Baccarat is a high-class card game with high minimum bets, generally played in a special roped-off part of the casino, with well-dressed players. James Bond played it in one of the movies. Some casinos have Mini-Baccarat in the regular gaming areas which is the same game except the minimum bets are lower, you don’t have to dress like James (or Jane) Bond, and the players don’t get to take turns dealing the cards themselves.
A player will place a wager on which of two hands (the “Player” or the “Banker”) will have a total point closest to 9. Each hand will receive at least two cards but no more than three. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards. The first and third cards dealt from the shoe constitute the “Player’s” hand, and the second and forth cards constitute the “Banker’s” hand.
Face cards and tens count as 0; Aces count as 1, and all other cards count as face value. If required, a third card is dealt to each hand according to specific rules. The hand with the highest point total closest to nine wins. Winning bets are paid even money. However, a winning “Banker” bet pays a 5% commission which is withheld from winnings after each such bet. If both hands result in identical totals, the “Tie” bet wins, paying 8 to 1. When a “Tie” occurs, all bets on the “Player” and the “Banker” are neither paid nor taken.
Jun 18