PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF THE BACCARA GAME

What do we need?

• At least two packs/decks of 52 playing cards
• Between six and eight players
• A shoe
• A game layout

Purpose of the game

Baccara has a simple principle: that is to guess which hand (party) will be winning, namely will it be that of the bank, that of the player, or will there be a standoff (a tie). As a reminder, these basic rules are simple compared to that of Blackjack, in which case the player's objective is to reach, while accumulating his lot of cards, a total getting as close to 21 points as possible. In the case of Baccara, the hand closest to a 9 is the winning hand. In other words, with Baccara one has to second guess which of the two parties (hands) will get the upper hand. So that there will either be one winner, or a tie.

Let us unwind of the game of Baccara for you

The banker starts by announcing the sum of money he wishes to gamble. Bets are then taken. The player furthest on the right hand side of the croupier (dealer) has the preference. He covers either part of or the entire stake. The next player can chose to cover the uncovered part of the stake and so on, until the total staked is equal to the amount in the bank. A player will say "banco" if he commits to covering the whole of the banker's stake. What is worth knowing is that a banco bet takes precedence over all other bets. Once the stakes are done with, the game can begin. The banker proceeds to play against one sole opponent, namely "the table" (which stands in fact for the lot of players). He deals, face downwards, the first and third cards for his opponent (the “punter”). This punter being the player who called “banco” or the one who has the highest stake. The banker will keep for himself the second and fourth cards.

As we know that the hands have a value ranging between 0 and 9 points, the aim is to bet on which of the two hands, the banker's or that of the player, will amount as close as possible to 9 points, with the two cards dealt. In other words, the value of a hand is obtained by addition. In the beginning when both player and banker each receive 2 cards and decide whether to leave it at that or to call for a third card; if the total value of the first two cards - whatever the hand - is 8 or 9, one calls that a "natural". If the punter or the banker has a "natural", he shows his hand and his opponent must do likewise. The one with the highest total wins. If both hands reach the same total, each player recoups his stake and the game proceeds afresh.

For as long as he wins or wishes to remain the banker, the banker will keep his seat. Then, according to Baccara standard rules and depending on his hand, the player decides whether "to stay" (stand) or to call for a third card. To do this, he will say "card". The banker will deal the punter a new card, this time face upwards. At this time, the banker will now have to decide whether he himself will draw an extra card.

Whenever players supplement their hands, that is to say draw a third card, they must abide to a specific set of rules for card drawing. Both bankers and punters are ruled by these and a code of behaviour.

Players are also known as "punters", meaning "hombre" = man, in Spanish. Moreover the name originates in a Spanish card game. Today, the terms of "big punters/ high rollers" are used to describe the VIPs.

Cards have the following values: King, Queen, Jack (known as the “court cards”) and the number 10 card = 0 points, Ace = 1 point.

All other cards are worth at face value, i.e.: the value is that of the number on each card.

How is a hand calculated?

Example: when the total value of the cards in a hand exceeds 10, there are two ways of reducing this value, either by subtracting 10 from this value, or by dropping the tens digit and keeping that of the digits.

A few examples for a better understanding: if the cards in a hand add up to 10 points or more, one takes 10 out. The remaining amount is the value of the hand.
Ex: 8 + 8 = 16, this hand is worth 6 points.
Another example: 3 + 0 + 6 = 9 the score will thus be 9 for this hand.
And one last example: 10 + 4 + 9 = 13, this hand is worth 3 points.

It is worth noting that unlike what happens with Blackjack, in a game of Baccara, a player can bet on his own hand or on the dealer's. In this game, three possible choices are offered to bet on, namely, the player, the banker or a tie, as explained above.

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