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Other 110: How To Play Baccarat |
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The wonderful thing about baccarat is that it's much easier to play than it appears. The only decision the player needs to make is what wager to place. All the other action is handled by the dealer and governed by the strict rules of the game. |
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Most of the time what you will see is mini baccarat. You'll only see traditional baccarat in very high stakes games. In these games players get to actually handle the card themselves. Other than that the two games are played about the same. |
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In baccarat there's not even much of a strategy to worry about. There's really not much you can do to increase your chance of winning. Not even card counting will help you here so don't waste your time. |
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The object of baccarat is to draw a two or three card hand totaling 9 or as close to 9 as possible. Face cards and 10s have a value of 0, Aces have a value of 1, and all other cards are face value. If the combined total is more than 10 the 10 is dropped, so 6-8 is 4 instead of 14. There is no bust in baccarat. |
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Game play begins with the Bank and Player being dealt two cards each. If either the Bank or the Player has a total of 8 or 9, both hands automatically stand with no exceptions. If the Player has a total of 6 or 7, the player stands. If the Player has a total of 5 or less, the Player automatically draws a third card. If the Player stands the Bank draws a third card for totals of 5 or less. The Bank always stands on 7. For other combinations the action depends on the Players action and the value of the third card drawn if the Player drew. The Bank will always draw on a total of 0, 1, or 2. For a total of 3, the Bank will draw unless the Player drew and the value of the card was an 8. For a total of 4, the Bank will draw unless the player drew and the value of the card was an 8, 9, or 1. For a total of 5, the Bank will draw unless the player drew and the value of the card was a 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, or 0. For a total of 6, the Bank will stand unless the Player drew and the value of the card was a 6 or 7. |
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There are three betting choices, Player, Bank, and Tie. You either bet that the Player hand will win, the Bank hand will win, or that the hands will Tie. The house edge on the Player bet is 1.24%. The Bank hand's house edge depends on the House cut. The House cut is a percentage of the winning bet paid back to the House when a bet is won on the Bank. If the cut is 4%, the House edge is a tiny 0.6%. If the cut is the more common 5% the House edge is 1.06%. The Tie bet gives the House an edge from ranging 5% to over 14% edge depending on the payout. Never bet the Tie. Its odds are significantly worse than the Player and Bank. The Player and Bank bets have about the same odds unless you can track down the 4% cut. And that's about all there is to know about how to play baccarat. |
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