|
by
John Grochowski
Last
week, I popped a little 10-question quiz on baccarat. Here is the
test again, followed by the answers.
The
Quiz:
- 1.
The
winning hand in baccarat is:
- The
hand that totals closer to 9.
- The
higher-ranking poker-type hand, with three Aces being the
perfect hand.
- The
lower-ranking poker-type hand, with Ace-2-3 being the
perfect hand.
- 2.
The
major decision to be made by baccarat players is:
- Whether
to draw a third card or stop after two.
- Whether
to bet on banker, player or tie.
- Whether
to surrender half the bet after seeing two cards.
- 3.
The
house edge on baccarat:
- Is
lower than the house edge against a blackjack basic
strategy player.
- Is
higher than the house edge against a blackjack basic
strategy player.
- Is
about the same as the house edge against a blackjack basic
strategy player.
- 4.
The
best bet in baccarat is:
- Banker.
- Player.
- Tie.
- They're
all about the same.
- 5.
The
banker hand:
- Wins
a little more often than it loses.
- Loses
a little more often than it wins.
- Wins
as often as it loses.
- 6.
The
player hand:
- Wins
a little more often than it loses.
- Loses
a little more often than it wins.
- Wins
as often as it loses.
- 7.
The
tie bet is best made:
- At
any time.
- Only
when there has not been a tie in at least 10 hands.
- Never.
- 8.
Play
at big baccarat table differs from mini-baccarat in that:
- It
moves more slowly, with players often dealing the cards.
- It
uses only a single deck of cards.
- There
is no difference.
- 9.
Players
get a better run for their money.
- In
big baccarat.
- In
mini-baccarat.
- There
is no difference.
- 10.
Counting
cards at baccarat:
- Can
swing the overall edge in favor of the bettor.
- Can
swing the edge to the bettor in certain rare situations.
- Makes
no difference because the player has no hit/stand
decisions to make.
The
answers:
1.
The winning hand in baccarat is: A. The hand that totals closer to
9.
Baccarat
is a competition between a player hand and a banker hand, and
gamblers may bet on either, or on a tie. The hand that totals
closer to 9 is the winner.
Cards
numbered 2 through 9 are counted according to their face value,
Aces are 1 and 10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings are zero. If the sum
of the two, and sometimes three, cards in the hand is 10 or
greater, only the second digit counts. If the player hand starts
with a 4 and a Queen, it's a 4. If it then draws a 9 to bring the
sum to 13, the hand is a 3.
2.
The major decision to be made by baccarat players is: B. Whether
to bet on banker, player or tie.
Bettors
do not make hit/stand decisions in baccarat. Decisions on whether
to take a third card are done according to the rules of the game.
There are no options.
That
leaves a simple guessing game. Will the banker hand or player hand
be closer to 9, or will it be a tie?
3.
The house edge on baccarat: B. Is higher than the house edge
against a blackjack basic strategy player.
A
basic strategy player in blackjack reduces the house edge to about
0.5 percent, a little more or less depending on house rules. In
baccarat, house edges are 1.17 percent on banker, 1.36 percent on
player and 14 percent on ties.
Still,
for wagers that require no strategy to get optimal results, the
banker and player bets in baccarat rank with the best in the
house.
4.
The best bet in baccarat is: A. Banker.
As
we saw in No. 3, the banker bet has a house edge of 1.17 percent,
a little better than the 1.36 percent on player.
5.
The banker hand: A. Wins a little more often than it loses.
Banker
wins 50.68 percent of hands that are not ties. Bet banker from now
until the end of time, and you'll win more hands than you lose.
Will you win money? No, because the house collects a 5 percent
commission on winning bets on banker.
6.
The player hand: B. Loses a little more often than it wins.
Player
wins 49.32 percent of hands that are not ties. There is no
commission involved here. The house edge simply comes from this
bet losing more often than it wins.
7.
The tie bet is best made: C. Never.
Let's
amend that slightly. Most players should never make the tie bet.
The house edge of 14 percent is much too big to overcome. In
certain rare situations, the wager may be profitable. See answer
No. 10.
8.
Play at big baccarat table differs from mini-baccarat in that: A.
It moves more slowly, with players often dealing the cards.
Go
to a full-scale baccarat at a 14-player table in a high-limit room
in Las Vegas, and you'll see a ceremonial game, with the shoe
passed to a player who deals hands as instructed by the casino
dealer. Players pick up the cards and squeeze them apart oh, so
slowly.
There's
none of that at a blackjack-sized mini-baccarat table. A casino
dealer slides the cards out as fast as possible and players never
touch the cards.
9.
Players get a better run for their money. A. In big baccarat.
In
any casino game, speed kills. The house edge is the same in
mini-baccarat as in big baccarat, but mini-bac bettors play much
faster, leading to higher losses per hour.
10.
Counting cards at baccarat: B. Can swing the edge to the bettor in
certain rare situations.
Favorable
situations are really rare. The late Peter Griffin wrote in The
Theory of Blackjack that a player who doesn't bet unless he has an
advantage can squeeze an edge of about 0.7 percent of his maximum
bets on banker and player. However, that player might play only
about three hands per eight hours. That's watching, not playing.
For
bets on ties, it's theoretically possible to count down to a 24
percent edge with six cards remaining, provided all the cards are
dealt out.
In
the real world, nobody deals out all the cards, and with one-half
deck cut out of play, the bettor's potential edge on the last hand
shrinks to just .08 percent.
|
