Baccarat is an unusual wagering card game, in that the bettors are not involved in the playing of the hand. The hand is played between a dummy banker and dummy player and the bettors wager on who will win. If the player wins, then those bettors who have wagered on the player win an amount equal to their stake. If the player loses then those bettors who have wagered on the player lose their stakes. In the event of a tie between the player and banker, the bettors can take back their stakes or carry them forward to the next deal.
Procedure
The seating of the players is decided by draw of lot. The player who draws highest sits to the right of the croupier and others follow in order. The croupier shuffles six packs of cards with the same pattern. The cards are also shuffled by each player in turn. The croupier once again shuffles the cards and the player to his left cuts the deck. The croupier then offers the cards to the player on his right to deal the hand. The dealer acts as the 'banker' for the time being.
The dealer first places his stake and then the other players do so. Once the issue of the stakes is settled as per the rules of baccarat the cards are dealt by the dealer. The bettor with the highest stake plays the role of the 'player'. If more than one bettor has the highest stakes, then the bettor first in rotation becomes the 'player'. The dealer deals one card to the player and one to himself and then another card to the player and another one to himself. The cards are dealt face down. Depending on the cards dealt, the deal can be closed at this stage. If needed, additional cards are dealt as specified by the rules of baccarat. The winner is the one with the higher hand value. Once the hand is over, the croupier makes the payouts. If the banker has won then he continues to be dealer. If the player has won the bank passes to the player on the immediate right.
The croupier keeps on replenishing the cards given to the dealer as and when required. However, at least seven cards must be in the dealer's hand after he finishes dealing, otherwise the hand is cancelled and the cards discarded.
