When you´re playing baccarat, your goal is to get a hand with a value which is close to nine without going over. A hand totaling eight or nine is considered a natural, so if your first two cards give you a total of eight or nine, you don’t get any more cards. What´s unusual in baccarat is that you can decide to bet on your hand, the dealer´s hand, or a tie.
The other thing that seems strange to many people is that you don’t decide whether to hit or stand. There are rules that govern what you do. That means that you can only affect the outcome of the game by selecting your bet.
It’s easy to think that baccarat is like blackjack, but the two are very different. For example, there’s no way to bust. Facecards aren’t counted, and if the total is over ten, then the first digit is dropped, so that a hand of eight and four is a two, not twelve.
At an online casino, you may only be able to play alone, although more and more online casinos are using live dealers and multi-player tables for internet baccarat and other similar table games. Having three player hands allows you to bet on three different games at the same time, since you can bet on your own hand or and on that of any other player.
In baccarat, players place their bets before any dealing begins. After the players have placed their wagers, then the dealer will give each player and himself two cards each. After the cards are dealt, a complex set of rules comes into play regarding whether the hand receives another card or not. If either player has a natural – eight or nine, then neither hand will be hit. Nine beats eight. If there is a tie, then only players who made a wager on a tie will win, and they get a payout of 8:1 or 9:1, depending upon the casino.
The rules for hitting and standing are as follows:
If the player has a hand of 5 or less, they hit.
If the player has 6 or more, they stand.
The rules for the dealer are much more complex
If the player did not draw a third card, then the dealer draws if the hand is 5 or less and stands for 6 or more.
If the player did draw a third card, then the dealer must stand on 7or more and hit on 2 or less.
For a dealer total of 3, the dealer hits unless the player’s third card is 8.
For a dealer total of 4, the dealer hits if the player’s third card is 2-7.
For a dealer total of 5, the dealer hits if the player’s third card is 4-7.
For a dealer total of 6, the dealer hits if the player’s third card is 6-7.
After these rules have been followed, the hands are compared, and whoever bet on the winner wins. If there is a tie, only those who wagered on a tie win.
Most casinos take a rake on winnings from a wager on the dealer’s hand, since the dealer’s hand is slightly favored by the rules.
