Do you know how to play baccarat? It’s a simple game but it’s a high stakes game and can be very expensive if you don’t have a strategy. This is a small but simple baccarat strategy which works for me.
Mix the cards carefully. You will need two or three decks for this game. Start with one deck in a new deck. Count the Ace as a low card (1) and all Ace’s as high cards (9). For example, discarding an Ace you have a 8.
How many can you get before you go over 9? Never.
Put all high cards and all Aces as the lower limit. So, if you have a 8 and a 9 ignore the Aces.
Where ever you discarded cards are gone, so you now have just one deck.
Now it’s time to see the dealer’s cards. Put the two highest cards together. So, the 8 and 9 combined with the 5 and 6. Like this: 4,5,6,7,8,9. Like this: 4,5,6,7,8,9.
Now the player can only pick three cards. From this, the player can see the dealer has a 10 and a picture card (1) which is the 1st card turned over.
Now, the player can (and often does) decide not to take the three top cards. He can just mark that card.
If the player decides to take the top card, a few things can happen.
The most important is that the two cards the player is holding are lower than the dealer’s cards. Remember, the Ace is the highest card and the remaining cards are the lowest.
If the player has a Jack, Queen or King then the best that can happen is that the dealer has a lower Jack or lower than the player. Remember, too, that if the player has 15, the dealer has to hit if he has 16. Conversely, the player has to lower his hand if the dealer has 15 or 16.
The player also has the option of taking the top card regardless of the other two cards. For example, if the player is holding an Ace and a King, for a 20 total, the player can take the top card of the three accessible cards.
There are some occasions when you take the top card when the dealer has one face card face up, the other face up is an Ace. For example, if the dealer has a Queen, 6-the-eager player can still “buy” the Ace for 20.
When the player takes the top card however, the player cannot add any more cards to the hand until he has worked out the requirements of his hand. For example, the player needs at least two Ace’s or and Ace and a King to form a straight; otherwise he must hit.
And, the really tricky part of this is that if the dealer has less than a King, the dealer might just “push”. That is, the dealer might not take another card.
When the player reaches the “river” (the final card) – the moment at which his hand is compared to the dealer’s hand – the player can decide to “double down”.
That is, the player can take another card or better the cards already in his hand.
This is best to do when you have a relatively good hand, such as two-pair or better.
The idea is that you show your hand at your second look to the dealer in the hope that the dealer will “call” (match) the amount you have put in your hand.
Double down when you have a good hand and the dealer has a weak hand.
The player has already shown his hand, now he must do the work to “flop” (get a high card from the accessible cards) his hand.
Get a high card from the accessible cards. If you have a pair, for example two 4s, count the cards as high cards.
If you have three 5s, two 6s or two 7s, and the dealer has a 10-J-Q-K, then double down if the dealer has a weak hand. However, you should double down if the dealer has a high pair.
This is because the dealer’s two cards that are not face cards – his upcards – are more likely to be better hands than your hand.
Take caution! Some casinos controlling the rules regarding double down might deem your double down bet to be an “advance” or a bet “using [the player’s] own cards and the dealer’s cards for the purpose of obtaining more money for the losses”.
These rules are fairly flexible and there are many professional players who will not hesitate to follow them, while those who will always stand and lowly to the “flop”.