Online Baccarat Rules illustrated at UK Casino Online

INTRODUCTION TO BACCARAT

Baccarat is one of the simplest games you can play at a casino. For some reason, throughout baccarat history, it has enjoyed a very sophisticated reputation at the casinos since it was introduced at The Dunes Casino in the 1950's, but as you will see from our online baccarat rules guide, it is very easy to master and great fun to play.

Perhaps James Bond 007's love of the baccarat game has helped to create an air of sophistication or maybe the fact that baccarat often occupies a roped-off area at the casino and is played by tuxedo-wearing gentlemen has helped to further this image. Don't let all the pomp put you off. Our simple baccarat rules guide will demonstrate that casino baccarat is as easy as betting on the outcome of a flip of a coin - with only a couple of minor complications thrown in!

BACCARAT OBJECTIVE/PREMISE

The objective in baccarat is for the player to correctly guess who’s hand, the Banker’s or the Player’s, will have a “Card Value” closest to 9. The player can bet on the Banker’s hand winning, the Player’s hand winning and also on the hands being tied. In a baccarat game, bets are placed before the cards are dealt so you can see why it’s like betting on the flip of a coin, it’s either “Banker” or “Player” – with betting on a tie being the only complication.

BACCARAT CARD VALUES

As we have said, the winning hand in baccarat is the hand with a card value closest to 9 points. Tens and Picture/Face cards count as zero, an Ace is worth 1 point and all other cards are worth their face value (2 through 9). If your initial total is worth 10 points or more, you drop the first digit to arrive at your baccarat total.

baccarat example

DEALING

After players have made their bets on Player, Banker, or Tie, the first two cards are dealt to both Player and Banker. If the Card Value in the Player or Banker's hand is 8 or 9 (a natural) after receiving the first two cards then no more cards will be dealt to either hand as we have a winner (Ex.1). If the total is not a natural win for either hand, another card is dealt to each hand to determine the winner (Ex.2).

baccarat example - banker wins

BETTING AND PAYOUTS

Betting on baccarat is very simple. You choose to bet on either the Player's hand, the Banker's hand or on a Tie. If the hand that you bet on wins you double your money (much like in Blackjack) except when you have bet on a Tie. If you correctly bet on a Tie, the payout is eight times the amount you put down. Your bet is returned to you if the hands tie but you have not bet on a Tie.

NB:

If you bet on the Banker's hand and win in online baccarat, the House will always take a % commission from your win amount. This is normally 5% and is taken from the amount you win, not from your bet plus winnings. So, on a baccarat bet of Ł200, the House would take 5% of your Ł200 winnings and you would therefore receive Ł390 back.

The number of decks used in baccarat varies between casinos. Some use a single deck of cards whereas others use 8 decks of cards. We always advise you to read the specific rules at each casino to make sure you are aware of any important baccarat variations. Those of you who might wish to card-count should also check specific rules on deck shuffling. Most online casinos shuffle their Baccarat decks after each hand.

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