Baccarat Rules and Odds – Explained

Baccarat is one of the oldest and most popular cards comparing game which is played worldwide. All the big casinos, whether brick and mortar based or online gamble houses, they all host many variants of this amazing game. It has been a hot favourite of the player ever since the inception of gamble houses.

The game is played between a dealer and a player. The dealer deals the cards to the gamblers. Each round of a game of Baccarat has three possible outcomes of player’s win, dealer’s win, or a tie. The basic aim of a player is to collect a higher score than that of the dealer. The game involves a standard deck of 52 cards.

Baccarat Rules

The rules and strategies of Baccarat are easy to grasp. Even a first-timer can learn the basic rules and regulations in a matter of a few minutes. As stated above, the game takes place between a dealer and a player on a set up called the Baccarat-table. A standard game requires up to 8 decks of cards.

Value of Cards:

Interestingly, all the face cards and the tens are valued at zero, therefore they do not contribute to the final score. The number-cards from 2-9 have the same value as the number, the aces are valued at 1.

Player’s Win:

When the total score of a player’s card is better than that of dealer’s, it results in a player’s win with exciting payouts.

Banker’s Win:

When the total score of dealer’s cards is higher than that of the player’s, it results in a banker’s win and the gambler loses his betting money.

Tie:

When the score of both the dealer and the player is the same, it is called a tie. No money is lost or won by any parties in case of a tie.

Hit and Stand

To ‘stand’ is to stick with the current set of cards and end the turn with whatever the score is. To ‘hit’ is to ask for a new card when the player realizes there is a need for a new card.

When to Stand?

• If a player or banker is dealt cards scoring 8 or 9 called as natural score, the player and banker are bound to stand.
• If the score is lower than 5, he/she can ask to draw another card and then stand according to the new outcomes.

When to Hit?

• If the player stands, the banker has to hit at a score lower than five.
• It the player has a total score of less than five, he/she is bound to hit.

Betting Odds in Baccarat

Gambling odds are the probability of a player winning a particular round (bet) against the gamble-house. One of the many reasons why Baccarat is so widely played is that it has one of the best winning odds.

House Edge:

The house edge refers to a mathematical advantage that the casino or gamble house has over you in any game. Therefore, the lower the house edge, the better for the player.

• The house edge on the banker’s bet is 1.06%, and the house edge on the player’s bet is 1.36%. The house edge for a tie is a whopping 14.40%.
• The winning odds for a player are set at 44.6% whereas the odds of a player losing (or the banker winning) a bet are 45.9%. Hence, leaving the chances of a tie with close to 9.5%.
• Keeping the tie bets aside, the banker in a game of Baccarat wins 51% times compared to the player. This is still pretty great for a casino game.