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The French claim to have invented Baccarat as it is similar to Chemin de fer, which was imported from France to England. The Italians also claim the game as it was invented by an Italian by the name of Felix Falguierein in the middle ages and played with a deck of Tarot Cards.

A famous Vegas gambler, Tony Renzoni, brought the game to the Dunes in late 1950s and the American version was born by combining the European version with Chemin de fer. He had imported it from Cuba before the island was taken over by Castro. As with other venues where the game is played, the original baccarat was played only by gamblers with large bankrolls. This was further accented in the States with the movies of James Bond as Chemin de fer was played in the movie to suggest a game for high rollers. The basic change in the American version is the casino acts as the bank.

In the Baccarat rooms in most fancy land casinos, the game is roped off and the minimum bet can be quite high. The croupiers are elegantly dressed and the stakes are very often in the thousand of dollars per hand. Casinos have also found that the general public likes the game too, so they deal it as a table game in the main casinos. The limits are much lower, but the game is played the same except the dealer does all of the dealing. In the room, the shoe passes to each player after the current player-dealer loses the shoe because the bank lost.

The game is a simple game of two or three cards to the player hand and the dealer hand. The cards are dealt and if either hand is a natural nine or eight, the hand is over. If the hands tie, there is no losing hand by either the bank or the player. Each player at the table can bet one of three bets. The can bet the tie, the player hand or the bank hand. The tie bet pays eight to one and the other two possible bets pay even money with the winning bank hand charged a commission of five percent. The secret to winning Baccarat play is to catch a run on either side of the shoe. For this reason, most players keep track of the winning hands on a scorecard provided by the house. A run of four or five wins on one side or the other is not uncommon. Runs of over ten or twenty hands are also seen every now and again and are a shoe following betters dream come true. A better who follows the shoe is one that bets the side that last won the hand. Players who try to buck a trending shoe can lose a great deal of money very quickly by always being on the losing side of the hand. A player could also play a run of flip flopping bets if the shoe is going back and forth between the player and the bank. These are ample reasons to make a player keep accurate track of how the shoe is playing.

Tie Hands

Tie hands can present a different type of problem for the player. A shoe could have very few ties and another shoe could be exploding with tie hands. One rule to follow is to not bet a tie hand until the first tie is dealt. One scheme that has worked in the past is to count the hands from the tie and if they are multiples of three a tie bet may be warranted. A small increase in the bet can be used in this scenario. If a player captures a few tie hands during the play of the shoe, the profit from this shoe should be more than the losses. In the Baccarat room, keep note of players who seem to deal a tie when they get the shoe, it may not happen on the first deal, but if they have shown this tendency, it could well be worth a small increasing bet. This author did that one night and was rewarded consistently by one player-dealer.

Do not be afraid to play in the room if the stakes are within your betting budget. Baccarat players are well taken care of when playing in the room. The play is more fun and you can play off other players luck when they deal from the shoe.

Some players are good for several bank wins in a row while others cannot seem to get past the first or second hand. Watch how the cards are working when each player is given their turn at dealing the shoe. Gambling is nothing but a series of trends that ebb and flow. Like life, some times things go well and some times they do not. Baccarat is a very trending game and a player can take advantage of the shoe tendencies.

Conclusion

Baccarat has a very low house edge and is very easy to play as the only thought process is to decide where to place your bet. By being aware of the flow of the shoe, small betting trends can be played and little parlays can be won. Tie hands can be captured after the first one shows. Do not fight a trending shoe, as it will cost a great deal of money before you are right. This is one game that the house is truly a little frightened by as they cannot change a losing shoe and start over until the shoe is completed. Some of the biggest losses casinos have are at this game. A fearless better can take a small amount of money and grow it to a sizable amount in just a few shoes. Tie hands can be devastating to the house since the tie pays eight to one. Find a tie play plan that works for you and stick with it for the playing session.