Baccarat: Lesson 1 - The Table Basics

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Baccarat (correctly pronounced "BAH-kah-rah") has long been a favorite card game of high rollers. The rules are incredibly simple and can be mastered in a few minutes. The object of baccarat is to correctly predict whether the banker's hand will win, the player's hand will win, or the game will result in a tie.

The value of a hand is determined by adding the values of its individual cards. Tens and face cards count as zero, while all other cards count as their numerical value. After summing the total, only the last digit is used. Therefore, baccarat hands all have values from 0 - 9. The hand with the higher value wins. If the hands have the same value, the game results in a tie.Initially, both the banker and the player are dealt two cards. If the two initial cards total 8 or 9, the hand is called a "natural", and the game will end at that point. Otherwise, standard Baccarat "third card rules" (that Men's Vegas players need not remember) determine if a hand should receive a third and final card.

Winning bets on the player's hand are paid at 1:1 odds. A 5% commission is charged on winnings as a result of a bet on the banker, making the net odds on banker bets 0.95 to 1. A winning wager on a tie bet is paid at 8:1 odds. If the game does result in a tie, bets on the banker or player are returned.

Good Luck!

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