With free online games you can prepare yourself for a real game in a land based casino. Spend an unlimited amount of time playing online to finesse your strategies and become comfortable and confident at the baccarat table. There’s only one way to become an expert and that is practice, practice, practice!!

So experience the excitement of a game today!

Baccarat is purely a game of chance so there are no complex strategies or systems to master. Further, it also usually has the lowest house edge making it easy to adopt a few simple betting techniques.

Betting on the ‘banker’ hand is the safest bet because the house edge on that bet is close to 1 per cent. The chances of betting on the winning hand of the ‘banker’ are slightly higher than betting on the ‘player’ winning. The ‘banker’ hand pays even money, however, there is typically a house commission of 5 per cent. Nevertheless, with such a low house edge, betting on the hand of the ‘banker’ is still the best option in the long run.

A bet on the ‘player’ hand always has a slightly higher house edge, usually around 1.25 per cent. The ‘player’ hand pays even money and there is no house commission on a winning bet.

The final betting option is the ‘tie’ bet which is notoriously a bad bet. The occurrence of a tie is very remote with a house edge of nearly 5 per cent which is very high by any standards. Its attractiveness lies in the fact that a tie pays 8 to 1. But avoid it like the plague like all other smart gamblers.

It is important that players have a thorough understanding and knowledge of the rules of baccarat to catch any mistakes by other players or the dealer.

Each hand consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of three cards. The person dealing places two cards, face down, tucked under the shoe (which is usually between 6 or 8 decks of cards), and gives the player with the largest bet on ‘player’ the other two cards, face down.

The ‘player’ then looks at the cards and gives them back to the person who is dealing who then turns over the cards of both hands. The casino dealer then announces the results and the winner (the player with the highest score).

The value of a hand is calculated by adding the values of its cards. Suits do not matter. Cards less than 10 are worth their face value, tens and face cards are worth zero and Aces are worth 1. Only single digits values are valid which means that after adding the value of the cards, if the sum reaches doubt digits, the left digit is ignored. For example, a hand consisting of 2 and 3 equals a score of 5. However, a hand consisting of 6 and 6 is equals a score of 2 (6 + 6 = 12 = 2) as the first digit is dropped because the total is greater than 10. A hand consisting of 4 and 6 is worth 0, or ‘baccarat’ (4 + 6 = 10 = 0). Thus, the highest achievable score is 9 which results, for example, from a hand of 4 and 5, 10 and 9 or Ace and 8.

If either hand has a total or 8 or 9 (called a ‘natural’), the ‘player’ or ‘banker’ automatically wins. No more cards are dealt and the hand is over. A natural 9 beats a natural 8.

If a hand is not ‘natural’, then a third card might be dealt to either or both the ‘player’ or the ‘banker’ according to the ‘three-card-rules’.

Third-card rules for the ‘player’ hand:

• If the ‘player’s’ first two cards total 6 or more, then the player must stand without drawing a card.
• If the ‘player’s’ first two cards are less than or equal to 5, the player must draw a third card.

Third-card rules for the ‘banker’ hand:

• If the ‘banker’s’ first two cards are 2 or less, then the banker must draw a third card.
• If the ‘banker’s’ first two cards total 3, 4, 5, or 6, then whether the ‘banker’ draws a third card is determined by the whether the ‘player’ drew, and if so the value of the ‘player’s’ draw card. If the ‘banker’s’ first two cards
  • total 3, then the ‘banker’ draws a third card unless the ‘player’s’ third card was an 8;
  • total 4, then the ‘banker’ draws a third card unless the ‘player’s’ third card was 0, 1, 8, or 9;
  • total 5, then the ‘banker’ draws a third card if the ‘player’s’ third card was 4, 5, 6 or 7;
  • total 6, then the ‘banker’ draws a third card if the ‘player’s’ third card was 6 or 7.
• If the ‘banker’s’ first two cards total 7 or more, then the ‘banker’ must stand without drawing a third card.

The word ‘baccarat’ is actually a derivative of the Italian word for zero. Creation of the game is usually attributed to Italian gambler Felix Falguierein. During the middle ages, baccarat was played with a deck of tarot cards as opposed to the modern day cards used in the game today.

As the popularity of the game spread across Europe, rigorous opposition from the Church also rose. The Church regarded the game of baccarat, like most other forms of gambling, as the game of the devil and those who played it were carrying out the work of the devil. Nevertheless, baccarat became the game of choice for the upper classes and aristocracy and was played in secrecy.

Eventually, the game was legalized by the government and taxes were placed on it proceeds for the benefit of the poor. This actually served to increase the popularity of the game as its players rationalised that they were helping those in need.

The game was outlawed during the reign of Napoleon and remained illegal until the early 1900s. Upon being legalised once again, its popularity spread and casinos were constructed across France.

Baccarat was legal in England during the period that it was illegal in the rest of continental Europe and quickly gained popularity when Queen Victoria’s son was caught in baccarat troubles. It was mostly played just for fun, however, some people started playing for money too.

The version of baccarat that reached England was different to the version that reached America. Baccarat was introduced to North America in the beginning of the twentieth century, however, had difficulty gaining popularity as blackjack was introduced during the same period. It began life in America as an unpopular addition to the selection of casino games.

Today, however, baccarat has become one of the most respected and famous casino games around the world. Like most other casino games, it has now reached the internet and is offered by most online casinos. There are many variations of the game depending upon the location in which you are playing, so it is important to check the house rules before playing.

• Some land based casinos allow baccarat players to deal the cards in turn and others have a casino dealer to deal the cards. In online baccarat, however, the cards are dealt automatically by a virtual dealer.
• In a land based casino, two cards are dealt face down, while in an online casino the cards are dealt face up.
• Some online casinos play the game with a single deck of cards, which is unusual in land based casinos.

Some advantages to online baccarat include the following:

• Many online casinos are multilingual so that more people from other countries may enjoy the game.
• Many online casinos accept multiple currencies thereby removing the confusion of playing with an unfamiliar currency.

Baccarat vs. Other Online Casino Games

There are two major advantages of baccarat over other online casino games. First, baccarat is the simplest game to play. A player does not need to have an in-depth knowledge of the rules to be successful, making baccarat the perfect choice for the novice gambler. Secondly, the house has the smallest advantage of any online game. Both land based casino baccarat and online baccarat have a very low house edge.

From where does the baccarat game get its name?
Baccarat is derived from the Italian word ‘baccara’, meaning 0, and refers to the 0 value given to all of the face cards and tens.

How much skill does baccarat require?
Very little. The player only makes two decisions before each hand is dealt – first, whether to place a bet on the ‘player’ hand, ‘banker’ hand or whether the hands will tie and secondly, how much to wager. The player has no decisions to make during the game itself.

What happens in the event of a ‘tie’?
All bets placed on ‘player’ or ‘banker’ are returned to the player.

What are the values of each of the cards?
Card values in baccarat are different from other card games. Tens and face cards have a value of 0, while other cards have the value on their face. Only the last digit of the total of the hand is used so that all baccarat cards have values between 0 and 9.

What is a ‘natural’?
If either the ‘player’ hand or the ‘banker’ hand have a total of 8 or 9, then it is referred to as a ‘natural’ and no more cards are dealt. If it is not a natural, a third card may be drawn depending upon the value of each hand.

Is spotting a pattern an effective baccarat strategy?
Put simply – no! You are likely to see baccarat players around a table in a casino using a pencil and chart to keep track of previous hands and try to work out if there is a pattern. However, in baccarat no hand can influence the next. Baccarat is essentially a game of chance and there is very little a player can do to strategically improve the odds.

Should you always bet on the ‘banker’?
The house has an edge, and even though it is small, in the long run the house will win. To minimise the house edge, it is wise to always bet on the ‘banker’. However, it would be a very dull strategy to always bet on the ‘banker’ and you would miss out on the fun offered by a game of baccarat.