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Baccarat, known as the ‘younger cousin’ of the popular table game Blackjack, should probably be known as the older cousin since its creation preceded blackjack by around 200 years. Unlike blackjack, though, Baccarat didn’t make its way to the United States until the early 20th century and didn’t become popular until the 1950’s.

There are three different game versions of baccarat; baccarat chemin de fer, baccarat banque, and punto banco. Punto banco is normally referred to as North American baccarat. A variation of the North American version is mini-baccarat. Mini-baccarat is the most popular version of baccarat played today, with its lower betting limits and faster game play.

Like blackjack, the main objective is very simple in baccarat. A player tries to have a higher hand value, with 9 as the maximum, than the dealer. In contrast to blackjack, though, baccarat is almost completely based on luck. Despite this, the house still has a very low edge.

This combination of simple rules, chance and a low house edge has made baccarat one of the most popular casino games today.

Baccarat Rules

Once the player has selected the wager amount, placed a bet-player, dealer, or tie- play begins.The dealer and each player will receive two cards initially. In baccarat rules, the number 10 cards, along with all the face cards, count as zero. No hand can have more than three cards in it, either.

Betting with the player pays even money, meaning that if you bet $10 and the player wins you’ll receive $10. Betting with the dealer pays even money, too, except that the house collects a 5 percent cut when a player bets on the dealer. Despite the cut, there is still a mathematical edge on betting with the dealer. Betting on a tie pays 8:1 but a player loses the low house edge on this bet.

The house edge differs depending on each individual casino and the amount of decks used during the baccarat game. This means that a casino that uses eight deck shoes versus a casino that uses one deck will influence the probability and house edge. The fewer the decks used, the greater the house edge is on player bets and the tie bet. For players seeking great odds with simple game rules, baccarat is your game of choice.