Baccarat is usually played with either 6 or 8 packs of cards and the name of the game is derived from the Italian word ‘baccara’, which means ‘zero’, which refers to the zero value given to all of the face cards and tens – Cards ace to nine retain their value, but tens and picture cards have no value.

If two cards have a combined value of more than 10, then 10 must be subtracted leaving the remaining total as the card value eg: a hand of 8 and 7 does not equal 15, but 5. The cards are placed in a box called the shoe which is in the charge of the dealer, but each player has to bet the Bank when holding the shoe, although it may be declined and passed along to the next player.

The game of Baccarat is so simple because all the player has to do is decide what type and amount to bet. Winning bets on the player are paid 1:1, winning bets on the banker pay 1:1 less a 5% commission and winning bets on a tie usually pay 8:1.

Once the cards have been dealt, the dealer takes over and announces the winner. There are three variants of the game: Punto Banco, Baccarat Chemin de Fer and Baccarat banque. Punto Banco – the cards are dealt, to the Player and then to the Banker. Each gets two cards, the value of which are added together, and the Croupier calls the total. The table of play is then used to decide on whether more cards need to be drawn. However, if the Banker and Player have the same hand total at the end of the deal, the croupier states ‘tie bets win’.

Baccarat Chemin de Fer – in this game 6 decks of cards are used in play. In the centre of the table there is a shoe where used cards are put. The cards are shuffled by the Croupier and taking some cards from the top of the shoe, he hands them to the player to his immediate right, who is then ‘Banker’, while the others are players. Any of the players can call ‘Banco’, which means that they want to play against the Bankers stake. The Banker deals two cards for himself, and two for the player – if the Bankers cards are better, he wins the players stakes and deals again. However, if the players are better, the banker has to pay each player the amount of his stake and the next player becomes Banker.

Baccarat banque – Three decks of cards are used in this version of the game, and the Banker remains the Banker until all the cards have been dealt, unless he loses or retires (he can retire at any point but has to state the amount with which he is retiring).

The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. The famous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50′s, and since then it has made its final migration onto the Web. The basic premise of the game is simple: predict whose hand, the Banker’s or the Player’s, will be closer to the value of nine. You can also bet on the possibility of a tie. The hand with the highest point value wins.

The player’s hand will be dealt two cards and the banker’s hand will be dealt two cards. Third cards are dealt according to certain rules. The highest total any Baccarat hand can have is nine. A two-card total of nine is called a “natural” and cannot lose. An eight is the second-best hand and is also called a “natural”. If both the player and banker are dealt hands of equal value, it’s a push (tie) and neither the banker nor the player hand wins. Unlike most games, in Baccarat face cards and tens have no value. Ace has a value of 1 and all other cards carry their face value. If the point value of the first two cards is 8 or 9 the game ends and no third card is dealt to anyone.

There are various strategies to use when playing Baccarat, namely when to draw and when the bank draws etc…and though they are quite consistent across sites, just check that you and the site are singing off the same hymn sheet before you lay down any bets. Baccarat is a great game and though not as popular as some of the other casino games virtually all online casino’s have it as a feature.