Baccarat
The aim of Baccarat is to bet on the hand which you believe to be nearest to 9, this could be the bank or another player. The hand nearest to 9 wins. The best hand is one that totals 9 exactly with the first two cards. 8 is the second best hand.
Eight decks of cards are used for this game. Once the cards have been shuffled they are put into a box called a ‘shoe’. As long as the bank has the winning hand the player keeps the shoe; once the bank hand loses, the shoe moves onto the next player on the right. Players can refuse the shoe if they want and it will be passed on.
0 is the lowest hand and 9 the highest. Ace cards have a value of 1 whilst face cards, 10’s, and any hand adding up to 10 have a value of 0. Baccarat is a single digit game, so only the last digit of the number is used,
e.g. 1+3=4, 10+3=3, 7+4=1.
You can win on the player's or the bank’s hand or on a tie. A player can select to bet on any of these whenever they wish.
4 cards are dealt out, 2 each for the house and the player. If the total of any or both sides is 8 or 9, this is called a ‘natural’ and no more cards are dealt. If, however, both sides have the same total, it's a tie. The tie bet wins and the hand is replayed.
If, or when, the house or the player's points with the first two cards don’t add up to a natural and there is no tie, then another card is dealt according to the rules below:
- If the Player's opening hand totals 6 or higher, they have to ‘stand’ and receive no more cards.
- If the Player's opening hand totals 5 or less, they will be dealt another card.
- If the House hand totals 7 or more, the house must stand.
- If the House hand is a total of 0, 1 or 2, the house must receive another card.
- If the House hand totals 3 and the player's third card is not an 8 (the player always receives his cards before the house), then the house will hit.
- If the House hand totals 4 and the player's third card is not a 1, 8, 9, or 0, then the house will hit.
- If the House hand totals 5 and the player is dealt a 4, 5, 6, or 7, then the house will hit.
- If the House hand totals 6 and the player's third card is 6 or 7, then the house will hit.
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