Mastering Baccarat

Baccarat is game of cards involving stakes, and it is named so because of its extremely simple thumb rule – the face cards (J, Q, K) and the tens are valued at zero, which in Italian, means “baccarat”. Traditionally if we look at Baccarat, it’s always been a game for the high rollers,  wearing their tuxedos and gambling inside private rooms separated from the main casino floors, thus earning it the name “Tuxedo Gambling”. These gamblers played on roped-off tables and bet thousands of dollars on one single hand, and these gambling sharks, as they came to be known, scared off the tiny fish by placing large sums in bet.

The American baccarat, also known as mini-baccarat or “punto banco”, is quite simple and easy to learn. And over the years it’s been a favourite because of its simplicity and high gain potential. The basic rules are – the games starts with two hands, and you need to bet on the one closest to nine. So you actually have only one decision to make, that is what wager to bet – and obviously there are only three possible outcomes – the player’s hand wins, or the banker’s hand, or it’s a tie. Quite simple isn’t it?

The card values are as follows – ace is one, 2 – 9 cards are counted as their face values,  and as mentioned earlier, tens and face cards are valued at zero. And moreover, if the total of the two cards equals to or exceeds 10, then only the second digit of the total is counted. For example, if the two cards are 5 and 7, then the total will be counted as 2, not 12. Similarly a 7 and a 3 would be valued as 0, not 10.

As mentioned earlier, baccarat has always had this sense of exclusivity among its players. Even in popular media, James Bond’s debut in Casino Royale, has seen him infiltrating the gang of high rollers as they play baccarat. But, with the rise of online gaming and opening of casinos all over the world, this scene has changed. By lowering the stakes these operations have welcomed players from all over encouraging them to forget about wearing tuxedos and simply enjoy this game. So now that you know the rules of this game, what are you waiting for? Stop reading, and start rolling with the big shots!!