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Baccarat is a game of chance played at casinos around the world. It is a comparing card game between two hands, the “player” and the “banker”.
Baccarat first appeared in France in the early 19th century. It became popular in England, where it was imortalised in the world-famous James Bond film series.
Players make wagers on the bank or player hand and sit back while the dealer deals cards to both hands. The objective of the game is to win, by getting closer to nine than the opposite hand.
There are three main variants of the game: Punto banco, Chemin de fer and Baccarat banque (or a deux tableaux).
A croupier deals the cards to each hand according to fixed rules. These include the number of cards dealt to each hand, the number of extra cards that may be drawn by both hands and the rule that the first two cards are deemed to be a natural when they total 8 or 9.
Each coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: the player wins, the banker wins or the tie. If neither the player or banker wins, then the Tie bet wins, with a payoff of 8 to 1.
The game is dealt from a dealing shoe which usually contains eight decks. The face value of cards is numbered, and every 10-count card (tens, jacks, queens, and kings) counts as a zero.
Once the first deal is made, the banker puts up a stake and bets against the other players. The banker must win or tie a coup to keep his position as banker. If he loses, the right to be banker passes to the next player in counter-clockwise rotation.
During each coup, each player makes a bet on the player or banker. The amount of each wager is based on the current banker’s total, which is displayed in the center of the table.
When a new player staking an equal amount to the current banker is willing to take the job, that person is designated as the new banker and receives the shoe. The banker then deals a hand of cards to the players and a second hand to themselves.
The banker deals the cards in the order shown in the table, starting with the player to the left of him and working clockwise. The other players then make their bets in turn, placing their bets against the banker and observing bystanders may also make a bet to the banker’s total.
A third card is then dealt to each hand, if necessary. In either case, the third card is dealt face down, and it is the banker’s or player’s choice to draw or stand with their two initial cards.
If the banker or player draws a third card, the second hand is discarded. The banker or player can then re-draw if their original hand is higher than the new hand.
A player who draws a third card has to make another bet, and the bet must be an equal amount to their original bet. If the player stands, the banker or player will not have the chance to draw a third card again.
