Poker Winner Blog

Baccara

Baccara, the forerunner of baccarat and punto banco, is played mostly in European casinos. It is particularly popular in both France and Germany. High minimum stakes are the norm in baccara and it is not unusual to find games with a minimum stake of US$100. Some games even start as high as US$1000 minimum.

The large baccara tables, which can accommodate up to 14 players, are often located in a separate room in the casino, with entry to the highest-staking games closed to all but the participants. The players and the casino dealer are seated around the table, but if there are more than 14 players the others may stand. Each playing position is marked with a number.

Six decks of playing cards are used. Because of the size of the table, the dealer uses a large paddle to move the cards and chips around. The game is played with `community hands’. No matter how many players there are, only two hands are dealt. One player, acting as the banker, receives one hand and the remaining players bet on the other hand.

In most games the house (the casino) acts as the banker and is responsible for paying out winnings and collecting losing bets. In baccara however, the players take turns to act as the banker.

The player whose turn it is to be the banker stakes an amount of money that will be used to pay out all winning bets, which are paid at odds of evens. Losing bets are collected by the dealer and paid to the banker. The casino deducts a five per cent commission from the losing bets. The banker is also responsible for dealing the cards. The ability to provide sufficient funds to cover all bets is what makes baccara a rich man’s game.

The casino dealer’s role is to control the game, pay out the winning bets from the banker’s stake, collect the losing bets from the other players on the banker’s behalf, and shuffle the cards. The casino dealer may also be consulted for advice. If a player consults the dealer, then the advice given must be followed.

Scoring

Cards from two to nine inclusive have their face value. Aces count as one. Tens and the court cards (kings, queens and jacks) all have a value of 0 (zero). Two cards are dealt to the player and two to the banker. The value of the cards is added together to give the score. If the score adds up to 10, the total becomes zero. If the total exceeds 10, then the score is the last digit, so a total of 14 becomes a score of four. The lowest possible score is zero and the highest nine. The winning hand is the one with the total closest to nine.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
The European Game

• Spinning Wheels, Origins of Gaming
• Casinos of the World part 1 (LAS VEGAS UNITED STATES )
• French and English Roulette
• The Casino, Stepping into another Realm Experience
• Casinos of the World part 1 (LUXOR; MGM GRAND; THE MIRAGE; NEW YORK NEW YORK)
• Paper Cards and Sport Betting, Origins of Gaming