Baccarat Betting
Baccarat has great odds for the player. When the player’s betting, the house has only a small edge. To balance this out, the house takes a commission, usually 5 percent, on winning bank bets. The bets are always made before any of the cards have been dealt. The banker plays against only one player at a time. Even so, everyone present can bet on each hand.
The baccarat table is well endowed! Up to 14 players have been known to sit around the kidney shaped baccarat table, depending of course on the size of the table. Baccarat employs three dealers at a time! They have special names too – croupiers – and they run the game together. The duties of the croupiers are as follows: two handles the bets and commissions, one handles the cards.
Players may sit where they wish. Bets are always made in a specially marked area on the table that corresponds to each player’s seat. Players can bet in three ways: you can bet on the bank, on a player’s hand or on a tie. This is where it can turn into “every man for himself!” It’s not at all uncommon to see players switch from betting on the bank to betting on a player’s hand and back and forth. If you have a larger payoff, you should not bet on a tie. This bet is considered to be one of the worst bets in the casino.
Bets are made by placing your money on the table in your marked area on the wagering spot — the one that corresponds to the player or players you are betting on. Each wager spot has a spot for the player and the bank. If you are betting on the player, you put your cash in the spot marked for the player. If you are betting on the bank, you put your cash in the spot marked for the bank. For example; you want to bet on the bank in spot 4, and the player in spot 6. Here’s what you do: you put your cash in the area marked “bank” in spot 4, and the area marked “player” in spot 6. See? Easy, right?
Winning bets pay even money, except of course, the commission is subtracted. Sorry, house rules. Hands that are tied pay off 8 to 1, oh, and a bank or player bet is treated as a push. The good news is that the money for the push stays on the table for the next hand! Have fun.
