Baccarat

Played in a shoe using 6-8 decks of cards, Baccarat can be played with up to 12 or 14 players.

Objective:
To have the pile of cards with the most point value, as determined systematically by the point value of the cards.

How to play:
Each player and the dealer places a bet on either the “banker” pile or the “player” pile in essence betting on who they think will win. Two hands are dealt and the players and dealer bet on whom they think will win this round or if these piles will tie. 2 cards are dealt for the “banker” and two cards are dealt for the “player”. A third card can be dealt if none of the piles have an 8 or 9 as their value and if it adheres to the casino’s carefully outlined policies on when a third card can be received. If one bets on the “player”, he is paid 1:1 but if he bets on the “banker” he is charged a 5% fee (sometimes can be a little less depending on the casino). The reason for this taxation is that there is a statistical advantage to betting on the “player” and this neutralizes the effect.

10’s and face cards have no value. Any card that is less then 10 is determined by its face value and aces are worth 1. If any deck reaches a two digit value, only the second digit of the number is counted i.e., if one deck reaches 15 then it is counted as 5.