When most people hear the term Baccarat they think of a very high end game that is for the rich or something that James Bond plays on his off days. Baccarat is actually quite popular now among land and online casinos and is a very easy and cheap game to play. Its origins are French and the game is similar to black jack. The object of the game is to get a hand that is closer to 9 with either 2 or three cards.

There are three bets when you are playing Baccarat which is explained in more detail below. A banker will hold the shoe and is responsible for dealing all the cards to each player. If the banker wins the hand they retain the banking title and if the player hand wins then the shoe passes from the banker to the player. At anytime you can pass off the title of banker if you desire.

How to Play Baccarat
First you will need to know the value of each card before you play. Cards retain their face value from 2-9 while the tens, jacks, queens, have a zero value. The ace card will have a value of one. The hand that is closest to nine is a winning hand. When the total of the hand is 10 or more the player is required to subtract ten from their hand. If a player was to receive a 4 and a 10 the total would be 4.

Baccarat Hands
Player hands: If the players first two cards total six or more the player must stand. If the cards total five or less the player is allowed to draw one more additional card.

Banker Hands: If the two cards total seven or more the banker has to stand and cannot draw another card. If the banker draws a total of zero, one or two the banker draws one more card. If the banker draws three, four, five or six the banker can only draw if the player draws. If the player did not draw then the banker cannot draw.

Baccarat Betting
There are three bets you can play when playing Baccarat. There are typically 15 spots on a Baccarat table that allow you to bet on the banker to win or the player to win.

To bet on a tie you place your chips on the Tie box and if the player ties the banker then you get a pay out of 8:1.

To bet on the banker means that you place your chips in the banker square in front of you. You win if the bankers hand is closer to nine then the players you are paid even money 1:1.

To bet on the player means that you place your chips in the banker square in front of you. You win if the players hand is closer to nine then the bakers you are paid even money 1:1.

The casino makes its money by taking a 5% commission off each winning hand. They do not collect this after every round but rather keep track of all winnings by each player. Online casinos will take the commission right away as the operating system can calculate it immediately.

Baccarat Strategy
To be quite honest there is really no Baccarat strategy as the previous deals do not have anything to do with the current hand. USOnlineCasino.com has provided some tips to their Baccarat players that have been known to help first timers.

Never bet on a tie: Just because you have three options does not mean you have to use all three. Betting on a tie hand the house has a edge of 15.75 percent versus 1.01% for the bank hand and 1.29% on the player hand.

Baccarat Odds: A player should always look for a game that offers lower amount of decks played and that offers less commission. Some online casinos will offer hands with only one deck which can be beneficial.