Online Baccarat at Bet365
Bet365 is one of the leading sites based out of the UK for players to wager baccarat online. If you’re already familiar with the game you can get started at the Bet365 casino website. If you’re not familiar with the game continue reading this page for an explanation on how it’s played as well as some strategy tips.
How Baccarat is played
Baccarat is a simple casino table-game played most often with six standardized decks of cards. In this game there are 3 possible outcomes for each wager: Banker, Player or Tie. It’s important to note that Banker does not necessarily mean the house, nor does Player mean the casino’s customer; these are simply options a player can choose to bet on.
The game starts with both the player and the banker being dealt two cards. The possible scores of their cards will be 0-10, and this is determined with cards 2-9 worth their face value; cards 10, Jack, Queen and King worth 10 points, and the Aces worth a single point. If the cards add up to a two digit score only the second digit is used. For example, a Queen and a Seven would total to 17,and in baccarat this is a score of 7; likewise, a hand of King-King would total 20, and in baccarat this is a score of zero.
When a third card is dealt
As we mentioned baccarat starts with both the player and the banker being dealt two cards. Depending on a semi complex set of circumstances the final baccarat hand might contain an additional, third and final card, for both the player and banker. Here is how this is calculated:
In the event a player or banker hand scores an eight or a nine on their initial two cards, the hand is over. This is what’s called a natural hand, and when either the player or the banker makes a natural hand, neither they nor their opponent will draw any additional cards.
In all other circumstances the player will always draw a third card when the score of his first two cards is 0-5.
Whether or not the banker draws a third card is more complex, as it depends on the players score. Remember, if a player has a natural hand (which is eight or nine on their first two cards) the banker will never draw any additional cards. In other circumstances the banker will draw based on the following.
Bankers first two cards score 0-2, they’ll always draw a third card.
Bankers first two cards score 3, they’ll draw a third card in nearly all circumstances except when a player drew a third card which was an eight.
Bankers first two cards score 4. They’ll draw a third card if either the player stood on six or seven -or- if the player drew a third card that had a value of 2-7.
Bankers first two cards score 5. They’ll draw a third card if either the player stood on six or seven –or- if the player drew a third card that had a value of 4-7.
Bankers first two cards score 6. The only time a banker will take an additional card is if the player took a third card which equaled six or seven.
Banker will always stand on a starting hand of seven and will of course always stand on natural hands.
Baccarat Wagering
Bets made on the player are paid out at even money when won.
Bets made on the banker are paid at European odds of 1.95 (which translates as 19/20 or 0.95 to 1). This is a 5% commission charged on banker bets because bets on the banker win more often then bets on the player.
A tie bet is a separate 8 to 1 bet (sometime called 9 for 1, which is the same as 8 to 1) if the hand is not a tie this bet loses, if it is a tie this bet wins and pays 8 to 1.
Note: If the score is tied, bets placed on the player and the banker are both pushed, meaning no money is taken.
Baccarat the best bet in the casino
In live casinos you’ll often see baccarat in a roped off section or as a part of a high stakes Asian pit or high stakes poker pit. This is because this is the game of choice of many high stakes gamblers as it has one of the lowest house advantages of the casino.
Banker Bets will win more than half the time so even with 5% commission the house edge is a mere 1.09%. The player bet also has a low house edge of just 1.29%.
Interesting Baccarat Fact: James Bond is shown as a Texas Hold’em player in later movies involving this fictional character, but his game of choice starting with the very first book which debuted the character was baccarat.
About Baccarat Systems
Baccarat tables at brick and mortar casinos often have a scored card placed on them in which players can track streaks. Statistician / Mathematician types will claim these trends have no significance in determining the outcome of the next baccarat wagering round; however this does not stop baccarat enthusiasts who’ve employed this system for years from keeping score and looking for these trends.
How it most often works is that players are looking to ride a run by betting whichever hand won last. For example, they’ll look to capitalize on either banker or player winning several times in a row.
Some shoes are what is referred to as choppy. This means there are no consistent runs of either player or banker. Those who keep scores in baccarat will often choose to sit out until the deck contains more runs, or they’ll attempt to find a chop trend.
An example of a simple chop trend is:
B-P-B-P-B on the next bet the trend would dictate betting player.
Another chop example might be:
BB-P-BB-P on he next bet the trend would dictate betting banker.
While these trends might not be mathematically or statistically significant, we will point out there is nothing all that mathematically or statistically significant about a bunch of craps players all betting the pass-line roll after roll either. While some feel keeping score in baccarat and playing trends give them a better chance to win, right or wrong we will say it sure makes this simple game a lot more fun and interesting.
