Baccarat is a game of chance that is often viewed as one of the classiest and most glamorous casino games. It is played on a large table in a special area of the casino, with players placing bets in numbered areas on green felt. Baccarat is usually only played for high stakes, with the game often being conducted in the high-roller rooms of casinos. Baccarat is slow-moving and ritualistic, and the table usually holds large amounts of real cash in $100 bills or European oblong chips.
The goal of the game is to bet on either the Player or Banker hand that will have a total closest to nine. The total is determined by adding up the pips of each card. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their number, while aces and picture or face cards count as zero. The croupier (casino staff who collects and pays bets) announces the results, with winning bets paid out at even money. A tie bet is also available, but intelligent players avoid making this wager as it has a 14.1 percent edge for the house.
Unlike the game of Punto Banco, or Chemin de Fer, where the game is played with a deck of 8 or 9 cards and two hands are dealt, baccarat has three inter-shuffled decks and only one hand is dealt per round. The game is also a little more complicated in that the Player and Banker bets are not against each other, but rather the player bets against the banker.
A croupier deals the cards from a dealing box called a shoe, and the Player and Banker boxes are arranged on the table. Once all bets are placed, the dealer deals one card to the Player box, then another card to the Banker box. If your bet is on the Player or Banker hand, you win the round if your hand has the highest ranked combination of cards.
After the first two cards have been dealt, a third card may be drawn for either hand. The croupier then announces the result of the hand, with the winner being the one that is closer to 9. If the player’s total is eight or more, no more cards are drawn. If the hand is less than eight, then the player must call ’carte’ with a total of 4 or lower or ’non’ with a total of 6 or more.
In addition to the Player and Banker bets, there is a Super Six Bet, which pays out on a hand that has a total of 6. In most cases this bet pays out at 12x the initial bet amount. Finally, a Pair Bet can be made which pays out on a Banker or Player pair of matching cards. The payout for this bet is 11x the original bet amount. These are the main types of bets available in baccarat, though many casinos offer additional bets including a Tie Bet and a Match bet.
