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into any casino and you are bound to
find a baccarat game going on. The excitement
and allure of baccarat, since its conception
in Italy in the fifteenth century and
its subsequent evolution in France,
has made baccarat one of the most popular
games in the gambling industry today.
While there are many variations of
the game of baccarat, there are three
that are widely accepted: 'baccarat
chemin de fer' (also called railroad),
'punto banco' (also called North American
baccarat) and baccarat banque.
A baccarat game traditionally calls
for the gambler to complete a hand
of two or three cards and to reach
a card value that is as close to nine
as possible in the first two cards.
There are two natural hands in baccarat
- a natural eight (second best) and
a natural nine. If the bank or another
player has a natural eight or nine,
the other players do not draw a third
card and bets are called off in a
tie.
Cards from 2 until 9 have their face
values, while tens, Jacks, Queens
and Kings are worth zero. The Ace
is valued at 1. When a hand's value
totals more than 10, the first digit
is dropped.
A baccarat game takes place around
a regular baccarat table with up to
14 players and three dealers. Players
bet either on the banker or the dealer,
although the dealer traditionally
bets on the banker.
A baccarat game has only three possible
outcomes - player, banker and tie.
Despite its aura of snootiness and
elegance, a baccarat game is really
as simple as tossing a coin. The house
edge on the best bet is only 1.06%
- making it one of the best game choices
around.
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