GamingTips

Baccarat Chemin de Fer is a European form of the game in which the players actually act as “banker” or “punters.”  The dealer will shuffle the cards and pass the deck in turn to each player, who has the right to shuffle.  The dealer then performs the final shuffle, offers the player to his left the cut, and hands a stack of cards (the game is played with six decks) to the first player in the rotation.  This player will now be the “banker.”

The banker deals the hands, as well as banks the hand.  He puts an ammount of money forward as the “bank” for the hand.  The other players (going in order) then have the opportunity to “go the bank” and bet the full ammount the banker has put up.  If no one “goes the bank” each player has the opportunity to bet against the banker in any ammount up to the bank.  If the total of the players bets is more than the total offered by the bank, the bets are honored in the order they were placed.  If the total is less, spectators may join in.

Once the bets have been matched up, the cards are dealt alternating between the “punters” and the “banker” (2 each).  The punter with the highest bet acts on behalf of the punters.  If either party has an 8 or 9, they will show it, and the side with the higher total wins.  If not, play continues.  The punters are offered a third card.  It is considered poor form for the punter to accept a third card if the total is 6, 7, 8, or 9, or to refuse it on a 0,1,2,3, or 4.  Basically, any hesitation should tell the banker that the punters started with a 5.  The banker is then allowed to choose whether or not to deal him/herself a third card.

If the bank wins, all of the “punter” bets are added to the bank and the same banker deals another hand.

If the punters win, the bets are paid and the next player becomes the banker, and play continues.

Ties push, but all bets remain in action for the next hand.

The catch for the dealer is that s/he cannot remove the bank.  Any bank wins continue to grow the “bank” until the punters win and the “bank” is divied up.

Like all old card games, there is much uncertainty about the true history of baccarat.  Since the word has both Italian and French origins, both can lay claim to originating the game.  One legend about its history is that it is based on a religious ritual in which a woman would pray to nine gods and roll a nine-sided die to determine her future.  If she rolled an 8 or a 9 (natural), she would become a priestess.  If she rolled a 6 of 7, she would be excluded from religious activity, and if she rolled less than a 6, she would walk into the sea.

Interesting, huh?  Well, long story short, the French version of Baccarat, “Chemin de fer” became popular among French nobility before being spread to England, and later South America (with, of course, some evolution in the rules).  It wasn’t until the Communist government in Cuba closed the Havana casinos in the 1950s that the game came state-side, at the Dunes casino.

So, with Chinese New Year approaching rapidly, I figured I’d continue with the baccarat theme (since baccarat is very popular with the high end Asian market).

First, baccarat is played with 8 decks of cards.

Second, let’s discuss the differences between baccarat and mini-baccarat.

The main difference, obviously, is the size of the table.  Full-sized baccarat tables are enormous, and usually seat 14 players, with three staff members.  Mini-baccarat tables have one dealer, and are much smaller, seating 7 players.  Second, in mini-bac the dealer will deal both hands.  In baccarat, the players take turns as the “bank” dealing the cards.  Each playerhas their turn to deal and will continue to deal as long as the “bank” keeps winning, and then pass them on.

The final difference is the betting limits.  Baccarat is usually played in a roped off (or separate room) high limit area and has very high limits.  Mini-bac is found on the main casino floor, and will usually have limits more in line with low limit blackjack tables.

So really, baccarat strategy is fairly simple.  Basically, bet on the bank all the time.  Not that the odds are that great, even when betting on the banker, but… they are better than the other odds.

Interestingly enough, baccarat players tend to be very superstitious.  You will see them  tracking the scores religiously (either on lit up boards above the table or on their own score cards).  Remember, luck is blind.  The chances of you drawing a natural are no better if the banker won  the last hand, or the last 10, or the last 12.  They are what they are.  And they are such that the banker has a slightly lower house edge than any other bet on the table.

Baccarat is one of the most popular games with foreign and high limit bettors in Las Vegas.  In fact, it is the game of choice of the “whales,” and is usually played in a separate, high limit area.  At some casinos, Mini Bac tables can be found on the main floor.  These have the same rules as baccarat, but generally have lower limits.

Baccarat is both one of the simplest and the most complicated games.  It is simple in that the bettor’s only role is to place one of three bets.  They can bet on the “bank,” the “player,” or a tie.   It is complicated in that the progress of the game can be difficult to follow, because the rules are complex.

The object of the game is to bet on the set of cards (player or bank) which winds up closest to nine.  Face cards do not count, and if you go over ten, you drop the first digit (an 8 and a 5 is a 3, not a 13).  These bets pay even money, except that when you bet on the bank, there is a 5% commission taken from your winnings.  The tie bet usually pays 8:1.

Each pile is dealt two cards.  If either the banker or the dealer has an 8 or a 9, it is a natural and no more cards are dealt.

If neither player or bank has a natural, the dealer decides whether the “player” receives a third card or not.  The player draws on a 5 or lower, and stands on a 6 or higher.  Only one additional card may be drawn.

After the player has drawn a third card (or not) the “bank” may or may not draw one additional card.  This is where the rules get slightly complicated.

If the player does not draw a third card, the bank follows the same rules as the player (stand on 6 or higher, draw on 5 or lower).

If the player does draw a third card, the bank follows the following rules.

If the bank has 2 or less, the bank always draws.

If the bank has  3, the bank draws unless the player’s third card (not total) was an 8.

If the bank has 4, the bank draws unless the player’s third card was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.

If the bank has 5, the bank draws if the player’s third card was a 4, 5, 6, or 7.

If the bank has 6, the bank draws if the player’s third card was a 6 or 7.

If the bank has 7, the bank stands.

The house edge on these bets are: bank 1.17% player 1.36% tie 14.12%.

So go out and have fun on baccarat, don’t worry about memorizing all of this.  You really don’t need to know it to be able to play the game.  And there are usually cards available that explain the rules.