Playing the Games - Mini Baccarat
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Basics of Mini Baccarat
Each player has three betting areas in front of him corresponding to his seat.
- red circle, to bet on the player
- yellow circle, to bet on the bank
- white number just above the yellow circle, to bet on a tie
Croupier seats opposite the players. There is a chip rack in front of him and numbered area used to keep track of the commission that the players owe. The numbers correspond to the number of the players' seats at the table.
A central position of the croupier allows him to reach all areas on the table. In the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. In the Mini Baccarat the rituals of passing the shoe are missing and the dealer is always the Banker and the Players never touch the cards.
All other rules are exact the same as in the large game.
- Players make bets according to the Betting Rules
- Croupier deals four cards face-up, two to the "Player" hand and two to the "Banker" hand.
- Croupier deals (or not) the thirds cards to both or to only one hand following Baccarat drawing rules
- Croupier compares hand's values of the "Player" and "Banker".
- Croupier collects the lost bets and pays the winnings.
On the winning "Banker" hand Croupier pays 1 to 1 and makes notes of the commission that the players owe, which is collected when the player leaves the table.
BACCARAT BETTING RULES
There are three betting options in Baccarat.
- Betting on the Player's Hand
- Betting on the Banker's Hand
- Betting on a Tie
You can bet any amount from the table minimum to the table maximum.
betting on the player's hand
By placing your gaming chips in the "Player"area in front of you, you are betting on the player hand.
You win the bet, if the player hand at the end of the round (after all drawing and dealing are done), will be greater than the dealer's. In this case, you are paid even money and charged no commission.
The house edge for this bet is 1.29%.
betting on the banker's hand
By placing your gaming chips in the "Banker"area in front of you, you are betting on the Banker hand.
You win the bet, if the banker hand at the end of the round will be greater than the player's. In this case, you are paid even money and charged the standard 5% commission fee on the amount that you won.
In order not to slow down the game, the dealer does not collect the "vigorish" after each round. He pays even money to winning banker bets and keeps records of the commission every player owes. After the finish of a shoe, or when a player wants to leave before the end of a shoe, the dealer will collect the accumulated commission.
When you bet on the "Banker's" hand, the casino has advantage of 1.01%. It is one of the lowest house advantages in the casino.
betting on a tie
If you want to bet on the Tie hand, you will place your gaming chips in the "Tie" area or on the number corresponding to your seat. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1 without any commission fee.
If there is a tie, bets on the "Banker or "Player" are returned, but you can leave them on the betting area for the next round or increase/decrease your bet.
Tie Bet is the worst bet in baccarat since this bet has a house advantage of 15.75%
BACCARAT DRAWING RULES
Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions made after a bet is placed. The rules are automatic. It means that the Dealer at the table acts according to these rules without consulting players.
The highest total any baccarat hand can have is nine. A two-card total of nine is called a "natural" and cannot lose. An eight is the second-best hand and is also called a natural. If both player and bank are dealt identical hands, it is a standoff (a tie) and neither bank nor player wins.
The dealer gives two cards each to the player and the banker.
- If either the player or the banker has a total of an 8 or a 9 they both stand. There is no exceptions and this rule overrides all other rules.
- If the player has total of 6 or 7, the player stands.
- If the player stands, the banker hits on a total of 5 or less.
- If the player has total of 5 or less, the player automatically hits and the banker gives the player a third card.
If the player gets the third card then the banker draws a third card according to the following rules:
- Banker has total of 0, 1, 2: Banker always draws a third card.
- Banker has total of 3: Banker draws if Player's Third Card is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-0 (not 8)
- Banker has total of 4: Banker draws if Player's Third Card is 2-3-4-5-6-7
- Banker has total of 5: Banker draws if Player's Third Card is 4-5-6-7
- Banker has total of 6: Banker draws if Player's Third Card is of 6-7
- Banker has total of 7: Banker always stands.
Once the final cards are dealt, the score of the player and dealer are compared.
The winning hand is the one with the greater total.
BACCARAT HAND VALUES
The object of the game is to place a bet on the winning hand. Regardless of how many players are at the table, only two hands are dealt: one hand for the banker and another for the player.
hand values
All Tens and face cards (jack, queen, and king) are worth zero. The ace is worth "1" and the Two through Nine are worth their face value.
Card suits have no meaning in Baccarat.
The total of the hand, regardless if it consist of two or three card, determined by summing up the values of the cards in the hand.
When the total of the hand is 10 or more, 10 must be subtracted. The remaining total is the card count.
For example, if the first two cards dealt are Jack and 4, the count is four. And 6, 2 and 6, although totaling 14 would count as 4 after subtracting the 10.
