Simply put the point of baccarat is to have a hand equal to or as close as possible to the value of nine. Alternatively, the point could be to bet correctly on the winning hand. The game of baccarat is actually quite simple even though for a long time it was exclusive to high rollers. It is a fast-paced game which usually involves high value bets with high house edge. Which is probably the reason why it was thought to be for high rollers only.
There is more to the game of baccarat than just having the right hand there are several other side bets which you can place and win big. If you’re interested in finding out more about the game of baccarat keep reading.
What Is the Goal of Baccarat?
To fully understand what the goal of baccarat is you need to grasp what the rules of the game are.
Like most games of chance at the casino you place your bets before you even get your cards. Naturally the game starts with both the player and dealer getting too exposed cards.
In the event that one of those hands is a natural 9 or 8 the game ends and the winning hand gets a payout. However, if both those hands exceed 9, they both get third cards and the winning hand is decided from the total of those three cards. But since a winning hand in baccarat is 9 how does it work that when the hands exceed 9? More cards are added.
That is because the hand value is determined by subtracting 10 from the total hand value. So, for instance if the player or dealer ends up with a hand value of 19, they would have the winning hand because 19 -10 is equal to 9.
An even easier way to get to the hand value is just by looking at the second digit. So, a hand total of 19 would mean the value of the hand is 9, a winning hand.
Let’s try this with another example if there’s a hand total of 17 if you take away 10 from the store till the hand value is 7. Alternatively, if you just look at the second digit that is your hand value 7. Or just take all 10 value cards including the Jacks, Queen and Kings as zero.
Why is Baccarat So Popular?
So, as you can see the game of baccarat is quite simple but it has interesting rules that do make the game dynamic. The game has a quick turnaround time since it’s simply about laying out the cards and seeing whether you have a winning hand or not.
It is unlike a poker or blackjack game where there are several rounds where players can bet again and ask for additional cards. In baccarat getting additional cards is not up to the player it is determined by the game.
Players and dealers are obliged to get third cards if both their hand values exceed 9. Whereas only players are obliged to get third cards when their hand value is below 5. Other than those two situations there are no additional cards in baccarat.
As simple and as fast-paced as this game is it is not at all boring. It’s not that there’s only one bet to make there are three main ways that players can bet. They can either bet on a player having a winning hand, the dealer having a winner or a tie.
Over time the game has evolved and there have been several variations of baccarat Even more now with online casinos, casino operators can easily offer more variations of baccarat. If you would like to test out this age-old casino favorite try out any of the top-rated casinos that we recommend and then enjoy this classic casino card game online.
