| How to Play Online Baccarat |
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Online Baccarat is a perfect example of what a great
equalizer the Internet is. In a live casino, the Baccarat pit is often set
aside in its own area, with well-dressed high rollers handling cards in a
private location set aside by velvet ropes.
There are no velvet ropes online. At an
online casino, anyone can enjoy
Baccarat, not just the high stakes gamblers, as long as they remember the
basics:
1. Baccarat is a Point Count Game
The rules of Baccarat are in fact very similar to the rules of blackjack, so
if you are a blackjack player, you will catch on to Baccarat very quickly.
Your goal in Baccarat is to get as close to nine as possible.
You cannot go over as in blackjack because Baccarat totals roll over. In
other words, if you have a six and get a five, you would not have eleven but
one. If you had a six and got a four, you would not have ten, you would have
zero. All point cards are face value, aces are worth one, tens and face
cards are worth zero.
Just as in blackjack, the player will hit or stand based on his point total,
as will the dealer. Whoever has closer to nine at the end of the hand, be it
the player or the banker (dealer), wins.
2. Rules for the Player
There are very specific rules as to when the player can hit or stand. If the
player has eight or nine, they have a natural, and win unless the dealer
also has an eight or nine, in which case they win, lose or tie depending on
who has the higher natural.
If the player has six or seven, they must stand, and if they have zero
through five they must hit.
3. Rules for the Banker
If the player stands on two cards, the banker will hit on zero through five.
If the player takes a third card, whether the banker stands or hits will
depend on both the value of his own hand and the value of the players hand
after the third card.
4. How to Win
You are not required to bet on your own hand. You can bet on either the
player (yourself) or the banker. However, if you bet the banker and win you
must pay a five percent commission to the house.
5. Other Rules
You can also bet on a tie between the player and banker in Baccarat, but the
odds on this bet are not favorable to the player. The house edge on the tie
is around 14 percent as opposed to around one percent for other bets.
Baccarat Odds
Online baccarat is a popular game because of its low house edge. In live
poker rooms, baccarat was usually relegated to high-stakes areas. What these
high stakes players knew was that they could afford to risk large sums
because over time they would lose relatively little due to the favorable
odds. Now that online baccarat has proliferated, even low stakes players can
take advantage of baccarat.
Online Baccarat Odds
In baccarat, a bettor can bet on either the player or the banker. A winning
player bet pays even money. A winning banker bet pays .95-to-1, as a five
percent commission is collected from a winning banker bet. This may make it
seem more appealing to bet on the player. However, the reason for the
commission is because the banker bet is so favorable. Even with the five
percent commission, the house edge on banker bets is only 1.06 percent,
compared to the house edge on player bets of 1.24 percent. The reason the
banker has such an advantage is because the banker hand acts after the
player hand, so it has more information to work with.
Online Baccarat Tie Odds
It is universally agreed that the only really bad bet in online baccarat is
the tie bet, which pays 8-to-1. The house edge on this bet is over 14
percent. However, if you can find an online baccarat site that pays 9-to-1
for the tie, the house edge is reduced to around five percent. Therefore, if
you must play the tie wager, only do it if you can find a site offering
9-to-1. resting reading: Baccarat money management.
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