Name of the Game:

Baccarat

Overview:

This game originated in France as Chemin de fer and the basic goal is to be the closest to 9 or have the highest point total.   The game exists all over the world in casinos and many variations exist.

The play:

People bet, then hands are dealt, you can get another card if you like, then you compare hands.  For those of you familiar with 21 or black jack, this will sound sort of familiar.   Since the dealer must play their hand in a fixed fasion, the house will usually advise you on how to play your hand.

The hands:

Hands are made up from a standard deck of cards with 52 cards.  In Baccarat each card carries its face value but it’s mod 10.  Meaning, you don’t count the tens column ever.  So, if your cards total up to be 27, you drop the 2 and you just have 7.

Example's of how to count the cards in Baccarat,

3♣ + 2♥ + 8♦ = 3 points

3+2+8= 13

13 mod 10 = 3

Or if you don’t get the modulus mathematics, then just drop the 10 digits.

Some other examples:

9♥ + 9♦ + 9♣ = 7 points

4♠ + A♠ + K♠ = 5 points  (unlike Black Jack, the ace is only worth 1 point, which makes sense, because 1 mod 10 = 11 mod 10).

5♠ + 1♠ + 10♠ = 6 points

Q♠ + K♠ + 10♠ = 0 points