Baccarat is a card game played with one to eight standard decks of 52 cards. Baccarat was once considered the exclusive property of the jet setters, the high rollers, and glamorous secret agents. Now regular people from all walks of life can play baccarat online at All Slots Online Casino.

The object of the game of baccarat is to predict who will draw the higher hand, the player or the banker. But note that "the player" does not mean you (even though you are playing), and "the banker" does not mean the casino (even though the casino has lots of money). "The player" and "the banker" are simply the terms that are used to denote the two hands that are dealt in a baccarat game. You are always free to bet on either hand.

There are two unusual baccarat rules to keep in mind. The first is that 10s and face cards count as zero. The second is that only the last digit of the total is counted. So according to the baccarat rules, a king, an 8, and a 6 will add up to 14, which counts as 4. A hand consisting of a 7 and a 3 counts as 0, or Baccarat. (It's actually rather odd that the name of the game comes from the worst possible hand.) Once you know these rules, playing baccarat is really quite easy.

You start your baccarat game by making one of the five possible baccarat bets:

Player

Banker

Tie

Player and Tie

Banker and Tie

In online baccarat, you place your bet by clicking on the appropriate button or on the appropriate area of the virtual baccarat table.

After you place your bet, the player and the banker each receive two cards. The player might then draw a third card. Unlike a blackjack player, the baccarat player has no free will in this matter. The decision is made strictly in accordance with a baccarat rule specifying that if the player's two-card total is 5 or less, the player must hit; over 5, the player stands. You do not need to memorize the rule; if you are playing baccarat online, the computer will automatically deal a third card if the rule calls for it.

Another difference from blackjack is that the player may hit only once, so the maximum number of cards in a baccarat hand is three.

After the player's hand is complete, the banker either stands or hits. The rule governing the banker's hand is a little more complicated, but the main idea is the same: the stand-or-hit decision is made according to a baccarat rule and not by anyone's free will. The baccarat software will automatically deal a third card to the dealer when it is appropriate to do so.

After both hands are completed, the hands are compared and the highest hand wins the baccarat game.

If you placed a bet on the Banker's hand and that hand wins, you will receive an even-money payout on your bet, minus a 5 percent commission to the house.

If you placed a bet on the Player's hand and that hand wins, you will receive an even-money payout on your bet, with no commission.

If you placed a bet on Tie and the outcome of the game is a tie, you will receive an 8-to-1 payout on your Tie bet.

If the hands produce a tie and you did not bet on a Tie, your bet will be returned without your winning or losing anything.