Playing the Notorious Baccarat Table Game

Anyone who has ever been to a bricks-and-mortar casino has likely seen a group of people around a table placing wagers on only two hands of cards. This is known as the baccarat table game, and while it may seem confusing at first, it's actually one of the easiest games to learn at online Canadian sites. The only objective is to accurately guess which of the two hands that are dealt for everyone to see - the player's or the banker's - will have a total of (or closest to) eight or nine points. There is no skill here other than being able to accurately and smartly manage the bankroll. Here's how it works.

In order to determine totals, the point values are calculated as follows: cards two through nine are valued at the numbers on their faces, 10s and face cards are always worth zero, and Aces are always worth one. In the event that any total is higher than nine, the 10s place is removed. This means that a total of 13 is technically only valued as three. Now, since the objective here is to guess which one will have a score of closest to eight or nine, it's easy to see why luck is the only contributing factor. There are three options upon which to place a bet: the player's hand, the banker's hand, or a tie. Ties are irregular and therefore strategy dictates that this wager should be avoided even though the payout is quite handsome. Other wins pay even money, though a rake of up to 5% may be collected for winning wagers on the house.

During the course of the baccarat table game, the house will issue additional cards to both hands under a strict set of rules, but the truth is that individuals don't need to memorize these rules since they aren't involved in the decision-making process. In fact, the best strategy that can be used here is to carefully set a budget and stick to it. Some people swear by progressive betting systems like Martingale that requires them to up the bet for each loss, but this isn't always a good idea since table limits can be quickly exceeded. Intercasino is a great place to try this out and see how accurately you can guess!