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The Rich Don’t Have Dibs on Baccarat
Here’s a little quiz for you: You’re watching a movie and the hero is wearing a tuxedo, has a mixed drink in his hand and a glamorous girl on his arm, he’s playing in a casino, and the unmistakable feeling is one of elegance and luxury. What game is being played? If you guessed baccarat, you’d be right – it’s the game most associated with the rich and famous, the privileged and well-connected, the upper crust and the well-to-do. But if you think that baccarat is played exclusively by the affluent and prosperous, you’d be wrong – online baccarat is a great game for everyone and now is a good time to be introduced.
Baccarat is sometimes called Punto Banco and it’s been around for a long time. Despite it’s aura of exclusivity, it is a simple game that everyone can enjoy especially now that it’s so accessible in online casinos. Baccarat is a game of chance (like roulette or the slots) and there are very few decisions to make, making it a quick and light game, as well. It’s fun and easy to learn and the Internet has exposed it to millions of people who might never have thought of playing it before.
Baccarat is – First and Foremost – an Easy Game to Learn
In baccarat, there are two hands – the player’s and the banker’s – and you have to bet on one of those two hands ending up with a value closest to 9. (The third option is to bet on the hands tying.) In baccarat, face cards and 10s have a value of 0; aces are worth 1; all other cards are worth their face value. If the value of the cards totals 10 or over, then the first digit of the total is discarded. For example, if an 8 and a 4 are showing, the 1 is eliminated (from the total of 12) and the value becomes 2. When all the cards have been dealt, the hand closest to 9 wins. A 2-card total of nine is called a "natural" and cannot lose. If the value of both the player and the banker hands are the same, it's a tie - neither the banker nor the player wins, but whoever bet on a tie wins.
Statistically, bets on the banker’s hand win more frequently and so a winning bet on the banker is subject to a fine or a commission of around 5%. This evens out the odds on the two types of bets. In theory, both a winning bet on the banker and a winning bet on the player pay out 2:1. In reality, a bet on the banker’s hand pays out 2 times the original bet minus the 5% “tax” (while a bet on the player’s hand pays a straight 2:1). A winning bet on a tie pays a generous 8:1.
Online Baccarat is a Piece of Cake
Online casinos do everything they can to foster an aura of glamour when they offer the game of online baccarat on their sites. In live-dealer baccarat – the most realistic online baccarat you can play on the Internet – the dealer wears a tuxedo, which certainly sets the mood. Live-dealer baccarat is a recent phenomenon and it’s probably the best way to play online baccarat. First, though, you should play at least a few rounds of free online baccarat to get a feel for the game and its rules. When you’re ready, move on to real-money baccarat against your computer, which still lets you play at your own pace and rhythm. Live-dealer baccarat is the final step in the process and, when you’re confident and ready, it will be the most exciting baccarat you’ll experience outside the walls of a brick and mortar casino.
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