The game of baccarat is often associated with luxury and high stakes. It is played with six, seven or eight standard decks of cards and is one of the oldest casino table games in existence. It is a fixed-odds card game in which players try to correctly predict which hand will win the round or if it will be a tie. The value of each hand is determined by adding the values of all the cards, but only the rightmost digit counts (a seven and a six in a hand would count as 12 points, while a four and a five would be worth nine). A third card can also be drawn, depending on the totals of the first two hands.
Despite being a staple of casinos and private clubs around the world, many people are still unfamiliar with the game. The game was prominently featured in the 2013 movie “The Great Gatsby,” where it was part of an extravagant party thrown by Jay Gatsby himself. Although baccarat is most often associated with high-rollers, it can be played by anyone with a relatively low bankroll and some basic strategy.
Baccarat is a table game that has an ancient history in Europe, a long tradition in Asia and, more recently, the US. It is a game with several variations, and the rules can vary slightly between casinos and online versions of the game. This can lead to some confusion for people looking to play baccarat.
Most baccarat players can only articulate their strategies after the fact, when they look at their scorecards and see the patterns that emerged. But there are a few who can tell you their secrets, like a former blackjack counter who we’ll call Francois.
Francois is a regular at the Baccarat tables at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, where he has an uncanny knack for winning on every bet he places. While he won’t divulge his exact strategy, he can explain how he has perfected a system that is invisible to the casino.
The game begins with a player declaring he or she wants to bet on either the player or banker hand. The dealer then deals each player and the banker two cards each. The winner is the hand with a total that comes closest to nine. The score is based on the sum of all the cards’ values, but only the rightmost digit counts—so a hand of three and a six is worth six points, while a three and an eight are worth nine. Face cards and tens count as zero, while aces are worth one.
If the player or banker hands have a total of 8 or 9, the hand is considered a natural and won’t be dealt another card. Otherwise, the dealer will draw a third card on one or both hands if necessary. The resulting score is then paid out to the players who have placed bets on the winner.
