Believed to have first been enjoyed by the aristocracy Europe, spreading from Italy to France by the 1400s, Baccarat is available to be enjoyed by everybody, all over the world, today. It forms part of the heart of many casinos in South Africa, both online and offline, with the online versions getting smoother and more immersive all the time.
How the Game Works
There are three game versions available online today, with Punto Banco being the most common of these. This makes it the ideal place to learn the basics of Baccarat, before investigating the others and refining your own tactics.
In Punto Banco, two cards are dealt in two hands, called the Punto (Player) and Banco (Banco). The values assigned to the Ace and Face cards are one and zero respectively, and the Number cards all carry their face value. The two cards are totalled and the ten value is dropped, so a hand of a four and a nine card has a value of three and not thirteen.
A Natural, a hand of eight or nine, automatically wins the round. If the Player hand is six or seven, it stands, and below this another card is dealt. There are more complicated rules for determining whether the Banker hand gets another card, involving the original Banker and Player hand total, and what the value of the third Player card was. It’s never your responsibility to remember these regulations, but the Dealer’s, and most online South African casinos are designed to automatically deal a third card where necessary.
The only thing you need to focus on is placing shrewd wagers, and you have to place them before the hands are dealt. You can choose to bet that the Punto hand will be higher and win, that the Banco hand will win, or that the hands will tie. Winning bets on Punto hands pay out 1:1, those on Banco hands pay out the same less 5% commission and those on ties pay out a staggering 8:1 reward. This makes tie bets very tempting but be warned – the house edge is just as large as the payouts, and stands at a massive 14.1%.
Strategy Pointers
The cards dealt in Baccarat are determined by chance and are out of your hands, so you need to focus your strategy on how you do betting on this game like some players in New Zealand at NZD casinos. It’s always wisest to base these on calculated odds, which are usually explained in full at the online casinos offering the game. You can also find the information on the many informative websites dedicated to the game, as well as lots of other resources and advice. You’ll gain more and more insight as you keep playing and visiting these websites, but to start you off, you should never bet against a winning streak. After three consecutive wins, bet with the run or wait until it stops. You should also only bet on a tie if you are comfortable with losing the money – and are feeling very lucky!
Lifelong Entertainment
Once you’ve started playing Baccarat, you’ll soon see why it’s so popular, and the good news is it just keeps getting better. The more you play, the more insight you’ll gain, and the more you’ll win. Enjoy and appreciate every part of the journey.
