Baccarat

Baccarat is a popular casino card game. It is a card game of comparison played by two hands, the “player” and the “banker.” There are three possible outcomes for each coup (round of play) in baccarat: “player,” “banker,” or “tie.” There are three popular variations of baccarat: punto banco, chemin de fer, and banque. In punto banco, each player’s actions are determined by the cards dealt to them. In baccarat chemin de fer and baccarat banque, both players have the ability to make decisions. With a house edge of at least 1 percent, the odds of winning favor the bank.

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History

Some sources claim that the game’s origins date back to the 19th century, but this is disputed. Other sources claim that soldiers returning from the Italian Wars during the reign of Charles VIII brought the game from Italy to France at the end of the 15th century.

Since the 19th century, the French aristocracy has enjoyed playing baccarat. Before the legalization of casino gambling in 1907, the French frequently played Baccarat in private gaming rooms during the Napoleonic era. Baccarat Banque, which dates to this time period, is the earliest form of baccarat, a three-person game mentioned in Charles Van-Album Tenac’s des jeux. Chemin de Fer evolved from Baccarat Banque as a zero-sum game for two players. The introduction of Baccarat Punto Banco, in which the bettor wagers on whether the Player or Banker hand will win, was a pivotal moment in the evolution of modern baccarat. It evolved into a house-banked game in Havana during the 1940s and is the most popular form of the game today.

Baccarat is generating an increasing proportion of casino revenue in the United States. In May 2012, baccarat only accounted for 18.3% of Nevada’s total table gaming revenue. However, this percentage increased to 33.1% in May 2013 and 45.2% in May 2014.

Valuation of Hands

In baccarat, each card has a point value: the 2 through 9 cards in each suit are worth their face value (in points); the 10, jack, queen, and king have no point value (i.e. are worth zero); aces are worth one point; jokers are not used. The value of a hand is determined by the unit digit of the sum of its constituent cards. For example, a pair of 2 and 3 is worth 5, while a pair of 6 and 7 is worth only 3. (i.e., the 3 being the units digit in the combined points total of 13). Therefore, the highest possible hand value in baccarat is nine.

Versions

Punto Banco

The vast majority of casino baccarat games in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Finland, and Macau are “punto banco” baccarat and are simply labeled “Baccarat.” In punto banco, the casino always “banks” the game and commits to playing out both hands according to fixed drawing rules known as the “tableau” (French for “board”), as opposed to more traditional baccarat games in which each hand is associated with a player who makes drawing decisions. The player (punto) and banker (banco) are merely designations for the two hands dealt out in each coup; two outcomes that the bettor can wager on; the player hand has no special connection to the gambler; nor does the banker have any connection to the house.

Punto banco is dealt from a shoe containing 6 or 8 shuffled decks of cards; a cut-card is placed in front of the seventh-to-last card, and the drawing of the cut-card indicates the final coup. The dealer burns the first card face up, followed by a number of cards face down based on the card’s numerical value, with aces worth 1 and face cards worth 10. Two face-up cards are dealt to each hand for each coup, beginning with “player” and alternating between hands. The croupier can announce the total (e.g., “five player, three banker”). If either the player or the banker or both achieve a total of 8 or 9 at this stage, the coup is concluded and the outcome is declared: a player win, a banker win, or a tie. If neither player’s hand contains eight or nine, the drawing rules are applied to determine whether a third card should be dealt. Then, the drawing rules are applied based on the value of any card drawn to the player to determine whether the banker should receive a third card. The coup is concluded, the outcome is declared, and winning wagers are settled.

Chemin De Fer

In the late 19th century, the term chemin de fer first appeared. It derives its name, which is the French word for railroad, from the fact that it is faster than the original game, the railroad being the fastest mode of transportation at the time. In France, it remains the most popular version.

Six decks of playing cards are combined and shuffled. Typically, players are seated in a random order around an oval table; discarded cards are placed in the center. The game begins to the croupier’s right and continues counterclockwise.

Once the game begins, one player is designated as the banker and deals the cards. The remaining players are “punters.” The position of banker rotates in a counterclockwise direction throughout the game. The banker risks the amount he desires in each round. The other players, in order, then declare whether they will “go bank”, playing against the entire current bank with a matching wager. Only one player may “go bank”. If nobody “goes bank,” players place bets in order. If the total bets from the players are less than the bank, spectators may also wager up to the bank’s amount. If the sum of the players’ wagers exceeds the bank, the banker may increase the bank to match; if he does not, the excess wagers are removed in reverse play order.

The banker deals four cards face down: two to himself and two held in common by the remaining players. The player with the highest individual wager (or first in play order if tied for highest wager) is selected to represent the group of non-banker players. Both the banker and the player examine their cards; if either has an eight or a nine, this is immediately announced and the hands are compared face-up. If neither player’s hand contains an eight or nine, the player may accept or decline a third card; if accepted, the card is dealt face-up. Traditional practice — grounded in mathematics, similar to basic strategy in blackjack, but further enforced via social sanctions by the other individuals whose money is at stake — dictates that one always accept a card if one’s hand totals between 0 and 4, inclusive, and always refuse a card if one’s hand totals 6 or 7. After the player has made a choice, the banker decides whether to accept or reject another card. After both the banker and the representative player have made their respective decisions, the cards are flipped over and compared.

Baccarat Banque

The position of banker is more permanent in Baccarat banque than in Chemin de fer. There are three inter shuffled decks in the shoe. Until all of these cards have been dealt, the banker remains in office, unless he or she resigns of their own accord or runs out of money.

The right to begin having been determined, the banker sits in the middle of one of the oval table’s sides, with the croupier facing them and the discard area in between. On both sides of the banker are gamblers (ten such constitute a full table). All other participants remain standing and may only participate if the current bankroll is not covered by the seated players.

The croupier, after shuffling the cards, hands them to the players to the right and left for the same purpose, with the banker entitled to shuffling them last and choosing who will cut them. Each punter having made their stake, the banker deals three cards, the first to the player on their right, the second to the player on their left, and the third to themself; then three more in like manner. The five gamblers on the right (and any bystanders betting with them) win or lose based on the cards dealt to their side, while the other five gamblers win or lose based on the cards dealt to their side. The same rules as Chemin de fer apply for showing up with eight or nine, offering and accepting cards, etc.

Macao

David Parlett considers Macao as the immediate precursor to baccarat. Its name and rules suggest it may have been brought over by sailors returning from Asia, where similar card games have been played since the early 17th century, such as San zhang, Oicho-Kabu, and Gabo japgi. Macao appeared in Europe at the conclusion of the eighteenth century and was popular among all social classes. Its notoriety led to King Victor-Amadeus III banning it in all his realms in 1788. It was the most popular game in Watier’s, an exclusive gentlemen’s club in London, where it led to the ruin of Beau Brummell. The match in Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Night Games (Spiel im Morgengrauen) contains instructions for Macao under the name of baccarat. Its popularity in the United States waned after the early 20th century. The game still has a following in Continental Europe, especially in Russia.

Macao uses two shuffled decks of playing cards. Bets are placed (within the established limits) against the banker. The banker distributes one card clockwise and face down to each player. The objective of the players is to beat the banker’s card value or lose their wager. In the event of a tie, the winner is whoever has the same value with fewer cards. The banker wins if both the value and number of cards are tied (in an early version, all bets are off). Any player who receives a natural nine will receive three times the amount of their wager, provided the banker does not also have a natural nine. With a natural 8, the payout is doubled, whereas with a 7 or lower, the payout is equal to the original wager. Players may request additional face-up cards; if they receive a ten or a face card, they may reject it and request another. In an early version of this game, going over 9 with extra cards resulted in a “bust” similar to blackjack, whereas later versions use modulo 10 arithmetic similar to other games. The payout for defeating the banker with a pair is equal to the amount wagered. When the deck runs out, the player to the left of the banker becomes the new banker.

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