Online Baccarat for New Zealand players

If you watch many of the casino scenes in James Bond movies closely, you are likely to notice baccarat being played and in many land based casinos baccarat is the territory of high-rollers with players often being required to wear black tie attire at the baccarat table. Now everyone can get a taste of this exciting game thanks to online Bacarrat casinos. Almost every New Zealand online casino  has at least one baccarat game, and baccarat has one of the lowest house edges (around 1%) of all casino games.

Baccarat Fundamentals

In baccarat the player bets on which hand will get a value equal to or closest to 9. These bets can be placed on the Banker’s hand, the Player’s hand, or a tie between the two.

The rules of baccarat:

• Cards are counted according to face value, with 10, J, Q, and K being worth zero and an Ace being worth 1. All cards are converted to points and (unlike with blackjack) it is impossible to “bust”.
• To calculate the points, add the card totals and drop the “10” value. For example:  Q + 7 + 8 = 15 (because the Q = 0). If you remove then remove the ten, the hand equals 5 points.  Another way to look at the score is to pay attention to the number at the right of the total.
• In baccarat the Player’s hand is not your hand, and the Banker’s hand is not the dealer’s hand. Rather, they are merely labels used to differentiate the two competing hands. You can bet on either hand, not just the Player’s.
• A bet placed on the Banker’s hand that wins results in an even money payout on the initial bet minus 5%, which goes to the house.
• A bet placed on the Player’s hand that wins results in an even money payout on the initial bet, with no percentage going to the house.
• Betting on a tie and winning usually pays 8-1 or 9-1, depending on the casino. If there’s a tie but no bet was placed on a tie, it results in a push (money back).

Playing Baccarat Online

Baccarat is essentially a simple game, but in land-based casinos there are some complex rules and etiquette for playing. Fortunately by playing online baccarat you bypass all these rules!

For example, if playing in a land-based casino you would need to know the Player’s third card rule as well as the Banker’s. In online baccarat, if a third card is allowed or needed it is automatically dealt. In this way online baccarat is a lot like pokies – you place your bet and wait to see how it plays out, with no additional decision-making on your part.

Steps for playing online baccarat:

1. Place a bet on the Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. Then choose the amount of money you want to wager and click the deal button. Bear in mind that the odds favour the Banker slightly because the third-card draw rule (see below) is different for the Player’s and Banker’s hands. But there’s no commission paid on a Player’s hand, so you get to keep the entire bet. Betting on a Tie has a higher payout (usually 8-1), but a house edge of around 14%.

2. The virtual dealer deals two cards, and will deal a third if necessary (again, you don’t have to worry about this, it will be automatic in online baccarat games). This third card can be dealt so quickly in online games that it may seem like three cards are dealt from the outset in some situations.

3. Check to see if you won! You will see from the screen whether or not you won, and the amount that you won. From there you can repeat the process or choose a new bet size.

Game Variations

As a long established game a number of variations of baccarat have developed. The variation typically offered at online casinos is called Punto Banco (also known as American baccarat) – in this variation the casino backs all the bets.In contrast European games such as like Chemin de Fer and Baccarat Banque rotate the role of Banker among the players.

Online casino baccarat  is seen as a game that is growing in popularity and this is sure to lead to more varieties. For example, Grand Reef Casino one of our recommended casinos now has progressive baccarat, and Platinum play has a high limit version of baccarat where the stakes increase over time.

Despite baccarat being historically associated with intrigue, mystery and James Bond, the game is actually fun and simple to play. Try online baccarat  today at one of our recommended casinos today.