Baccarat Basics

Baccarat

BACCARAT is a simple game of chance that is played on a table with seven to 14 seats. It has three possible outcomes each hand. The player’s goal is to guess which one of the three propositions will win the next hand. The house has a relatively low advantage.

Players may bet on the Banker’s hand, the Player’s hand, or on a tie. Depending on the game, the payout on a tie bet may be slightly better than the Banker or Player bets.

Before deciding to play baccarat, it is best to understand the rules. The first thing to know is that the game uses a standard 52-card deck. Generally, three to six decks are shuffled together and dealt.

The cards are dealt in pairs, each pair consisting of two cards. The face cards have a value of zero, while the Aces carry a value of one. The Player hand and Banker hand have a total of seven or six points.

If the total is 5 or less, the Banker draws a third card. If the total is 6 or 7, the Banker stays on that hand.

The Banker hand is the best bet. It is possible to reduce or eliminate bets on the Banker hand. It is also possible to switch bets between the Banker and Player hands.

Baccarat has a house advantage of five percent. This is the lowest house edge among all table games. However, you will pay a commission on your Banker hand bet.