Despite its prestigious air, the rules of baccarat are easy and simple to learn. The glamorous image comes from its origins as a game of the French nobility and from its appearance in popular movies like the 007 James Bond films.
The main objective of the game is to get a hand value as close to 9 as possible. The best hand a player can receive will equal 9 points with the first two cards dealt. The second choice hand is one equaling 8 points with the first two cards. These two top hands are called 'natural' in baccarat. If either the player or the banker receives a natural hand, no further cards are dealt in the game and bets are paid accordingly.
Baccarat, which means zero in French and Italian, originates from how the cards are valued. Face cards - jacks, queens, kings - and ten cards are considered 'baccarat' and equal 0 in the game.
Ace cards are valued at 1 and all other cards are equal to their face value. You're probably wondering how that works when you are trying to achieve a hand value of 9. It's actually very simple. You add your card values together and, if the amount is in the double digits, than the first number is ignored. For example, if you receive a 7 and 8, the combined score of 15 would become 5 points.
Baccarat rules and tips
In baccarat, a player can wager on three options: the banker, the player, and tie. A player places a wager on the hand that he or she thinks will win the game. Betting on the banker or the player in baccarat is usually an even money. This means that if you wager ten dollars on the banker and the banker hand wins you will receive your original ten dollar bet in addition to ten more dollars. Tie bets pay 8:1 but the odds of a win are much lower. After you know these simple card values and rules, you're ready to start learning baccarat strategy.
