Baccarat at Montecasino

Baccarat (pronounced Ba-Cah-Rah) is one of the grandest casino games.

Montecasino has 2 full sized Baccarat tables in the Salon Prive, as well as a midi table. These baccarat tables have a minimum bet of R200, with a differential of R50, 000.00.

The game of Baccarat is simple, as there are only 3 possible outcomes:

- Player
- Bank
- Tie

The term 'Player' does not refer to the customer and the term 'Banker' does not refer to the house. They are just options on which the customer can bet. Each hand, or coup, consists of a minimum of four and a maximum of six cards.

In Baccarat 8 decks of cards are used, and those playing place their bets on the Player hand, the Banker hand, or on the tie. You can also play both player and tie or banker and tie at the same time. If player wins, even money gets paid and if the banker wins it is paid 19 to 20, we call this tax and effectively "5% tax" is deducted from the payout. Tie pays 8 to 1.

Two cards are dealt face down by the dealer to the 'player' hand, and two cards to the 'banker' hand. Players cards are handed out first to the guest with the largest bet on the 'player'. After they are revealed they are returned to the dealer and then the "Banks' cards are handed to the player with the biggest bet on the 'Bank'.

If either hand has a total of 8 or 9, then it is called a 'Natural' and no more cards are dealt.

The highest score that can be achieved is 9 (from a 4 and 5, 10 and 9, etc). All baccarat hands have values in the range 0 to 9 inclusive. The hand with the higher value wins; if the hands have the same value, the result is a tie.

If there is no natural result then the palette dealer, who is responsible for drawing cards, will draw a third and maybe fourth card as per set drawing rules used by casinos.

Card values in Baccarat

Face Cards (Jack, Queen, King), and 10s have no value. Aces have a value of 1 point. Cards 2-9 have their face value (2 is worth 2 points, 3 is worth 3 points etc...) The winning hand in Baccarat is the one which totals closest to 9.

Calculating the Score

Players calculate their score by taking the sum of all cards and after adding the value of the cards the tens digit is ignored.

The name 'Baccarat' is unusual in that the game is named after the worst hand, worth 0 points.

Baccarat Drawing Rules

These may appear a little confusing but once learnt they are simple. No additional cards are drawn if either the banker or the player holds a natural 8 or 9. Otherwise:

When the player holds

• 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Player draws a card
• 6, 7 Player stands
• 8,9 Natural - no more cards

When the Banker holds

• 0,1,2 Bank draws a card
• 3 Bank draws a card unless player's 3rd card is 8
• 4 Bank draws a card when player's 3rd card is 2 - 7
• 5 Bank draws a card when player's 3rd card is 4 - 7
• 6 Bank draws a card when player's 3rd card is 6 or 7
• 7 Bank stands
• 8, 9 Natural - no more cards

To watch a game of Baccarat in progress is an exciting experience as the cards get dealt to the players who then get the opportunity to open them themselves. This is executed in different ways including opening the cards straight away, squeezing them, etc... So why not join the fun next time you are at Montecasino.