How to Play Online Baccarat

Baccarat is one of the many online casino games where the objective is to bust the bank. It is among the most favourite games of online gamers that play at online and land-based casinos. The game itself has only three possible outcomes you can bet on and those are 'Player', 'Banker' and 'Tie'. Along with the classic version of baccarat, there are three different types of Baccarat variants usually on offer at a land-based or online casino, these variants are "chemin de fer", "Banque" and "Baccarat - Punto Banco".

The History of Baccarat

Having been invented as early as the 1400s, Baccarat can be classed as one of the oldest casino games in existence. The word Baccarat is derived from the Italian language and means ‘Zero’, this is a reference to the fact that all the cards upward from 10 actually have a value of zero. France developed their own variant of baccarat ‘Chemin de…’ which is French for railway or railroad. This version became extremely popular around most of Europe too. In the UK the version of baccarat called “Punto Banco” became the variant of choice back in the day. It was this version that made its way to the USA first, via a small detour in South America.

How to Play Classic Baccarat

In this exciting game, numbered cards are valued at their face value and the 10, Jack, Queen and King have no score. The Ace is valued at one point. If the sum card value is higher than 10, then the score will equal the Total Card value which would be 10. So, for a card total of 21, your score is actually 1.

At the start of a round, two cards are passed face-down to the punters and then to the player who acts as the banker. The cards will then be turned and the dealer adds up the total score obtained by each punter. If any player or the bank gets either 8 or 9, no extra cards are dealt and the biggest score will win the game. In the other case, the game just carries on. Each player draws one more card if he shows 0 through 5 or stands if he has a 6 or a 7. The bank draws a card based on his hand or if the punter also draws.

Baccarat Variants – How to Play

For the most part, the different variants of baccarat follow the same rules as the classic game version. Listed below is each variant of baccarat and any major difference they feature from that of the classic version.

Baccarat - chemin de fer

The version of “Chemin” is a variation of baccarat that is played usually with 6 full stacks of cards mixed together at the centre of the gaming table. The mixing of cards is done first by the dealer and then by the punters, starting from the dealer's left as each takes it in turn to play the role of the banker.

Baccarat - Banque

The differences between Baccarat “Chemin de...” and “Banque” are related to the choice of bank player itself. There are 3 stacks of cards in this variant of baccarat and the banker stays active until he loses, similar to a winner stays on the scenario. If the cards are not dealt out yet, then the player banker can opt to leave the table also.

Baccarat - Punto Banco

"Punto" means "Player", while "Banco" means "Bank", in reference to the two principal bets of the game. The objective is to bet on the hand, either "Punto" or "Banco" that you think will have a total of, or closest to, the value of 9. You may also make a bet on whether both the "Punto" and "Banco" hands will have the same total.