Baccarat is trying to shake its blue-blood image. In reality, it’s an excellent game for the low-limit novice and the house edge is under 1.5%.

If you like blackjack, you will probably like baccarat, because the two games are similar. Baccarat was discovered first and, unlike blackjack, does not require extensive strategy. All you really have to do is pick a side: banker or player. I can see the growing popularity of such a simple and fast game with fixed rules and easy decisions.

I know how easy it is to feel intimidated by baccarat. The table is usually in a secluded pit area with rich decor and tuxedo-clad people everywhere.
For a long time I wouldn’t even get close enough to find out the rules or what was going on in those plush areas. Now I know what I was missing...a lot!
Baccarat is a card game that is dealt from a shoe. Some tables can accommodate 16 players (with no #13). The shoe holds eight decks of cards. In each game, the player and the banker are each dealt a hand of two cards.

You bet on either of the two hands to win. Winning means coming closest to a value of nine, and not over.
Directly in front of you are two boxes. The box closest to you is for betting that the player will win the next hand, and the box furthest from you is for betting that the banker will win. Most casinos have a minimum baccarat bet.
All number cards, 2 through 9, count as their face value or the number of pips
on the card. All 10s and face cards count as 10. Aces count as 1. No hand can be worth more than 9. If it is, the last digit of the total is used.

For example, if the hand has a king (10) and a 2, then it totals not 12, but 2.
In other words, to quickly determine the value of a hand greater than 9, simply use the last digit of the total number--such as 9 for 19, 0 for 20 or 7 for 17.
It’s important to remember that no hand is too bad or too good to win, because the count can change with the third card, if one is required. This creates a mounting suspense--and that’s what makes baccarat such an exciting adventure.
The casino encourages players to deal cards from the shoe, but you are not obligated to deal. The shoe passes around the table in a counterclockwise direction. The player holding the shoe is considered the banker. However, the banker does not take any additional risk. Technically he or she is not the banker but merely represents the banker’s hand.

The dealer will determine which player has the largest bet on the player’s hand, and will give that person the two cards representing the player’s hand. Both hands are displayed and the totals for each hand are called out.
At this point, the game may or may not be over, depending on whether or not a third card is required. A player does not need to know third-card rules.
The dealer instructs the banker when and if to draw a third card.
After the third card is dealt, if required, the dealer announces the winner--saying,
for example, ‘Banker wins 5 over 3’.
We will discuss the tie bet and mini-baccarat in Part 2.

(Gayle Mitchell is author of Casino Gambling Made Easier books, EBooks, booklets & Slots Trilogy. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)