Baccarat and Its Variants
Simplicity is what makes Baccarat quite a popular game among casino players both in land based and online. When it was released first in Italy, millions of people became hooked immediately. Its popularity reached the shores of France, Argentina, the British Isles, Cuba and others. With every country it has reached, Baccarat underwent changes in terms of rules as well as its name. There are numerous variants of Baccarat that you can see today but only three of them are quite popular. They are Chemin de Fer, Baccarat Banque and Punto Banco.
Chemin de Fer
Chemin de Fer originated in France and is one of the variants of Baccarat that came from Italy. In this variation, you will find that six decks are used. A basket found in the middle of the table is where used cards are placed. The croupier is the one who shuffles the deck and passes it on to the other players. The player who will be acting as the banker will be the one to give cards to the other players called punters including him. When the hands are shown and the dealer’s hand is better than the rest, the banker will win the game. On the other hand if the banker loses, he will be paying each of the punters their due. On the event that the punter wins the hand, the banker will then be passed on to the next player.
Bacarrat Banque
The Baccarat Banque variant is quite popular in the European countries. The rule of the game is that only three decks are used unlike the previous one. There is also one banker throughout the entire game which is different from Chemin de Fer. The player who places the biggest bet will be the banker in the game. The dealer in Baccarat Banque remains the dealer which provides the players plenty of opportunity to bet large amounts in the game.
Punto Banco
From Cuba came the Baccarat variant Punto Banco. Here, the game is played on a traditional oval table where the croupier as well as the dealers are the ones shuffling the decks. The number of decks used in the game is from six to eight. The cards are dealt starting from the player, to the banker, and to another player and so on. Two cards for each hand are required in Punto Banco and the croupier will be the one to total them. Part of the rules dictates that additional cards will be dealt in order to determine the winner.
These are only some of the variants that you can find not only in land based casinos, but also in online casinos. Baccarat may have different kinds, but the concept is the same. All you need to do is to learn the basics for each kind if you want to expand your knowledge in the game. You will soon find yourself warming up to the game in no time at all. Remember that the goal of the game is for a player to reach the value of nine or closer to it and that the first digit in any double digit value is removed.
