General Rules of Mini Baccarat
Mini Baccarat is played according to somewhat simplified rules of the American version of the game, where the cards are always dealt by the dealer. The table for the game is smaller than in other varieties.
In front of each player has three fields for betting:
- on the player’s victory,
- to win the dealer
- and a draw.
The game uses six or eight standard decks of fifty-two cards without jokers, which are stacked in a special box called “sabot”. The cards played are placed in a special draw box. Minibaccarat is also characterized by fairly low betting limits, which makes the game more democratic.
Also, players should remember that they only need to make a bet, and then all operations at the table are made by the dealer, so no problems even for beginners. Minibaccarat table is divided into seven playing places, which determines the maximum number of participants.
Combinations and value of cards
Briefly about cards:
- Ace gives the player one point,
- Cards from two to nine – the number of points equal to their face value,
- Tens and “colored cards” give no points.
If the sum of points is higher than ten, ten is subtracted from it, and the result is counted in the game. Because of this, the sum of points from the dealer and the player can never exceed nine. Neither the player nor the dealer can receive more than three cards. The winner is the one who has a sum of points closer to nine. If the sum of points is equal, a draw is declared.
The highest sum of points is nine. The combination of two cards with a total of nine points is called a natural card and always wins. Eight points on two cards is the second strongest combination and is also called a natural combination.
Betting in mini-backgammon
Each of the players at the table can make the following bets:
- On a croupier’s win (banco) – a 1:1 payout with a five percent deduction in favor of the casino,
- To win a player (punto) – payment 1:1,
- To a draw, the payment is 8:1 (sometimes 9:1).
How to play Mini Baccarat
Players make bets on the victory of the player, the dealer or a draw, placing chips on the appropriate fields. The dealer deals two cards to the player and himself. If the player or the dealer has one of the natural combinations, he is declared the winner.
The third card is dealt to the player and the dealer by the standard rules for the American version of the game, which can be studied in detail. After that, the dealer compares his cards and the player’s cards, takes away the losing bets and is paid to win.