Baccarat has gained popularity worldwide both online and offline. There are basically three variants of the baccarat game: baccarat chemin de fer, baccarat banque, and punto banco. The word “baccarat” has been derived from Italian and French word “zero”, which refers to the value given to tens and face cards. 

Baccarat is a simple and easy to play game with only three possible outcomes i.e. 'Player', 'Banker', and 'Tie'. In the game of baccarat, the main aim of the player is to get a total card value as nearer to nine as possible without exceeding it. In this game, up to 15 players can play at a time and each player gets a chance to deal the cards at least once.

The main principle behind the game of baccarat is that the players can bet on the banker, player or tie positions. In baccarat game, two cards each are dealt in two hands on the baccarat table, one of which is the banker’s hand and other the player’s hand. The players participating in the game have to simply bet on the either hand that they think have a value closer to 9.

A card total of 9 is called a "natural" and cannot lose the game. A card total of eight is the second-best hand in baccarat. If both the player and banker have identical hands, then it's a tie i.e. neither the banker nor the player wins, but whoever bet on a tie wins the game.

Baccarat Variations

Punto Banco: It is also called the North American Baccarat. In this baccarat variation, Punto refers to the Player and Banco refers to the Banker. And the term Egalatie is used for a tie between the two. It is the most widely played baccarat variation.

Mini Baccarat: It is a baccarat variation which is played on a relatively smaller table than other variations. In this game up to seven players can play against a dealer at a time. And the betting limits are comparatively lower than other baccarat variations.

Baccarat Chemin-de-fer: It is a French version of baccarat. It has almost the same rules as the regular baccarat, except that when the player acting as the Banker loses a hand, the next player becomes the banker. That means the banker’s hand keeps on passing to the next player. That’s why Chemin-de-fer also means "railroad" in French.

Baccarat en Banque: It is also a French variation of baccarat. In this game, the rules are same except that betting is not allowed on the banker’s hand.

Private Baccarat: In this baccarat variation, the banker has the option to deal the player with either one or two hands. The player decides whether he want to play with one hand, or two hands. When the player chooses two hands, it is termed as a cheval, and then he must win both hands in order to win the game.