Baccarat has long been one of the premier casino games in Asia and it is slowly making its way onto Las Vegas’ Strip casino floor, yet many American casino-goers remain unfamiliar with it despite being one of the world’s most elegant, sophisticated and romantic games with an intricate history brimming with elegance, mystery and scandal. This is truly unfortunate given that baccarat offers so much.
Originating in Italy and later spreading to neighboring France where it quickly gained popularity with nobility, this game evolved over time to suit France’s railway system in late 19th century – giving rise to its name “Chemmy”.
Today’s casinos are increasingly featuring baccarat tables in high-limit areas with expensive minimum bets and luxurious leather chairs – but that doesn’t stop players from enjoying this thrilling and engaging game which is easy to learn and understand while offering plenty of drama and suspense.
Baccarat is an easy card game in which players bet on either the Player or Banker hand and strive to approach a total of nine sooner than their opponent’s hand. Cards numbered one through ten count as face value while aces count for one point; when exceeding nine or entering double digits, one digit will be dropped; for example a hand of seven and six will result in three.
There are three possible outcomes of a hand of baccarat: Banker win, Player win or Tie. Bets on the Banker hand have a slight statistical edge over those placed on Player hands as it must draw to maintain its lead; however there may be a small commission fee charged on successful Banker bets.
Each round, the dealer reveals two cards in both Player and Banker boxes. If they total 8 or 9 as an “natural”, this completes the round; otherwise a third card may be drawn as needed.
Unless the third card is a 10, it will end in a tie and all bets collected by the dealer will be distributed accordingly; as well as keeping track of winning and losing bets.
This game of chance takes place at tables with eight to nine seats and typically three banks. Bankers wear special uniforms and must wear hats; all winning bets must be written into an official commission box that tracks five percent commission, so when winning bets come in they are quickly distributed among all bettors. A special box keeps track of this fee to make sure that winning bets are fully distributed to bettors. A croupier oversees banker betting accounts and pays winnings out to bettors promptly. In case any winning bet occurs, banker must write it in this special commission box by writing it and signing it; this helps guaranteeing payment to winning bettors as soon as possible after any winning bet has come in to ensure all winning bets have been paid out!