About Baccarat

If you enjoy playing poker you should also try Baccarat. Baccarat is a simple casino game with only three possible outcomes of banker, player and tie. These are the names of the options on which the players can bet. The name is unusual in that the game is named after the worst hand, worth 0. Legend goes that the game has been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of Charles VIII of France.

There are three accepted variants of the game in the casino world: baccarat banque (à deux tableaux), baccarat chemin de fer (railway), and punto banco (North American baccarat). In the punto banco variation the casino banks the game at all times. Players may bet on either the player or the banker, which are merely designations for the two hands dealt in each game. Punto banco is strictly a game of chance, with no strategy or skill involved as the player's moves are forced by the cards he/she is dealt. The first two cards are dealt face down. Both cards in each hand are then turned over and added together and the croupier calls the total. From this on the table of play is used to determine if further cards need to be drawn. The hand with the highest total wins. When the total value of cards in a hand equals or exceeds 10, the tens digit is dropped. This way hand consisting of 4 and 6 is worth zero, or Baccarat.

High rollers may wager tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single game of baccarat, so in casinos in Las Vegas the punto banco is usually played in special rooms separated from the main gaming floor to provide extra security because of the high stakes involved.

Due to the simplicity of the game and the relatively high chance to win, baccarat is popular in online casinos as well.