Live Baccarat Explained
Live Baccarat takes this traditional casino game away from the gambling elite and gives all players the chance to enjoy it. The game is played with a professional dealer and the action is streamed in high definition straight from the casino floor. It is packed with all the features a player may need including side bets, roadmap scorecards, and more. Furthermore, thanks to the live chat functionality, it can be a truly social experience.
How to Play
The aim of Baccarat is very simple; you are betting on which of two hand positions, Player and Banker, will have a value closer to 9 at the end of a round. At the start of a round, you need to place your bet on one of the positions (or a tie) and the dealer then deals the cards. Two facedown cards are dealt to each of the positions and the dealer will then reveal them.
It is very easy to understand hand values in Baccarat. The number cards are worth their face value, Aces are worth 1 and the face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are all worth ten. The value of the two cards is simply added together. When calculating the value of a hand, if it is worth more than 10 then 10 is subtracted from the total, e.g. a hand of 13 is worth 3.
A hand is called a Natural if it has a value of 8 or 9 and it won’t receive any further cards. However, in some situations one or both position may be dealt a third card. If the Player position is worth 5 or less then it receives a third card. If the Player position is worth more than 5 then the Banker position receives a third card if it is worth 5 or less but it won’t receive a third card if it is worth more than 5.
If the Player position has received a third card then the following rules apply to the Banker hand. If the Banker hand is worth 2 or less then it receives a third card. If the Banker hand is worth 3 then it receives a third card as long as the Player’s third card was not an 8. If the Banker hand is worth 5 then the Banker will receive a third card if the Player’s third card was a 4, 5, 6 or 7. If the Banker hand is worth 6 then it will receive a third card if Player’s third card was a 6 or 7. The Banker will not receive a third card if the position has a total of 7 or higher.
Once all cards have been dealt, you are paid for any winning bets and you can then start betting on the next round. A winning Player bet pays at 1:1, a Banker bet pays 0.95:1, and a Tie bet pays 8:1.
Special Features
Live Baccarat offers the Player and Banker Pair Side bet. The Player Pair wins if the first two cards dealt to the Player are a pair and the Banker Pair wins if the first two cards dealt to the Banker are a pair. Both of the side bets pay at 11:1 when won.
Evolution has also introduced a Red Envelope Bonus to most of its Baccarat tables. It is randomly triggered on the Tie, Player Pair and Banker Pair side bets and can boost the payouts up to 88 times the bet.
Many Baccarat players are superstitious and like to look for patterns in the cards or trends. To help do this, the game features a number of roadmaps scorecards. Each is designed to show something a little different. The Bead Road and Big Road display the results of each past round while the Big Eye Road, Small Road and Cockroach Road display patterns derived from the Big Road. The statistics and roads are reset when the shoe is replaced. Fuller explanations of how these work can be found in the game’s rules.
It is also possible to customise your experience to a certain extent. There is a choice of view, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. You can also view statistics such as what percentage of bets have been placed on Player, Banker and Tie. Finally, while playing, you can enjoy chatting to your fellow players and the dealer.
