Baccarat

Rules

Players: The banker sits at the head of a table long enough to seat four to six people on each side. The table is divided into two halves by a broad band, where the bank is kept (Figure 1). Three standard 52-card packs are used, shuffled together. A tray, or wastebasket, is provided beside the banker for the disposal of cards taken out of play.

Figure 1                                                                                                  Baccarat table

All who contest for a place at the table bid; each bid represents the amount the player is willing to put up as the capital of the bank. The highest bidder becomes the banker, and the amount bid is his bank. He sits in the banker's seat and the total of his bank, in chips, is placed in front of him. From two to ten other players may have seats at the table, being selected in the order of the bids they made, or of their entrance into the room. In order of their precedence, the highest sits in the first seat at the banker's right, the next highest in the first seat at the banker's left, then the second seat from the banker's right, the second seat from his left, and so on.

All the cards are shuffled together, placed in front of the banker, and within reach of him, and toppled over so that he may slide the end cards off easily.

	Values of the Cards: Face cards and tens count 0 (zero), aces count 1 each, other cards their pip value. A hand consists of two or three cards. The closer the count is to 9 (or to 19 or 29, for only the final digit counts), the better is the hand. 9 beats 8, 8 beats 7, and so forth. If the total is 0, it is called Baccarat.
	Before his first deal the banker may burn from one to six cards, showing them to the players, and then throwing them in the wastebasket. After that the cards are dealt in order from the end of the pack, as follows: With his left hand, the banker slides a card face down toward his left; with his right he then slides a card face down toward his right; with his left hand again he slides a card face down toward himself. Then he repeats the process, so that there are two cards at his left, two at his right and two in front of him. In Europe, the hand to the right is usually dealt first.
	Figure 2

Betting: Before each deal, as described above, called a coup, the players place their bets. Both the players seated at the table and the spectators may bet. The banker is liable for payment of bets only to the amount remaining in his bank. A bet placed on the right of the line means a bet that the hand dealt by the banker to his right will beat the banker's hand; a bet to the left of the line means a bet on the left hand; a bet placed on the line, called à cheval, means a bet split on the two hands as follows: If both beat the banker, the bettor wins; if the banker beats both, the banker wins; if the banker beats one and loses to one, it is a stand-off, and the bettor removes his bet.

Any player may call banco, meaning that he stakes an amount equal to the entire bank. In this case no other bets may be placed against the bank. If two or more players wish to banco on the same coup, the right is determined by order of precedence. The player who bancos plays both hands. He may choose to bet on either side, or to split his bet as he sees fit; except that in most houses the banker is permitted to refuse the banco unless it is divided between the two sides. In some cases it must be divided evenly between the two sides, while some houses provide that a certain minimum must be bet on one side, and the remainder may be bet on the other side.

Determining the Winner: On the first coup, the players immediately next to the banker play the cards dealt to their respective sides. Each of these two players and the banker looks at his two cards. If any player has a 9 or an 8, he calls "natural", and shows his cards. A natural wins immediately; a natural 9 beats a natural 8. If two naturals tie, it is a stand-off, and the bets are removed.

Any hand that has not already won or lost because of a natural may draw an additional card. First, the player at the banker's right may say "carte", whereupon the banker slides a card towards him, and turns it face up. Then the player at the banker's left may have a card. Then the banker may take a card. When the banker has drawn, or not, as he chooses, he shows his hand, and the other players show theirs. As between the banker's hand and the hand on each side, the higher combination (counting the final digit only) wins. Ties are a stand-off, the bets being removed. The used cards are tossed into the wastebasket, and bets are placed for the next coup.

Paying Bets: The banker pays first the bet of the player next him on the right, then of the player next him on the left; and so forth down the line of the players at the table, and then pays the bets of spectators.

Since the banker is liable only to the extent of his bank, spectators must be careful not to bet unless they are sure that the previous bets have not already committed the entire bank; otherwise they may win, and not get paid.

The Play: Ordinarily, the cards for the first coup are played by the respective players next to the banker. As long as such a player wins, he continues to play the cards dealt to his side. On a stand-off, he continues to play the cards. When he loses, the right to play the cards passes to the player next to him, and so on in rotation.

The banker may never reduce his bank, nor remove any winnings from it, but he may retire after any coup. In this event the bank is offered, at the same size as the bank of the retiring banker, to each player in order of precedence. If none of these players accepts the bank on these terms, it is put up for auction again.

Most houses have their own rules for Baccarat. Since the game is played for such high stakes, the rules are drawn up very fully and carefully, covering every possible contingency. There is wide variance among the different sets of house rules, but most of them agree on the following points:
— No bet may be made or changed after the banker has dealt the first card.
— If a player calls for an extra card, he must take it.
— A card faced in the pack is simply thrown into the wastebasket, and the deal continues.
— The last coup may not be begun, if there are fewer than ten cards left in the pack; all the cards must be reshuffled.
— If the banker deals more than two cards originally to either side, or to himself, the irregular hand is dead, and bets made on such a hand are a stand-off.
— No player may banco more than twice consecutively.

Skilful Play: There is very little to the play in Baccarat. Each of the players against the banker represents not only himself but other bettors on his side. Both out of consideration for their interest, and sometimes because house rules require it, be must draw a card to 4 or under; stand on 6 or 7; and has the option of taking his choice only when the point is 5.

The banker is limited by no rules, and must judge his proper play, not only after considering what the players against him have done, but also after considering how much money has been bet on each side.

If each of the players against him has stood, the banker will stand on 6 or 7, but will usually draw to 5 or under. If both sides have drawn cards, the banker will usually stand on 4, and sometimes even on 3. If one side has drawn, and the other has stood, the banker decides which he wishes most to beat, depending on which side carries the larger bets. If one side has drawn, and the banker has 4, he will usually stand if he wants most to beat the side that has drawn, even though he knows that he is sure to lose to the other side.

From 'The Pocket Book of Games'
© Pocket Books, Inc. 1944

Variants

Chemin-de-Fer

This is the most popular American variant of Baccarat, though it is not an American game.

Figure 3                                                                           Chemin-de-Fer table

The cards are normally dealt from a dealing box or shoe, and the banker deals only two hands, one to his opponent and one to himself. In France, where the game originated, the rotation is to the right, but in the USA it is usually to the left.

The first banker may be decided in any way; thereafter, whenever the banker loses a coup the bank passes to the player on his left. The banker may announce any amount for his bank.

The right to bet passes in rotation to the left of the banker, each player in turn having the right to take any part of the bank, or any part that remains. If any player calls banco, he takes the entire bank, but the players in turn have the right then to banco instead. The player who made the largest bet against the banker invariably plays the other hand, and is rigidly bound to draw to 4, and to stand on 6 or 7, having the option on 5.

The cards are not reshuffled when the bank changes, but only when reshuffling becomes necessary.

From 'The Pocket Book of Games'
© Pocket Books, Inc. 1944

Baccarat - Chemin de Fer (Las Vegas)

The distinct Las Vegas form of the game may be called Baccarat, Chemin de Fer or Baccarat - Chemin de Fer. The distinctive features of the Las Vegas game are that:
— the role of banker is usually held permanently by the casino, although it may rotate slowly among the players;
— one non-bank hand is dealt;
— bets can be placed either with or against the bank.

Figure 4                                             Baccarat - Chemin de Fer table (Las Vegas)

Six or eight standard packs of cards are used.

When the role of banker rotates among the players, the rules for the bank are the same as for normal Baccarat. More usually the casino keeps the bank, and the procedure is as follows:
— The limit on bets on a hand is not the size of the bank, but the house betting limit. (The house betting limit will, however, sometimes be raised, when a player requests this.)
— There is no banco bet, and no need for rules of precedence in betting.
— One single player can play.
— The casino takes a cut (usually 5%) from winning bets that have bet that the bank will win.

Betting: Players may bet with or against the bank. A player betting that the bank will win places his bet on the appropriate numbered section at the table centre. A player betting that the bank will lose places his bet on the numbered section in front of him. A player may also back the bank to have a natural 8 or 9, and, if successful, is paid the odds of 9-1.

The Play is as in Chemin-de-Fer, except that all player's and banker's options are removed, to become draw plays. Thus, a player must draw, if holding a hand totalling 5; the banker must draw, if holding a 3 hand, when he has given a 9, or a 5 hand after giving a 4.

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979

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