Online Baccarat is one of the most widely played games in the world today. It is a very easy to play and fascinating game. Baccarat is a game of chance between "the player" and "the banker". You bet on any of the two hands that you think will have a total hand value closest to 9. You are free to bet on either the banker or the player or you can even choose to bet on a tie between the player and the banker.

HOW TO PLAY ONLINE BACCARAT

Card Distribution

To start with the game of baccarat, the dealer of the game, also known as the croupier deals two cards each to the player and the banker position following which the game proceed depending on certain game rules.

If the player card value is between 0 and 5 and the banker card value is between 0 and 7, the player gets a third card. If the player has a card value greater than 5, then the player does not receive a third card. The banker position gets a third card if it shows a card value of 0, 1, or 2.

Baccarat Card Values

The baccarat card values are very simple. All cards numbered 2 through 9 have their numeric value. All additional cards i.e. tens and picture cards have zero value. To calculate the total of a hand, the value of the two cards is added. And if the total of two cards goes over ten, then deduct ten to get the final hand value.

The game then proceeds depending on the player’s and bankers third card rules. Once all the three cards are dealt to the player and the banker position, the total hand value is calculated for each position.

A card total of 9 is called a "natural" and cannot lose. A card total of eight is the second-best hand. If both the player and banker have identical hands, it's a tie i.e. neither the banker nor the player wins, but whoever bet on a tie wins big.

Some important things to be kept in mind when playing game of online baccarat

Face cards and tens have no value

2 - 9 cards are counted at their face value

Aces are valued at 1

Suits are of no concern in baccarat

Counts that reach double digits drop the first digit and are revalued i.e. 13 becomes 3

The banker has a house advantage of 1.17%

The player has a house advantage of 1.36%

A tie has a house advantage of 14.12%