Baccarat is one of the world’s most popular casino games. It is played in casinos around the globe, including Singapore and Macau, but it also has a large presence on the Las Vegas Strip, where it accounts for 18 percent of casino winnings.
How to Play Baccarat
Players sit at a virtual table and place their bets. Two hands are dealt: one to the player and one to the banker. The hand that is closest to a total of nine wins. The game has a low house edge and offers several ways to bet, including the player and banker bets and the tie bet.
The Player’s Bet
The player bet is based on the value of the first two cards in the player’s hand. The player’s bets are usually smaller than the banker’s bets, but they can also be larger. The banker’s bet is based on the value of a third card in the banker’s hand.
In baccarat, the value of a picture card or ten is zero. A five and a six are worth three points, a seven and a eight are worth four, and a nine and a ten are worth 10 points.
When the player or banker draws a second card, they only draw on a hand of a zero-to-four count. If the player’s or banker’s hand is a five or six, they also take a third card.
If the player’s or banker’s third card is a nine, then the hand is a tie. The tie bet is an alternative to the Player’s and Banker’s bets, but it doesn’t pay out if both the player and banker have the same number of points.
The Tie Bet
The Tie bet is an optional wager that both the player’s and banker’s hand will equal nine points. The odds are typically 8 to 1, though slightly better odds may be available at some establishments.