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From The Wizard of Odds,
Michael Shackleford
Baccarat is
a good game to play if you like a low house edge and something that
doesn't involve any strategy decisions. Two hands are dealt and you
bet which one will win, or that they will tie. It is almost like
betting on the toss of a coin.
The rules
and house edge are the same in baccarat as mini-baccarat, the
differences are in the manner of play.
Baccarat:
Regular baccarat is usually played in a seperate casino area with high
minimum bets. The playing table is about the size of a craps table
with 3 casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. Each player,
including the player dealing, may bet on either the player or the
banker but it is customary for the dealer to bet on the banker.
The deal
will rotate around the table, much like the dice rotate around the
craps table. Players may opt not to deal, passing the shoe to the next
player. The same person will keep dealing as long as the banker keeps
winning.
The person
dealing will put two cards, face down, tucked under the shoe, and give
the player with the greatest bet on the player the other two cards,
face down. This player then looks at the cards and then gives them
back to the player who is dealing. Then the player who is dealing will
turn over the cards and one of the casino dealers will announce the
totals.
Depending on
the totals the dealer may then instruct the person dealing the cards
to deal a third card. Finally the dealers will pay winning wagers and
collect losing ones. The player who actually deals is not assuming any
financial responsibility of the other players bets, unlike pai gow,
and is just turning over cards.
Mini-baccarat: Mini-baccarat is played in the regular casino area
on a table about the size of a blackjack table. The dealer controls
everything resulting in a larger number of hands being dealt per hour.
The Rules
Baccarat is
played from an eight-deck shoe. Cards less than ten are counted at pip
value, aces are worth 1, and tens and face cards are worth 0. Suits
don't matter.
Play begins
by players betting either on the 'player', 'banker', or a tie.
Dealer gives
two cards each to the player and the banker. The score of the hand is
the right digit of the total of the cards. (For example if the two
cards dealt were an 8 and 7, then the total would be 15, and the score
would be a 5.) The scores will always range from 0 to 9 and it is
impossible to bust.
A third card
may be dealt to either or both the player and the dealer depending on
these conditions:
If either
the player or the banker holds a total of 8 or 9 they both stand.
This rule overrides all other rules.
If the
player's total is 5 or less then the player hits, otherwise the player
stands.
If the
player stands, then the banker hits on a total of 5 or less. If the
player does hit then use the chart below to determine if the banker
hits (H) or stands (S).
Banker's
Score |
Player's
Third Card |
|
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
7 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
|
6 |
S |
S |
H |
H |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
|
5 |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
S |
S |
|
4 |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
|
3 |
H |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
2 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
1 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
0 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
The
winning hand is the one with the higher total. Winning bets on the
banker pay 19 to 20 (or even money less a 5% commission), winning
bets on the player pay 1 to 1, winning bets on a tie pay either 8 to
1 or 9 to 1, depending on where you play. Regardless of whether the
tie pays 8:1 or 9:1 it is a bad bet (very poor odds) and should be
avoided.
You may
wonder how the dealer collects the 5% commission on winning banker
bets. If they did so every hand it would involve a lot of change and
slow down the game. To avoid slowing play, the dealer will pay even
money to winning banker bets and consider the 5% an IOU. As play
progresses through an eight deck shoe the dealer will keep track of
the commissions every player owes. At the end of the shoe or when a
player wants to leave mid-shoe the dealer will collect the
commissions. Make sure you don't run out of money with outstanding
commissions.
Baccarat
and mini-baccarat seem to draw a lot of superstitious players.
Scorecards and pencils are placed on every table for players to keep
track of the outcome of every hand. Many players use these
scorecards to discover patterns in an effort to predict future
hands. This is a big waste of time. It is possible to cut down the
house edge slightly by counting cards but looking for patterns will
not help at all. As is true of all games of luck like baccarat,
roulette, and craps, past events -- regardless of how remarkable or
unlikely -- have no effect on future events.
|
Mini-Baccarat |
|
Bet |
Probability
of Winning |
House
Edge |
|
Bank |
45.84% |
1.17% |
|
Player |
44.61% |
1.36% |
|
8:1 Tie |
9.54% |
14.12% |
|
9:1 Tie |
9.54% |
4.57% |
Establishing the odds
The
probability of winning and house edge statistics at right were
calculated by considering all 4,826,809 possible combinations of 6
cards, ignoring the suit. I wrote a computer program to play all
possible combinations, consider when and when not the third card(s)
should be taken, calculate the winner in every situation, and keep a
running total. Of the 4,826,809 variations the bank won 2,212,744;
the player won 2,153,464; and there was a tie the other 460,601.
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