What’s up with Baccarat? (Part 3)

March 6, 2007

Continued from..

As we have started to get into the action of baccarat in this online gambling informational article, you are starting to see that the game only looks intimidating – yet it does come with a pretty steep minimum wager. But, you have also learned that this casino game has a pretty small house advantage when played as we have begun to explain to you.

So, we left off in the previous section of this article with you having the option to be the banker (dealer). You decide not to pass and you take on the banker roll.

So, you place your wager (in this example we have been using in this online gambling article you are betting a minimum of $25) on the banker wager. Now, you are probably wondering how you will be able to deal cards to those players who are way across the massive table. No worries. That 3^rd casino employee you have noticed hanging out at the table until this point will be the caller. Keep in mind that this is not the case at online casinos when you are online gambling. The software helps and you obviously do not have to worry about reaching the players physically. At the casino on land though, the caller directs the game play. That person will tell you to deal him, or her, a card and then one for yourself. These cards will be faced down. Actually, just practicing the act of distributing the cards out of the shoe is entertaining if nothing else. It make many online casino players and especially land based casino player feel important. For $25 buck a round – why not feel important right? After all, you could be at a table with thousands of dollars being wagered at a time – each player even. That makes you feel even better.

So, the 1st and 3^rd cards make the player’s hand, the 2^nd and 4^th make the banker’s hand. See, there are only two hands going on – so even if there were no caller, you would not be stretching out across some huge casino table trying to deal to all the players you see before you. Are you starting to feel more comfortable when gambling on this game at this point – yes. Again, the game only looks intimidating.

So now, the caller passes his two cards, which make the player’s hand, to a person sitting at the far end of the table who has placed a (let’s say) $2,000 wager on the player’s hand. The reason this person was given the player’s hand is this person had the largest wager placed on the player hand. That person then turns the cards over and gives then back to the caller. The caller then places the cards face up on the table in front of him or her. You wonder why the caller couldn’t just turn the cards over alone - right. Keep this to yourself a moment longer won’t you…

The caller then turns to you, (remember you are the dealer/banker) and asks you to turn over the banker’s hand. You do it, and say a 6 and a 9 is showing. If you have played a lot of blackjack, you are probably thinking that the hand is worth a total of 15. But, again, keep this to yourself…Always remember that when you are playing a casino game for the first time, it is best to regard the game instead of try and speak to it. Save your breath until you are in the know here.

See, in baccarat, a hand cannot be worth more than a total of 9. Aces are valued as1. Tens, jacks, queens, kings, are counted as 0. All other cards have their face value intact. Meaning a six is worth six, a nine is worth nine and so on. SO, you are probably still thinking – okay then the hand is still worth a 15 right? Well, there is more to it yet. If the two cards total a 2-digit value, then you subtract the 1^st digit – so that 15 will become a 5. Additionally, if the total were 25, it would still become a 5.

Now, at the caller’s beckoning, you pass the banker’s hand to him or her. He or she puts the hand in front of them, slightly above the player hand.

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