Room: PLANET7 - Table Games

What is Baccarat?

Many people who make their way onto a casino floor may wonder about the exclusive, roped-off area where excited players are gathered around a table. More often than not, this is baccarat – a card game based solely on chance, steeped deeply in European history and, though it may look complicated, is actually one of the simplest casino games around.

Where did Baccarat Originate?

While baccarat can trace its roots back further than the Middle Ages, it was actually during this time that the game enjoyed a splendid revival with the use of tarot cards. The game became a firm favorite among European nobility and the name baccarat is probably from the Italian word (albeit slang) meaning ‘zero’. The contemporary version of baccarat played in many land casinos, known as mini-baccarat, came about due to the demand by US players to remove the pomp and grandeur associated to classic baccarat. The rules were simplified and today the game enjoys a lot of popularity in casinos all over the world.

What is Online Baccarat?

As online gambling became popular in the 1990s, software companies picked up on baccarat’s appeal and began to create baccarat games, much to the delight of online players. Today, all reputable online casinos carry baccarat in their suite of games, with many offering games at different levels and varying wagering limits to suit every taste and pocket.

What is the Objective of Baccarat?

Baccarat is a card game that does not require much of the player beyond the need to place a bet against the outcome of the game. There are two sides in a game of baccarat, known by their traditional Italian names: Punto (player) and Banco (banker). The two need to try and get as near to a total of nine out of the cards that they are dealt. The royal cards are worth zero, the ace is worth one and the rest of the cards are worth their face value. Players place their bets to see which side manages to reach nine with a two or three card hand.

What is the Most Popular Strategy for Baccarat?

Because baccarat is a game of chance, there is not much that players can do in terms of learning a strategy. Of course, there are always ways and means to minimize losses and these can be learned by practicing baccarat and using common sense regarding the choice of game level and issues of budgeting.

How is Baccarat Played in Tournaments?

Online gambling sites are the perfect place for players to enjoy exciting baccarat tournaments that are so popular on the internet. Here, players can pay an entry fee and play head to head with other baccarat fans. The winner of the tournament stands in line to win significant prize sums and good baccarat players find these games profitable, to say the least.

Blackjack is without question the most popular table game in terms of both land-based and online casino table games. But like any other game, it has a particular set of rules that must be followed in order to play the game correctly and ultimately win against the house. Many gambling establishments make a lot of money off players who don’t know how to play partiularly well, so if this might be you, take some time to learn the objective and rules of the game.

Objective

Besides the dealer, a game of Blackjack can include between 1-7 players. Each player plays against the dealer though, regardless of any others who may be at the table. To win a hand, a player’s card value must be 21 or closer to it than the dealer, without going over. A hand that goes over 21 is considered a “bust” and represents a lost bet.

Card Values

The value of a player’s hand, as well as the dealer’s hand, is the sum of the face value of the cards. All face cards, which include King, Queen, and Jack, are all valued at 10 each. Card values 2 through 10 have values according to the number. An Ace can be played as either a 1 or an 11, depending on what makes a better hand. If the Ace is played as an 11, it is considered “soft,” whereas, if it is valued at 1, it is referred to as “hard.” The difference is that a soft hand cannot be busted if another face card is drawn, but a hard hand could possibly lead to a bust.

Rules

In Face Up 21, the dealer always hits on soft 17. Interestingly, when the dealer is forced to stand (any Hard hand of 17 or more), the game takes over for you, and automatically hits for you until you win or bust.

You can split any pair for a new bet equal to your ante, and can continue to hit on each hand, unless the cards split were aces, in which case each hand just gets one more card then you must stand.

You can double down on Hard totals of 9, 10, and 11, and can double down after a split. Because you can see the dealer’s first two cards, insurance is not available, nor can you surrender in this game. Dealer wins all ties.

Payouts

Your Ante bet when playing Face Up 21 has to be at least 1, and can be no more than 250 USD/GBP/Euro. There are four different chips – 1, 5, 25, and 100 – that you can use to place your bet. Because this is a game of Face Up, where the Dealer’s hand is exposed, blackjack pays even money in this game, at 1:1. In fact, all winning hands pay at 1:1, so you can always know how much you will win when you place your bet!

Let em Ride first made its appearance in land-based casinos in 1993. This game is now quite popular among players, since as a player, you do not bet against other players, neither do you bet against the dealer. As a matter of fact, this is among the few games where you can celebrate when the dealer reveals a high card. More so, Let it Ride offers a rare chance to players to decrease or withdraw bets if the game isn’t going in their favor. This table game will often use cash chips which represent different values as opposed to slot games which opt for a coin-based system.

How to Play

A Let it Ride table, whether online or in a land-based casino, closely resembles the Blackjack table, but has three betting circles compared to Blackjack’s one. The circle markings will differ from one casino to another, but most times you will find tables marked for $1 and $2 wagers.

Pai Gow Poker is the American version of Pai Gow, a traditional Asian game played with tiles that resemble dominoes. To make it easy, Pai Gow was introduced in the American market using standard 52-card deck and joker. As outlined in the rules of Pai Gow Poker, you can use the joker as an Ace or as a wild card to complete a Flush, a Straight, or a Straight Flush.

Basics of Pai Gow Poker

To start playing Pai Gow Poker, you need to place a bet according to the table minimum. After all bets are made, all players at the table are dealt seven cards and must make two poker hands-a two-card poker hand and a standard five-card poker hand. The five-card hand is often referred to as the bottom, high, behind or big hand, while the two-card hand is referred to as small, on top, low, minor, or in front hand.

Pai Gow Poker is the American version of Pai Gow, a traditional Asian game played with tiles that resemble dominoes. To make it easy, Pai Gow was introduced in the American market using standard 52-card deck and joker. As outlined in the rules of Pai Gow Poker, you can use the joker as an Ace or as a wild card to complete a Flush, a Straight, or a Straight Flush.

Basics of Pai Gow Poker

To start playing Pai Gow Poker, you need to place a bet according to the table minimum. After all bets are made, all players at the table are dealt seven cards and must make two poker hands-a two-card poker hand and a standard five-card poker hand. The five-card hand is often referred to as the bottom, high, behind or big hand, while the two-card hand is referred to as small, on top, low, minor, or in front hand.