Baccarat

If you are a true connoisseur when it comes to casino games, it is highly likely that you will appreciate the classic table game of baccarat. This is the game for you who do not want to learn the tricky rules of, for example, craps. Even if you do not want to appear as a hipster in the casino world, baccarat is a game that can be very rewarding. It is namely an entertaining table game where the advantage of the house is relatively small.

About baccarat

Baccarat is a game that over the years has managed to consolidate its position as one of the most popular casino games worldwide. This has not changed with the digitalisation of the casino world that took place through the online casino revolution. Due to its straightforwardness and non-complex nature, the game is popular with both high rollers and the general public. It is easy to learn to play this table game and it has gained something of a cult status among many players.

Real enthusiasts rarely want to play games other than baccarat. If you like figuring out advanced strategies, this is probably not the game for you - then you should rather consider getting acquainted with blackjack and the rules of that game. If you would rather just enjoy the entertainment that a nice table game can offer, you will probably find what you are looking for in baccarat.

How to play this game

The game begins with the croupier dealt the cards face up. The player and the banker must have two cards each, and the one whose hand has a value closest to nine wins. If you have bet your money on the player's hand and this is close to nine, you will simply win twice as much money as you bet. Should you instead bet on the bank and he wins, your winnings amount to 95% of the bet.

If the cards dealt have a value exceeding nine, both cards can be added and one or two, i.e. the first digit of the two-digit value, can then be ignored. This means that if you get a hand with a nine and a seven, and these together have the value 16, the first digit can be removed, which gives the hand the value six.

In addition to these relatively simple rules, there are some other things to keep in mind when playing baccarat:

If neither the player's nor the bank's allotted cards total eight or nine, both parties stay.

If the player's total value is five or less, the player will be dealt another card. Otherwise, the player will stay at the current value.

If the player stays, the bank continues to be dealt cards with a value of five or less.

Another possible outcome in the game is a draw and this is worth eight times the bet.

Different variants of baccarat

Baccarat is sometimes also called punto banco, but the fact is that it is in fact two different variants of one and the same game. The main difference between these is the table size and the speed at which the game is played. In addition to baccarat and punto banco, there are a number of other variations of this game. Some variants of baccarat are for obvious reasons more popular than others.