 
Baccarat:
Duel To The Finish
By
Will Veda
Oh,
the glorious game of Baccarat, the casino pastime of choice by
many high rollers including Bond, James Bond.
Well, Mr. Bond actually played chemin de fer, a version
of Baccarat banked by the players.
Baccarat is pronounced bock-err-rah (the word is even
more impressive if you roll the r’s off your tongue) and is
by far the easiest casino game to play, but the glamour and
extreme wagers intimidate many people.
The only
decisions players have to make are what to bet on and how
much. There are
just three bets that can be made: Bank Hand (has nothing to do
with the casino—it could easily be called “heads”),
Player Hand (has nothing to do with any players—and could be
called “tails”), or the long-shot Tie Hand.
Heads/Tails? This game is just that: a coin flip; you either win or lose
(unless the hands tie, which results in a push except when
betting on that rare tie).
You can’t double down or split or for that matter
make any decisions on the cards that are dealt.
There are stringent and non-modifying rules that must
be followed and the dealer(s) do all the work.
The players do
not receive any cards; instead the card hands are laid out on
the table. Each
hand receives two initial cards, one first for the player
hand, then one for the bank, one for player, and finally one
for the bank. In
Baccarat, a player (the one with the largest wager) actually
deals the cards and gives them to the “caller,” who is the
dealer running the game.
There are two other dealers, one at each end, that pay
off winning wagers,
collect losing wagers, and keep track of commissions.
The card values
are: 2 through 9 equal face value, an Ace equals the value of
one, 10 through Kings equal the value of 0.
After the cards are dealt the caller announces the two
card totals and decides if one or the other hand gets a third
card based on pre-determined rules (listed below).
Three cards are the most that can be dealt to a given
hand. Each card
value is only equal to one digit (the second of the total),
meaning if a hand receives card values of 5 and 9 the total is
4, not 14.
Wagers are paid
at even money, except for the Tie bet, which is usually paid 8
to 1. If you bet on the Bank Hand and win you will be charged a 5%
commission (which is a tax—where’s the Boston Tea Party
when you need them?) Commission
is usually collected after the eight-deck shoe runs out or if
the player is getting ready to depart.
A dealer will keep track of the due commission by
placing coins and value markers in a numbered box for each
player.
Even though the
players really don’t need to know this, following is a chart
of the rules (note: the casinos will have a version of this
chart either on the wall or on a card hand tracking chart):
PLAYER
HAND
|
FIRST
TWO CARDS TOTAL
|
RULE
|
|
0
- 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD
|
|
6
- 7
|
STANDS
|
|
8
- 9
|
“NATURAL”
- STANDS
|
BANK
HAND
|
FIRST
TWO CARDS TOTAL
|
DRAW
RULES
|
DOES
NOT DRAW RULES
|
|
0
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD UNLESS PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD IF PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
|
1
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD UNLESS PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD IF PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
|
2
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD UNLESS PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD IF PLAYER HAS NATURAL
|
|
3
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
0
- 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9
OR
PLAYER DOES NOT DRAW THIRD CARD
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
8
OR
PLAYER HAS A TWO CARD NATURAL
|
|
4
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
2
- 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
OR
PLAYER DOES NOT DRAW THIRD CARD
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
0
- 1 - 8 - 9
OR
PLAYER HAS A TWO CARD NATURAL
|
|
5
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
4
- 5 - 6 - 7
OR
PLAYER DOES NOT DRAW THIRD CARD
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
0
- 1 - 2 - 3 - 8 - 9
OR
PLAYER HAS A TWO CARD NATURAL
|
|
6
- PLAYER TOOK THIRD CARD
|
DRAWS
THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
6
- 7
|
DOES
NOT DRAW THIRD CARD WHEN PLAYER’S THIRD CARD IS
0
- 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 8 - 9
|
|
6
- PLAYER DID NOT TAKE
THIRD CARD
|
STANDS
- NO PLAYER THIRD CARD
|
STANDS
- NO PLAYER THIRD CARD
|
|
7
|
STANDS
|
STANDS
|
|
8
- 9
|
“NATURAL”
- STANDS
|
“NATURAL”
- STANDS
|
The Bank Hand
naturally wins more because of the many decisions based on the
Player Hand’s third card rule.
This is why the house charges the commission.
Players are given a tracking chart to record the hand
outcomes as most serious Baccarat players watch for trends and
bet accordingly. There
is really no set strategy other than possibly flipping a coin
before each hand. I
find myself watching the game just to see players’ reactions
when they bet against each other.
One time at Argosy Casino in Indiana, I witnessed a
Japanese player and
a Vietnamese player square off after playing opposite hands.
They nearly came to blows until security stepped in.
There is also a
Blackjack table-size version called Mini-Baccarat that caters
to lower rollers. In
Mini-Baccarat, one dealer deals the cards, collects the
commission, and pays off winning wagers.
Baccarat Glossary
BANK HAND
- Hand that is dealt second and is played according to the
Player Hand’s third card, if received.
Wins are charged a 5% commission.
“BIG
BACCARAT” - Is not actually called Big Baccarat, but
I use this to differentiate from Mini-Baccarat.
CALLER
- The dealer who runs the game in Big Baccarat.
He announces card totals and tells the player dealing
when and to what hand additional card(s) are to be dealt.
COIN FLIP
- The best strategy for Baccarat; in my opinion.
MINI-BACCARAT
- Played at a Blackjack size table. One
dealer does all the work.
Table minimums are usually lower than Big Baccarat.
NATURAL
- An 8 or 9 dealt with first two cards.
There are no further cards dealt.
PLAYER
HAND - Hand that is dealt first and has a short list
of rules when compared to the Bank Hand.
TIE
- A thing men wear around their necks.
|
