Online Gambling: Baccarat
Written by Mike Valety
Friday, October 17, 2008
In this article, we’ll present some basic information about playing baccarat online and how to score your hand. The name baccarat comes from an Italian word, baccara that means zero. The game is so named because when scoring a baccarat hand, certain cards hold no (zero) value. More on this later in this article.
Some people think that baccarat online is a game played only by high rollers. The game’s very name conjures up images of elegant European casinos and players in evening gowns and tuxedos. Well, in today’s online baccarat playing casinos, the game is accessible to everyone, even those who's online baccarat wagering is quite modest. Online baccarat gambling is exploding in popularity. This easy-to-learn and fast-paced game generally offers a low house edge that’s attractive to players of all skill levels who are gambling on baccarat online.
In live baccarat, the deal rotates around the table, as in craps or poker. In online baccarat, there’s usually a designated dealer. In baccarat playing online, two to eight decks of standard playing cards are loaded into a virtual shoe, which in live baccarat is a device that allows the dealer to rapidly extract cards after players place their online baccarat bets. Regardless of how many people are at the table, only two hands are dealt, one to the current player and one to the dealer.
The game begins when both the player and the dealer receive two cards face up. In some cases, players receive a third card if certain hand value conditions are met. Players have no choice in deciding whether they will receive a third card. This is specified by the rules of the game.
Depending on the value of their hands, each can receive an additional card. The object in baccarat is to have your hand total come as close to 9 as possible. In baccarat an ace counts as 1, cards numbered 2 through 9 count as face value and cards numbered 10, jack, queen, king count as 0. For example, a baccarat hand consisting of an ace and a six will have a point value of 7.
A winning hand in baccarat is determined quite simply: the hand with the highest point total without going over 9 wins. Anyone at the table, including the current player, is allowed to place an online baccarat wager on whether the current player will win or the dealer will win.
Online baccarat is a great game for beginners. Why not give it a try?