The History of Baccarat
Baccarat is a 600-year-old card game that originated in 15th-century Italy. According to all sources, Felix Falguiere, an avid Italian gambler, is the inventor of the game. Since the tens and face up cards in the deck are all valued zero in Baccarat, Falguiere called the game “baccara,” which is Italian for “zero.”
Valguiere is said to have based the game on the ancient Etruscan ritual of the nine gods, according to legend.
“They prayed to a blond virgin as they stood on tiptoe waiting for her to roll a nine-sided die. The outcome of the die determined her fate. At eight or nine she would become a priestess; with a six or seven she would be barred from further religious activity; a number less than six would land her in the water.”
Baccarat is said to have been brought to France by soldiers returning from the Franco-Italian conflict in the late 15th century. The game was probably popularized in France, where it remained a favorite of the French nobility until their deaths in the nineteenth century. The game came across the Channel from France. Here a teenager, Ian Fleming, fell in love with Baccarat, which explains why 007 loved it so much.
Baccarat
The rules and variations of the game have evolved and passed down from generation to generation and from country to country. Popular casino games include chemin de fer, punto banco, and baccarat banque.
However, the basics of the game have remained largely the same in all versions, with minor changes.
To avoid misunderstandings, we will focus on the general principles of the game and the typical Punto Banco rules. The ‘Punto Banco’ variant of Baccarat is present in most of the gambling hotspots in the world (the United States, the United Kingdom, Macau, Sweden, Australia, and so on), as well as online.
The main difference between traditional Baccarat and Punto Banco is that with the latter, instead of having a banker cyclically among the players, the casino banks the game at all times.
Baccarat is a game where you play a hand of cards.
A shoe with 6-8 decks of cards is used to deal the cards. Before the two cards are dealt, all bets must be placed. Both the player and the banker are dealt two cards once all bets have been placed. A “natural 9” – a score of 9 determined by adding the totals of both given cards – is the ideal hand to be dealt. It is also the maximum number of points a Baccarat hand can have. The first digit should be omitted for totals greater than ten.
The point values of the cards are as follows: Ace = 1, 2-9 = face value, 10 = 0 and face cards = 0. So if a hand has a ten and a three, the total score is 3. A hand with an eight and a seven also earns 5 points, because the first digit of a two-digit score must be removed.
A “natural” 8 or 9 wins, and neither hand needs to draw any more. The needle is won by the player with the closest score to nine. The needle is a draw if both players score an 8 or 9. Any money wagered on either hand will be refunded if the game ends in a tie.