How to Play Baccarat
by Despite its reputation as an upper-crust game favored by high rollers, baccarat is actually quite easy to play. It may be a game of chance, but the house edge is low and a winning hand can pay back your original bet. Plus, you can always try your luck again with another round.
The game’s roots are unclear, but it is believed to have spun off from pai gow, an ancient Chinese tile game. Some historians think it was introduced to Europe by Marco Polo when he returned to Italy in the 13th century, while others believe it originated in China and spread to Europe after that. Baccarat is now the world’s biggest card game, and is enjoyed in casinos around the globe, with Macau casinos pulling in more money than those in Las Vegas.
Baccarat is played on a table with seven to 14 seats for players and a dealer’s area. Each player places a bet on either the “Player” or the “Banker” hand. Two cards are dealt to each player and the hand that totals closest to nine wins. If the player or banker has a pair of cards, the player bets on that hand; if not, the banker bets on it. If the player has a pair of 8s or 9s, he or she wins a ‘Super Six Bet,’ which pays 12x the initial bet amount.
Players can also place bets on individual players, a tie, or a pair of cards. The rules vary slightly depending on the type of baccarat being played, but in general a nine is the highest value hand; eights count as zero points; tens and picture cards count as one point; and aces count as one point.
There are a number of betting systems for baccarat, including the Martingale strategy, which involves doubling your bet after each loss with the hope that your eventual win will cover all previous losses and provide a profit equal to the original bet size. This strategy is most effective for players who have a substantial bankroll and the discipline to stick to it.
Casinos that offer baccarat typically have scoreboards that display the results of recent hands, and some even post prediction screens such as the “Little Road” and Big Road. These advise customers if the patterns of winning and losing hands are likely to repeat or continue.
In addition, some casinos use pre-shuffled decks of cards, which cut down on the time required to inspect each new set of eight cards and allow them to be inserted into the game more quickly. This is a significant improvement over the standard procedure of having each deck of cards inspected for backs and faces, scrambled or washed together, then re-shuffled before inserting them into a shuffling machine. The practice also allows for more speedy replacement of a deck of cards. This has been especially important in the case of baccarat, where the introduction of fresh cards into the game can take up to 20 minutes.