Baccarat used to be a game for millionaires. In the casinos, it was played in special roped-off or secluded rooms and you usually didn’t walk in until you had at least $100,000 to pony up.
Eventually, mini-baccarat came to the scene. It’s the same game, but without all the ceremonious moves. The game is conducted on a Blackjack-style table with one dealer and a shoe. The shoe holds multiple decks of cards.
The game itself is incredibly easy to play, which is surprising considering how low the house advantage is. In fact, Baccarat is one of the best casino plays around.
In a nutshell, the game consists of two hands-Banker and Player. Each hand is dealt two cards. Depending on the value, each hand may take one additional card. The hand then ends and a winner is declared. Face cards are worth 0 (or 10 if you rather) and the object is to get as close to 9 as possible.
So, a hand of a King and a 4 has a value of four. A hand of a 9 and 4 has the value of three, because ten equals zero and the count restarts.
When you first walk up to a table, you’ll notice that there are three betting areas. There’s the Player wager spot,...