Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games around the world and there are several different versions of the game. In the United States, they play a version known as ‘Punto Banco’ – punto translates as ‘player’ and banco translates as ‘banker’. The three main types of the game are the mini version, the midi version, and ‘big’ baccarat. Each of the game tables offers the casino a built-in advantage that the player should be aware of when they start playing the game.
The Rules of live Mini-Baccarat
The object of the mini-baccarat game is for the player to put a bet on the hand that they believe will have the highest value. The game’s dealer will hand out two sets of cards. Each set has two cards in it. The player has one set and the banker is given the other. The value of each set is added up and it is the hand that has the highest value that wins. However, when the value of the cards is added up it must come to a single digit.
As an example, if the hand is a 9 and an 8, then these added up come to 17, but for a single-digit value, the ‘tens’ value is dropped, leaving it as a 7. As a result of this rule, all cards which generally hold a value of 10 are the equivalent of 0 in mini-baccarat. All Aces become the equivalent of 1.
The third card rule
A third card can help with the hand. It is recommended that if the hand value is between 0 and 5 then a card is drawn. If the value is 6 or 7 then the handstands as it is and if it is 8 or 9 then this is just retained as a high-scoring hand – it has a good chance of winning. This is known as a natural hand but this can only apply to the first two cards that are drawn. Dealers in a bricks-and-mortar casino have to memorise a chart so that they know when to deal a third card.