Description

Introduction
Baccarat is a common casino game that is available with nearlyallonline softwares. Bets on both player and banker have asimilarchance of winning and a low house edge of just over1%.Unfortunately the game rarely counts towards wageringatnon-Microgaming bonuses because it is possible tosimultaneouslybet on both player and banker, greatly reducingvariance.

Rules and Play
At the start of each hand, you may bet on the player winning,thebanker winning, or a tie result. After you have placed yourbet,both the player and banker are dealt 2 cards. Hands arerankedaccording to the right-most digit of their card sum. Forexample, ahand containing a 6 and 7 is valued as a 3. The card sumis 6+7=13,and the right-most digit of this sum is 3. The player orbanker maybe dealt a 3rd card according to the rules listedbelow.

--If either the player or the banker has a total of 8 or 9,thenno additional cards are drawn. Otherwise play proceedsasfollows:

--If the player has a total of 0-5, the player draws a 3rdcard.If the player has an initial total of 6 or 7, he stands. Notethatthe player must follow this strategy. He cannot choose to standona 4 or hit a 6.

--The banker's play varies according to the player's totaland3rd card result. If the player did not draw a 3rd card, thebankerdraws if he has a total of 0-5.

Banker bets have a slightly greater chance of winning thanplayerbets because of the improved banker strategy. To offsetthisadvantage, banker bets have a 5% commission. Banker betspay0.95:1, while player bets pay 1:1. If you bet $100 on bankerandwin, you receive $195. if you bet $100 on player and win,youreceive $200. Banker bets and player bets are returned, if thehandis a tie.

Tie bets pay 8:1 and have a much higher house edge than playerorbanker bets.

Strategy
With such complicated rules, optimal strategy for baccaratissurprisingly simple. There are no strategy choices amongwhichcards to take or whether to hit/stand. Place a bet on bankerorplayer, then wait for the dealer to flip the cards, and see ifyouhave won or not. Banker bets have a slightly lower house edgethanplayer bets under typical circumstances, as explainedbelow.Optimal strategy is to simply bet on banker.