Baccarat
Thanks to the power of the internet, you can play online Baccarat for real money any time you want at Ignition Casino. And you don’t have to wear a tuxedo like James Bond to play at the casino table, either – although you can if you like. Baccarat became a very popular game in the 1950s and ‘60s after the game was featured in the early Ian Fleming books and movies, but it was a glamorous pursuit well before that; the future King Edward VII even got wrapped up in a Baccarat card game scandal back in the late 1800s.
It’s easy to see why Baccarat casino card game became so popular in the first place. It’s a fun and simple casino card game that was made even simpler when the version now known as Punto Banco was brought from Cuba to Las Vegas in the ‘50s. This is the Baccarat card game that is now played at most casinos around the world, including right here at Ignition's online casino. Punto Banco is a lot like Blackjack games, except you’re trying to make nine points instead of 21 – and you don’t have to worry about choosing whether to hit or stand.
Getting Started With Baccarat
If Baccarat games sounds intriguing so far, you’ve come to the right online casino. Make this online baccarat play page your jumping-off point for online baccarat here at Ignition's online casino; we’ll show you how to play Baccarat online for real money, from the rules of the game to which real money bets you can make. We’ll even tell you the online casino house edge for each of these real money bets, so you can make more informed baccarat decisions with your bankroll and get the most enjoyment when you play Baccarat games at Ignition online for real money.
What Is Baccarat?
Online Baccarat table games come in several casino flavors, but we’ll be sticking to the Punto Banco version that you can play online at Ignition Casino for real money. Earlier casino versions of this game can be traced as far back as the 15th Century; this baccarat version is said to have its roots in Argentina, and became popular during the ‘50s at the Capri Hotel & Casino in Havana, where it was run by a gentleman named Frances “Tommy” Renzoni.
As the baccarat story goes, after Fidel Castro’s forces overthrew the Batista government at the end of 1958, the Capri was shut down and Renzoni found himself in Las Vegas, where he ran the Baccarat casino game at Sands Hotel and Casino. This was during the “Rat Pack” days of Frank Sinatra, who bought a share of the now-defunct hotel in 1958 – that’s where they filmed the first Ocean’s 11 movie two years later – and Sinatra played a large role in helping Baccarat gain a foothold in Vegas. The rest was casino play history.
There’s another part of this baccarat origin story that has Baccarat being played right next door to Sands at Luigi’s Restaurant in 1953, by none other than Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. Jake Freedman, who built the casino the previous year, saw how popular (and lucrative) the casino game was, and soon had Baccarat casino tables installed at his own establishment – with the help of Renzoni, who would later make the move to Las Vegas ahead of the Cuban Revolution. Either way you look at it, Baccarat was an instant smash that soon spread to casinos all around the world.
How to Play Baccarat
Baccarat games use a standard deck of 52 playing cards; there are six of these play decks in the online shoe at Ignition's online casino, and they’re automatically reshuffled after every play hand is finished. The online game pits the Player against the Banker or Dealer to see who gets dealt the better hand. Both sides are aiming to get as close to nine points as possible.
Unlike in Blackjack games at casinos, none of the players can go bust in Baccarat games. The scoring system only goes from 0 to 9; if the play cards in a hand add up to more than that, the first digit is dropped and the score is based on the second digit. For example, a Nine and Five in your play hand goes from 14 to 4.
This can take a little getting used to, but it actually makes Baccarat games quite simple. Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings are no longer worth 10 points like they are in Blackjack; they’re worth zero points. Aces are also worth exactly one point, and the remaining cards are face value. Don’t worry if math isn’t your thing, because all the adding will be done for you within the online game, and your play hand value will be displayed for you.
Baccarat Hands
Every play hand of Baccarat begins when you place your real money bet, using the virtual casino chips you’ll see in your online display (we’ll explain these real money bets shortly). The Player and the Banker or Dealer then receive two play cards each, face-up. If either gets dealt a total of 8 or 9, that’s known as a natural – no more cards are dealt, and whoever has more points has the better hand. If neither the Player nor the Banker or Dealer is dealt a natural, then a third card may or may not be drawn. It all depends on what total each side has. First, the Player’s hand is looked at; if the total is between 0-5 inclusive, a third card is drawn, and if the total is 6-7, the Player stands.
Then it’s time to look at the Dealer's or Banker’s hand. If the Player stood, then the Dealer or Banker goes through the same process: Draw a single card with 0-5, stand with 6-7. If the Player drew a third card, things get a little more complicated. The following list shows the Dealer's or Banker’s total on the left, and what happens next.
- 0-2: Draw
- 3: Draw if Player has 0-7
- 4: Draw if Player has 2-7
- 5: Draw if Player has 4-7
- 6: Draw if Player has 6-7
- 7: Stand
Once the Dealer or Banker draws (or doesn’t), it’s time to compare the two play hands to see which of the players made it closer to nine points. Again, all these drawing “decisions” are pre-made for both sides when you play online Baccarat at Ignition. But it’s good to know the table play rules and what’s going on while players are playing, so players can keep up with the action. To make things easier to follow, players can pull up the Baccarat chart (known as a tableau) provided in the game description to the left of the online display.
Choosing Your Baccarat Bets
Here’s the other key play difference between Blackjack and Baccarat: You can bet on either the Player or the Dealer or Banker to win the baccarat hand. You can even bet on a Tie happening. Here’s how each table bet works.
Player
If the Player’s play hand is closer to 9, this table bet pays out at even money.
Banker
If the Banker’s play hand is closer to 9, this table bet pays out at even money, minus a 5% commission.
Tie
If the Player and the Banker have the same live score, this table bet pays out at 9-to-1.
You can place any of these three Baccarat bets by moving your virtual chips to the specified area on the layout. The denomination of each chip ($1, $5, $25, $100, $500) is visible on the front; your bet size can be anywhere between the minimum $1 and the maximum $500, provided you have the required funds in your online account.
Baccarat Odds and Strategy
While there is no skill involved in Baccarat play, each of the three bets carries a different casino house edge at casinos that players should know about. The Player bet has a house edge of 1.24%, one of the lowest you’ll find in casinos, but the edge on the Banker bet is even lower at 1.06%. This is another big reason why Baccarat has become so popular to play for players over the years at casinos.
The Tie bet is easily the most fun of the three play bets, so you’ll have to pay a small premium for it – the house edge for the Tie is 4.85%. That’s still a smaller house edge than you’ll find in American Roulette (5.26%). Baccarat games are meant to be played for entertainment at casinos, so if you enjoy making the Tie bet, you can stretch your entertainment dollar by betting mostly on either the Player or Banker, with the occasional wager on the Tie sprinkled in.
While there is no skill involved in Baccarat play, each of the three bets carries a different casino house edge at casinos that players should know about. The Player bet has a house edge of 1.24%, one of the lowest you’ll find in casinos, but the edge on the Banker bet is even lower at 1.06%. This is another big reason why Baccarat has become so popular to play for players over the years at casinos.
The Tie bet is easily the most fun of the three play bets, so you’ll have to pay a small premium for it – the house edge for the Tie is 4.85%. That’s still a smaller house edge than you’ll find in American Roulette (5.26%). Baccarat games are meant to be played for entertainment at casinos, so if you enjoy making the Tie bet, you can stretch your entertainment dollar by betting mostly on either the Player or Banker, with the occasional wager on the Tie sprinkled in.
