Baccarat -

Baccarat often has high starting bids and so is sometimes considered to be a game for the rich.

The object of the game is to have a hand of two or three cards with the value as close to nine as possible. The best hand in Baccarat is a hand that totals nine in the first two cards. Having eight from the first two cards is the second best hand. These are referred to as the "natural hands". If either the player or the bank has a natural hand, the other player may not draw a third card.

The player who does the dealing is refered to as the banker. There are just 2 hands played - the banker's and a designated player's. The other players bet on either the banker's hand or the player's hand or on a tie.

Two cards are dealt to each hand. If the total of the two cards is 10 or more you subtract 10. An ace counts as one and face cards count as 10.

If the result is a tie, those who bed on the the tie win (usually 9 to 1) and the hand is replayed.

There is also a mini-baccarat version which usually has lower minimums and is played at a blackjack style table.

Baccarat Strategies -

The first tip is to avoid betting on a tie as it has a high house percentage (usually between 9 and 14%)

The odds slightly favour betting on the bank so when the bank hand wins, those who bet on it are usually charged a 5% commission. Look out for games that have a lower commission as it reduces the house advantage on those games.

You will often see players at a baccarat table keeping track of the outcome of games to try to spot patterns. However, this really isn't useful as any pattern in results has no bearing on the next game.

You may be better playing the salon version of the game rather than mini-baccarat as the game moves more slowly. However, the minimum are almost always higher.

More Baccarat Strategy

	The Baccarat Battle Book: How to Attack the Game of Baccarat by Frank Scoblete
	Baccarat for the Clueless by John May

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