Baccarat Game Throughout The Centuries

Baccarat is an old card game whose origins go back to the end of the 15th century. That time the Italians played the game called Punto Banco (literally translated as jackpot point). The game soon was introduced in France and became the favourite entertainment of French nobles during King Charles VIII’s reign. It was also in France that the game acquired its current name. Finally, in 1959 baccarat was brought to Las Vegas and since then became extremely popular among the gamblers all over the world.

The game is associated with mystery and romance. No wonder it was one of the most favourite hobbies of James Bond, the legendary secret agent! Baccarat first featured on the screen in 1953 when one of the first movies about Bond was filmed. Later Agent 007 played the game again in Casino Royale.

With the introduction of Internet, baccarat started also being played online in many virtual casinos in Australia. Online baccarat reproduces real game process and hence provides fabulous playing experience. We recommend several high-quality and reliable online casinos where the Aussies can play baccarat. All of these establishments offer close-to-reality graphics and sound effects and are perfectly safe.

Baccarat Game Main Rules

Baccarat is considered to be quite elite and is mainly favored by high rollers. Less experienced players often think that the rules of the game are too complicated. However, it is not rocket science and can easily be mastered with a bit of training, just like most other games.

Baccarat is a card-comparing game, and in this regard it resembles blackjack. The player competes with the dealer by aiming at achieving a higher hand value. However, there is one significant difference. In order to win you do not have to bet on your own hand – you can either opt for betting on the dealer’s hand or suppose that there will be a tie.

The highest value on hand in baccarat is 9. Cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value. All face cards are worth 0 while aces are worth 1. Still, some novices find it difficult to value hands while playing baccarat. For example, how can you possibly have not more than 9 on hand if you have, say, two eights? The secret is that values are determined by rightmost number. So if you have two eights, then their sum is 16, with the rightmost number being 6. Hence, your hand value in this case will be 6. Hopefully, in online baccarat there is no need to value hands – the computer will do it for you.

Baccarat Payouts

The payouts in baccarat are given at even money odds both for the dealer’s and player’s bets. In other words, in case the player wins, he gets an amount which is equal to his wager. However, dealer bets are subject to a 5 per cent commission, so the real dealer’s odds are 0.95 to 1 in case of win.

Tie bets are more valuable since they offer bigger payout odds of 8 to 1. This means that if both the dealer and the player hold hands of equal value, then the player wins AUD80 for every AUD10 staked.

Baccarat Game Guide

In this section we are ready to answer all the questions you may have about online baccarat, as well as supply you with some interesting information about this game. Below you will find useful links, articles and wise tips.

The main part of our guide is dedicated to playing process. Here you can read about table layout and odds. If you would like to learn more about the history of baccarat, then click to open the corresponding article. Finally, those who are not yet familiar with special card terms can appeal to our professional glossary. It will help you to get the idea of each and every baccarat term and to improve your theoretical base.

Baccarat Gaming Strategies

Baccarat can be played with the use of different strategies. However, none of them is based on abstention – you will not be able to avoid decisions that can anyhow impact your hand value. Besides, no strategy can help you to change the odds of the game. They never depend on anyone, and in online baccarat the random number engine is used that makes odds of drawing each card absolutely equal.

Still, there are several proven and world-famous baccarat systems that are definitely worth trying and that you may enjoy. Surprisingly, some of these systems were developed by famous mathematicians (e.g., Fibonacci) as scientists have long found that mathematics and casino games always go hand in hand. Below you will find more detailed information on each of the six baccarat strategies we recommend.

  • 1-3-2-6 Baccarat System
  • Martingale system
  • Labouchere system
  • D’Alembert system
  • Fibonacci system
  • Betting on streaks

Types of Baccarat

There are several varieties of baccarat, and each and every of them has certain differences in rules. The most common type is Punto Banco – the game that was invented in Italy and that is played in most Australian online casinos. The main rule is that the player draws a third card whenever his hand value is from 0 to 5 and stands when the value on hand is 6 or 7. If the player or the dealer has 8 or 9 points with only two cards, then this is considered to be a natural hand. In this case the drawing rule does not apply and the winner is determined immediately.

The French varieties include Chemin De Fer and Baccarat Banque. In these types of baccarat skill matters since they are multi-player.

Normally, online casinos in Australia make the differences between various types of baccarat less noticeable than in real casinos. However, you can still play either classical baccarat or its mini version which is played on a smaller table and implies dealing the cards with their backs up.

  • American Baccarat
  • Baccarat en Banque
  • Chemin de Fer
  • Mini Baccarat