On the other hand, if the value goes over nine when it is added say for example it will become 12, the value of the hand will depend on the second figure. Thus, in this case, the hand has a value of 2 only.