Baccarat Rules & Strategies 3rd Part

Third card rules were not presented in previous articles, so now is the time.
First, up, though, a quick review:
There is an easy decision here. Bet the banker or player hand. The tie bet is a bad bet and is to be avoided.
All number cards, 2 through 9, count as their face value or the number of pips on the card. All 10’s and face cards count as 10. Aces count as 1. No hand can be worth more than 9.
If it is, the last digit of the total is used.
For example, if the hand has a king (10) and a 2, then it totals not 12 but 2.
In other words, to quickly determine the value of a hand greater than 9, simply use the last digit of the total number--such as 9 for 19, 0 for 20 or 7 for 17.

Third Card Rules:
It is important to remember that no hand is too bad or too good to win, because the count can change with the third card, if one is required. This creates a mounting suspense, and that’s what makes baccarat such an exciting adventure.

PLAYER: Dealt–1-2-3-4-5-10–draws a card.
6-7–stand.
Dealt 8-9–natural–banker cannot draw.

BANKER: 5 or less–draws.
6 or more–stands if Player does not draw third card.

If Player hand draws a third card:
Banker–dealt 2–must draw.
Banker dealt 3–draws to player–1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-10, does not draw to player–8.
Dealt 4–draws to player 2-3-4-5-6-7, does not draw to 1-8-9-10.
Dealt 5– draws to player–4-5-6-7, does not draw to 1-2-3-8-9-10.
Dealt 6–draws to player 6-7, does not draw to 1-2-3-4-5-8-9-10.
Dealt 7–stands.
Dealt 8-9–natural–player cannot draw.
Maximum number of cards in any hand is three.

Strategies: Card-counting basics are as follows: Cards more favorable to the bank hand are
9-8-10-J-Q-K. in order of strength, while 4-3-2-5 are player favorable cards.
Ace, 6 and 8 are neutral; no favor for either hand.
Bet player when there is a higher ratio of twos through fives in the deck and banker when there is a higher ratio of high cards in the deck. The shoe usually favors the casino, and is used to reduce the casino advantage over the player.
An average shoe will deal about 82 hands. Bank will win 38 times, player 36 wins, and 8 ties (about every 10th hand). Bank hands win more because the bank stands on a 7, 8 or 9, while player stands on
6, 7, 8 and 9. Bank can draw on a 6 where player cannot. Ahh, now, there’s the rub.

Intelligent players should move on over to this table game where a low house advantage and winning strategies allows you to leave the casinos with more bucks in your pocket.

(Gayle Mitchell is author of Casino Gambling Made Easier books, E-Books, booklets & Slots Trilogy. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)