Baccarat in Live and Digital Casino
007’s favorite casino game, Baccarat rises to the top in online casino gaming.
We can thank the French for most of the casino games we play in the United States. The French invented blackjack, the most played card game in the world, roulette, and baccarat. You haven’t heard of baccarat? You’re not alone.
Even though baccarat is James Bond’s favorite card game, 007 has too many other things to accomplish on his missions to play the card game in every film. If you think about any scene where Bond sits and plays cards, you’ve seen the character play baccarat.
Card players won’t step away from their blackjack tables for the baccarat tables any time soon. Baccarat has gained in popularity, though. So much so, that PayPerHead bookies can promote baccarat play in the digital and live casinos.
Keep reading for the scoop on 007’s game of choice. By doing so, you’ll have a better idea of how to encourage your customers to play baccarat.
What is baccarat?
Baccarat is a game where two hands of cards, the player’s hand and the banker’s hand, are compared. The goal is to get as close to 9 as possible. There are just 3 outcomes in a hand of baccarat, the player wins, the banker wins, or there’s a tie.
2 through 9 are worth their face value. The 10, jack, queen, and king are worth zero. Aces are worth 1 point. So, for example, the player’s hand gets a 2 and a 4. That equals 6. If the banker’s hand gets an ace and a ten, that equals 1. The player’s hand wins.
The key thing to understand about baccarat, what you must tell your players, is that when they play baccarat, they wager on either the player’s hand, the banker’s hand or a tie.
Bettors don’t have their own hand like blackjack. They don’t decide to “hit” or “stand”. They wager on either the player, banker, or a tie. Bettors win if they wagered on the right winning hand.
This is a major distinction between baccarat and other card games. Bettors make a single decision and they make it before any cards are dealt. Do they believe the player hand wins, banker hand wins, or a tie happens in this round?
Baccarat rules
Rules exist for whether a hand, banker or player, draws cards. Those rules kick in if neither the player nor the banker is dealt a total of 8 or 9 in the first two cards. If an 8 or 9 is drawn in the first two cards, it’s called a “natural”.
The player’s hand draws a third card on 0-5. The player’s hand stands at 6 or 7. The banker follows the same rules as the player unless the player drew a third card. If the player didn’t draw a third card, the banker draws on 0-5 and stands at 6 or 7.
If the player drew a third card, the banker must draw dependent on very specific rules:
If the banker’s total is 2 or less, the banker draws a card.
If the banker’s total is 3, the banker draws a card unless the player’s drawn card is an 8.
If the banker’s total is 4, the banker draws a card if the player drew a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
If the banker’s total is 5, the banker draws a card if the player drew a 4, 5, 6, or 7.
If the banker’s total is 6, the banker draws a card if the player drew a 6 or 7.
The banker stands on 7 no matter if the player drew a third card.
Don’t bother remembering these rules. Send them to your players in your baccarat marketing email encouraging them to bet baccarat.
Baccarat house edge
Baccarat players that back the banker’s hand must pay a 5% commission if the banker’s hand wins. Bettors that back the player’s hand pay no commission if the player’s hand wins. Check out house edges for baccarat
Player’s hand – 1.24%
Banker’s hand – 1.06%
Tie hand – 14.4%
Baccarat house edges are low enough to entice players to wager on baccarat while being high enough to make you, the house, a winner in the long-run. A tie pays 8 to 1 while the player’s hand pays even money and the banker’s hand pays even money minus the 5% commission.
Baccarat in Live and Digital Casinos
As a PayPerHead agent, you can offer your players baccarat games in both the digital casino and the live casino. The table limits in the digital casino are $1 – $100. The table limits in the live casino are $5 – $100.
That gives bookies 2 options to promote baccarat play. They can promote the digital casino as the live casino. Here’s an idea, why not promote both? The more you can get your players to wager in both casinos, the better it is for you.
If you need more information about the live casino, chat with a PayPerHead rep or call 800-605-4767.
Encourage Baccarat Play
All PayPerHead sportsbook agents should promote baccarat play. If 007 likes it, it can’t be all bad, right? The house edges are low enough to make it attractive to players. In the long run, though, like every casino game, the house comes out ahead.
Right now, PayPerHead is offering a no sports equals no fees promotion. Call us or chat with us for more details.