Phase 2 - Baccarat Explained!

Two sets of cards are dealt out of the shoe, regardless of the number of players. One set consisting of two cards, is for the player position; the other set of two is the banker’s hand. Any hand with original cards totaling 9 is known as a natural. A hand of 8 is also considered a natural. A natural hand is an automatic winner unless there is a tie. According to the strict set of game rules, if additional cards are required, the player hand always draws first.

A tie can be expected in one out of ten hands. The bet, however, is only paid out at a 8 to 1, resulting in a 14.4 percent return for the house and a poor bet for the player.

If neither hand is a natural (8 or 9), each hand is required to receive an additional card. It is important to remember that the banker hand is completely dependent on the player hand total when it comes to taking additional cards. This is the one small advantage the banker hand has over the player hand. The banker doesn’t have to guess, the percent is in the banker favor. If he takes an additional card on his own the odds would be against him. Because it is the caller-dealer’s job to enforce the draw rules, you, as a player, really have no need to know all the rules because you cannot play a different way than what has already been established.

The rules make the game interesting. For example, if the player receives an ace and a 2(for a total of 3), the player must draw according to the set rules. Now suppose the player draws an ace, making the total hand equal 4. And say the banker gets a 5 and queen, for a total of 5. Even though the banker has the winning hand if he is allowed to stand pat, he must abide by the rules and draw another card. What if the card drawn is an 8? The banker hand is now 5-queen-8, for a total of 3, which loses to the player hand of 4. This makes for an interesting situation, particularly if a large bet is involved.

In the European version of the game, the player and banker make their own decisions about whether to draw or stand on individual hands.
 

The Game Objective

The real objective of baccarat is to correctly guess which of the three possible outcomes will come up on the next round. If you bet the player, the house edge is 1.36 percent; if you bet the banker, the house advantage is only 1.17 percent; and if you bet a tie, the house advantage is 14.4 percent. If the player and dealer hands end in a tie, and if you did not bet a tie, it’s considered a push (with no win or loss), and no chips change hands. There are only three actions that can be played in baccarat:
1. Bet the player
2. Bet the banker
3. Bet a tie

With only these three choices and the dealer making all the required plays, it is important for you to concentrate on how much to wager on each round. That’s really all there is to this game.

In the European version of baccarat, the banker hand is given a slight edge over the player hand.