Baccarat, made famous by Sean Connery in the first James Bond movie, has long held an air of sophistication. While often perceived as being for high rollers only, its low house edge and straightforward game play makes a compelling argument for low bankroll players to try baccarat as their table game of choice.
No matter whether you prefer Punto Banco, Chemin de Fer, or mini-baccarat versions of the game, its rules remain constant. There should be between seven to 14 seats for players and a separate area for the dealer; two hands of cards will be dealt to both players and banker; the Player’s bet pays 1:1 against banker bet, with 1-to-1 plus 5 percent commission in case it outwits both hands if successful; regardless of what bet you make the goal is always to choose one hand which has higher total than other hands with nine being optimal!
Games using six decks of cards shuffled together and played on an oval table are typically called card shuffler games, where seating is random and play begins immediately to the right of the croupier. A special tool known as a “bead plate” is then used to mark winning Player and Banker bets which are recorded onto a light board for later review and recording purposes. Also referred to as the ‘Big Road,” “Little Road,” or the ‘baby pig road,” this unique tool may take some time for players to become familiar with how this unique tool functions before beginning their games!
Some players claim that reviewing past results of games can help them predict future ones, similar to using a trend-following system. Many casinos provide customers with a baccarat scoreboard chart for tracking past results; however, dealers frequently forget to update this information and therefore it might not always be accurate.
Baccarat offers three bets, with tie being the third one; this bet pays out eight-to-1 but has an increased house edge of over 14 percent, so most serious players prefer sticking with either Player or Banker bets instead.