Baccarat History and American Baccarat Rules

Baccarat is a game that has been around for centuries, and it's still very popular today. It was strong in the 19th century, the time of the American Civil War, when wealthy people gambled on cards to pass the slow days. The game has changed through time and there are lots of different variations of it now. There are many aspects to Baccarat, but for this post we're going to focus on its history as well as American Baccarat rules.

Although Baccarat was already popular by the 19th century in France, it wasn't until 1844 that the first rules were published in a book written by a man named Verdon. After this publication, Baccarat got big really fast, and it's said that Napoleon III even taught the rules to his wife so they could play together.

Baccarat chemin de fer (in French) is now played all over the world. You might also hear the name Chemin de Fer used in combination with many other less popular card games like Vingt-Et-Un and Pontoon. In different areas you'll find slightly different rules for these games, but they're all based on Baccarat. The French version has the name Chemin de Fer, and it's considered the standard.

The game is made up of two cards facing each other at either side of a table, with a little pile in the middle where you bet. One card is called the banker card and it represents money. Another card is placed on top of it called the player card and represents your number in a hand. You can also place another card onto this player card, which will represent any number that comes after your number (for example if you have 7 points in a 2-player game you can place another 7 there). This is where things get interesting.

The banker card is always drawn first, and then each player in turn must lay a bet on the banker card. In a two-player game, there are only two cards you can play: the banker's card and another one. If you bet on the banker's card, your card cannot be the one that comes after your number. For example if you have 2 points in a 4-person game, you can only place 4 onto the banker's 1 or 9. This makes for lots of conflict; sometimes it looks like there's no way for you to win.

Baccarat betting is interesting. The banker's card could be any card out of the deck, but it must be in the same suit as the player's card. If it's a different suit, you can bet on that suit and play another card if necessary. You can only place your bet on one side of the table; this is called backing the banker. You can also place another bet to back a different side of the table, which is called backing a red (or black). Your winnings equal what you bet, plus whatever was left on your player card by players who placed higher bets than you did.

If you're playing against more than two players then you'll use more than two cards for betting. Even though your back cards are the same suit, they will be lower than your player card. So you'll need three cards to bet and win, and if you're playing against more than two players you'll have to use a different strategy.

All of these things are practised in the highest-stakes casino games as well as in other kinds of Baccarat variants like Pontoon. The rules for American Baccarat are fairly similar to the French version; however, the cards aren't played face down. Instead, a player is dealt five cards in a row one by one from a special deck called "the shoe".

Conclusion

Baccarat is fun, and it's easy to learn. If you're interested in playing the game in a casino, then you should start off by learning some basic rules first to get a handle on what's going on. There are plenty of tutorials online that can tell you very simple rules that will help you understand how the game works. Once you know all the cards and the different bets, it'll be easy for you to play Baccarat anywhere it's offered.

Richard Hentschel is a professional writer and editor with many years of experience at his disposal. He has recently undertaken a project to chronicle classic poker games such as five card draw, seven card stud etc.