| A typical online version of Baccarat is played in the following way at an onscreen table that is a recreation of the classic casino layout. Some casinos will offer single and / or multiplayer versions of this game, but the essential rules and method of play are the same.
The cards in Baccarat are contained in a dealing ‘machine’ called a shoe. Several shuffled packs of cards are held in the shoe, and it is typical for an online casino to use eight virtual decks of playing cards for Baccarat. The casino’s virtual Croupier passes the shoe to the first player to his right who has the option to cut the deck and, in doing so, take on the role of Banker for that hand. If the player declines to cut the cards, the shoe passes to the next player to make the same choice. If none of the players around the table accept to cut the deck the shoe returns to the Croupier who will cut the deck randomly and become the Banker for that hand.
Once the cards have been cut the Croupier draws the first card from the shoe, reveals it and then burns (discards) that number of cards from the shoe e.g. a five is drawn as the first card so the next five cards in the shoe are burned. Aces have a value of ‘1’ and picture cards ‘10’.
The next step is for the shoe to pass to the Banker - either the player who agreed to cut the cards or the Croupier if no player did – and players to make their bet ahead of the Player’s and Banker’s hand being dealt.
When the betting stage of online Baccarat is reached, all players have the option to place bets by putting virtual chips on the Baccarat table in three places to indicate a bet on the Player’s Hand, the Banker’s Hand or a Tie. Players usually press a ‘Deal’ or ‘Pass’ button to indicate that they want to bet or skip on the deal, and there is also usually a time limit within which players must make their decision before they are automatically excluded from that particular hand.
Once all players have indicated whether they want to Deal or Pass on the hand, the Banker’s and Player’s hands of two cards each are automatically dealt from the shoe. Where the value of the cards exceeds 9, the hand’s value for the purposes of Baccarat is calculated by then subtracting ten from the total, e.g. 5 + 9 = 14, deduct 10 to give the hand a value of 4. Also note that in Baccarat all picture cards and tens have a value of 0 and Aces a value of 1.
After the Banker and Player’s initial two cards have been dealt, a third and final additional card may be dealt. In online Baccarat the deal of a third card is automatic according to a ‘Third Card Rule’ explained below. |
