BACCARAT

also spelled Baccara, card game of Italian origin played principally in European casinos, having been introduced to France late in the 15th century. Its great popularity in France and England dates from the mid-1800s. It is now played around the world. The game is played with three to six 52-card decks shuffled together. Cards are dealt from a dealing box called a shoe. Players aim for a count of 9, or as close as they can get, in a hand of two or three cards. Face (court) cards and 10s are counted as zero; all others take their number values. The cards in each hand are added to obtain the value, but only the last digit is significant. Thus, if the two cards in a hand are 8 and 5, the count is not 13 but 3. A competing hand with a face card (0) and a 6 wins, because it is closer to 9. The player with the most capital, or funds with which to accept bets, is declared the banker. The banker deals three hands of two cards each, face down, from the shoe. These hands are for two players, called punters, one to the right and one to the left, and for the banker himself. Other players at the table may bet on either hand ( cheval) or both to beat the banker's hand. If a punter declares banco, it means he is betting the total value of the bank's funds; all lesser bets are then withdrawn for that hand. When the two-card deal is completed, the players examine their hands. A count of 8 or 9 is a natural and an automatic winner unless the banker also has a natural. In a tie, bets are called off. If a player has a count less than 8 or 9, he may stand (saying non) or get one more card face up (saying carte). Punters must stand on a 6 or 7, draw a card if they have 4 or less, and do as they wish ( volont) with 5. The banker is not restricted. When the full hands are compared, the banker settles all bets. Casinos usually take a small percentage of the bank and bets as their fee for the game. Late in the 1950s, Baccarat-Chemin de Fer was introduced at Las Vegas and became popular, as it is in Latin-American casinos. In this variation of Baccarat the role of banker is usually held permanently by the casino; only one nonbank hand is dealt, and bets may be played either with or against the banker).