Baccarat 101 - The Basics

[CRStals]

CardsChat Casino Learning Series - Baccarat 101: The Basics

baccarat is known as one of the least imtimidating games at the casino for the relatively simple rules and lack of player's interaction with the hand. While the game is simple to bet, and appears simple to play, the full rules of baccarat are not quite as clear cut as one thinks. So before you decide to bet on the banker next time you're in the casino, let's break this game down!

Click the Subscribe button at the top of this thread so you'll know when new links/lessons are added! Let's dive in...

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🧮 Baccarat Game Play: Step-by-Step

Baccarat starts by allowing gamblers to place a bet on one of three options:

• Player - Betting that the player's hand will beat that of the banker
• Banker - Betting that the banker's hand will beat that of the player
• Tie - Betting that both hands will finish with the same value

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♠️ Let's break down how a hand works:

• Place your bets! Each gambler places their bet on one of the three options before the hand starts.
• Deal the cards. The dealer will deal the player & banker spot two cards, face up and the hand values calculated as follows:
  Numbered cards (Two to Nine) are worth their face value
  Tens and face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings) are worth ZERO
  Aces are worth One
• If the Player's hand has a value between Zero and Five, the dealer will deal a third card to the player's hand
• The delaer will draw a third card for the Banker's hand using more complicated rules. Below are the situations based on the banker's hand having a value of:
  Zero to Two - Banker ALWAYS gets a third card
  Three - Banker draws if the Player's third card is anything BUT an Eight
  Four - Banker draws if the Player's third card falls between Two and Seven
  Five - Banker draws if the Player's third card falls beteween Four and Seven
  Six - Banker draws if the Player's third card is either a Six or Seven
  Seven to Nine - Banker stands
• If a hand equals Ten or more, the first digit is dropped, so Twelve is scored as a Two
• The hand closest to Nine wins.

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🥇Player or Banker - Odds For Each
The betting odds for Baccarat are relatively straight forward:

• Player Bets are paid out at 1:1 with odds of winning at roughly 44.6%. The House Edge is 1.24%
• Banker Bets are paid out at 1:1 BUT with a 5% commission and odds of winning at roughly 45.9%. The House Edge is just over 1%, On a $10 bet, players would get back $9.50
• Ties are paid out at 8 to 9 to 1, with odds of winning at 9.5%. The House Edge is 14.4% with 8 to 1 payouts, and 4.85% when odds of 9 to 1 are given

What Does This Mean?

• Ignoring ties, players would be better than 50:50 to bet on the Banker, which is why the house charges that commission
• Even with the commission, gamblers have a better advantage betting on the Banker because of the rules on them when it comes to drawing a third card
• Ties pay well but have a massive house edge and will be a big loser for gamblers to hit this long term

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♥️ Betting Strategies
There are several strategies for betting Baccarat that players have employed to reduce that house edge even more. Some require extreme discipline betting; others just require you to have a bigger bankroll!

• Paroli - Gamblers double their bet with every win, and keep the bet with every loss. After 3 wins, they return to the original bet size and start over. Idea being - capitalize on winning streaks and reduce the impact when you lose
• Fibonacci - Like the famous sequence, gamblers increase their bet every round according to the sequence where the next number is the sum of the previous two. Once you get to a predetermined bet, you start over.
• Martingale - We talked about this in the Roulette thread. Unlike the Paroli, you double your bet with every loss so that you recover your losses with one win. The downside - you potentially need a big bankroll to stomach a losing streak.

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🧑‍⚖️Summary
Baccarat is one of the easiest games at the casino for a beginner gambler to get into the game and play with its simplistic betting nature and rules, but some casinos only have this game in the high roller area so that the small house edge results in more money for the casino. Regardless, feel prepared to sit down and enjoy this casino classic on your next outing to your favorite gambling establisment!

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Got Questions? Let's Talk!
I hope you found this first dive into Baccarat basics helpful! Let's talk strategy or even just expand on the basics! Drop your questions, thoughts, or baccarat stories below? Questions about strategy? Let's hear them!

 

[najisami]

The least intimidating game you said? .
Honestly, before CC and casino.us merger, Baccarat was the most intimidating casino game for me. I've always seen its tables in casinos, especially in HR sections and just quickly looked the other way, always postponing a learning session.
After the merger, I created a thread asking for info about what I called a "mysterious" game to me. Thanks to many members, I finally learned the basics and even practiced on casino.us.
Now, you come up with this lesson and made it even more interesting. You actually clarified what didn't make any sense to me when I was practicing: I had no idea when the banker should hit/ stand or why.
Thanks a lot Chris.

 

[CRStals]

The least intimidating game you said? .
Honestly, before CC and casino.us merger, Baccarat was the most intimidating casino game for me. I've always seen its tables in casinos, especially in HR sections and just quickly looked the other way, always postponing a learning session.
After the merger, I created a thread asking for info about what I called a "mysterious" game to me. Thanks to many members, I finally learned the basics and even practiced on casino.us.
Now, you come up with this lesson and made it even more interesting. You actually clarified what didn't make any sense to me when I was practicing: I had no idea when the banker should hit/ stand or why.
Thanks a lot Chris.

Baccarat had the perception of an intimidating game Sami because it's generally comsidered a high roller game - but when you break it down and realize what's happening, it really is simple to play. The gambler does nothing but bet - no decisions need to be made, and it's not complicated from an outcome perspective other than that silly 5% fee you pay when you win betting on the banker.

Glad it's simplified and cleared up some confusion for you though!!!

 

[TeUnit]

Seems scary at first but you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

 

[Goggelheimer]

• If the Player's hand has a value between Zero and Five, the dealer will deal a third card to the player's hand
• The delaer will draw a third card for the Banker's hand using more complicated rules. Below are the situations based on the banker's hand having a value of:

Thanks for this great explanation of this game.

A nice little catch, is it the dealer or the delayer?

 

[Tero]

I have to agree with Sami here. I wouldn't call this the least intimidating.

Since we are merely in 101 basics, I think this:

Place your bets! Each gambler places their bet on one of the three options before the hand starts.

should have included some visual representation of what those three options are

Banker's rules feel far more complicated...

Three - Banker draws if the Player's third card is anything BUT an Eight
Four - Banker draws if the Player's third card falls between Two and Seven
Five - Banker draws if the Player's third card falls beteween Four and Seven
Six - Banker draws if the Player's third card is either a Six or Seven

Banker draws if it's a Saturday, but stands if the date is even, unless it's before 8 PM and a player is wearing something blue

But here's an actual observation:

Six - Banker draws if the Player's third card is either a Six or Seven
Seven to Nine - Banker stands

What's happening here? The seven overlaps in both situations Or is it so that in the first option third card is six or seven, but in the latter option the three card sum is 7 to 9? But if player has facecard+facecard+7 they still overlap ???

Why people might find this less intimidating? Hmmm... Maybe it's psychological The warm feelings towards nostalgia spills on to the game

 

[CRStals]

I have to agree with Sami here. I wouldn't call this the least intimidating.

Since we are merely in 101 basics, I think this:

should have included some visual representation of what those three options are

Banker's rules feel far more complicated...

Banker draws if it's a Saturday, but stands if the date is even, unless it's before 8 PM and a player is wearing something blue

But here's an actual observation:

What's happening here? The seven overlaps in both situations Or is it so that in the first option third card is six or seven, but in the latter option the three card sum is 7 to 9? But if player has facecard+facecard+7 they still overlap ???

Why people might find this less intimidating? Hmmm... Maybe it's psychological The warm feelings towards nostalgia spills on to the game

The imtimidating comment was purely around the fact that it feels like most casinos don't offer baccarat to all players; only high rollers. The game itself in its basic form is pretty straight forward - the rules around when a third card can be drawn are a bit weird I'll admit but the player doesn't need to know that - only the person dealing the cards do.

The comment around the third card here -->
Six - Banker draws if the Player's third card is either a Six or Seven
Seven to Nine - Banker stands

This refers to the banker's hand - when they have a value of six after the first two cards dealt, they can only draw a third if the player draws a third card and it's a six or seven - any other situation and the banker stands on two cards with a total of six.

If the banker has a value of seven to nine, they stand regardless of what the player did.

The banker's actions are tied to the player drawing a third card - I believe that if the player does NOT draw a third card, neither does the banker.

 

[Sunz of Beaches]

Thanks a lot Chris for providing us with the basics of the game of baccarat. I can't wait to dive into it now that im more knowledgeable.

 

[jaymfc]

The least intimidating game you said? .
Honestly, before CC and casino.us merger, Baccarat was the most intimidating casino game for me. I've always seen its tables in casinos, especially in HR sections and just quickly looked the other way, always postponing a learning session.
After the merger, I created a thread asking for info about what I called a "mysterious" game to me. Thanks to many members, I finally learned the basics and even practiced on casino.us.
Now, you come up with this lesson and made it even more interesting. You actually clarified what didn't make any sense to me when I was practicing: I had no idea when the banker should hit/ stand or why.
Thanks a lot Chris.

That's exactly how I felt, having been to hundreds of casinos in many parts of the world, I have never attempted to play baccarat, thinking it was too difficult and for the high rollers. When having bad luck in blackjack, I often roam the casino playing anything and everything as a change, but never dreamed of playing baccarat. Now I plan to read CRStals post so I can learn a little, but I'm not sure if my casino offers it.

 

[Igor G]

On the contrary, I think this game is much more complicated than poker. It only seems simple at first glance, but when you start to delve into it, you realise that it's quite complicated.