Baccarat is a popular card game played at most online and land based casinos. Basic baccarat rules are very simple, although many tutorials make them look more complicated than they really are. There may be special house rules that vary from casino to casino, but these are not very significant.
Basic baccarat rules are somehow similar to the rules of blackjack. The main difference between baccarat and blackjack is that in baccarat, the moves are not decided by the player, but determined by baccarat rules, while the player can choose to bet on his hand, on the dealers hand or on a tie. So, the goal is not to win ones hand, but to bet on the hand that wins.
The winning hand is determined by the total number of points, which is closer to 9. Unlike blackjack, there is no bust and cards have different point values. Tens and face cards are worth 0 points, while other cards are worth their face value.
The player and the dealer are dealt 2 cards. If the total number of points in this initial two-card hand exceeds 9, it is reduced by ten, so if the hand consists of 6 and 7 it is worth 3 points instead of 13. If the final number of points in the initial two-card hand is 8 or 9, this hand is called natural. If either of the hands is natural, the game stands and the natural hand wins. If both hands are natural, it is a tie. If there is no natural after two first cards were dealt, another card is dealt to determine the winner.
Bets on the players and the dealers hands are paid even money, which means, if a player bets 5 dollars on his own hand, and it wins, he takes his 5 dollars back and receives another 5 dollars. Bets on ties are paid 8 to 1, which means that 5 dollars bet wins 40 dollars. House rules of most casinos give advantage to the dealer and tax players who win betting on the dealer's hand. This tax is normally 5 percent of the winning.
These are all baccarat rules you must know to start playing baccarat at online or real life casinos. However, it is highly advisable to download a game of baccarat from one of the casino sites that offer free games and to try playing it for free before wagering any money. After reading this page and trying to play a couple of times, you will surely understand the game, because, as we already said, it is actually very simple.
