Baccarat History and American Baccarat Rules

Here you can learn how to play the American version of baccarat and learn about the history of the game.


If we put aside the black ties, the velvet curtains and the overall exclusive atmosphere, baccarat is one of the simplest casino games around. In addition, baccarat is a beatable game with a low house edge, which makes it one of the best bets you can make! Here you can read about baccarat history and learn how to play the game.

Both the American and European versions of baccarat and the French Chemin de Fer are late developments of the Italian game called baccara, which means zero in Italian. The origins of baccara go back to an old Etruscan myth. According to the myth, a blonde virgin had to toss a nine sided die to decide on her destiny. If the die landed on eight or nine, she would have to fulfill her destiny and become a priest. If the die landed on six or seven, she would be forbidden to participate in any religious activity. If the die landed on any other number, the virgin had to walk into the sea.

The Italian game baccara was popular among French aristocracy during the end of the 15th century. Baccara had evolved to the European version of baccarat, which is still played in European casinos today as well as the French variation of baccarat known as Chemin de Fer, which is mainly played in casinos in France. The American version of the game was introduced to Nevada casinos in the 1950s by Francis Tommy Renzoni, who imported the game from Havana.

Baccarat still carries an aroma of aristocracy and exclusivity. In American casinos, baccarat is played in a separated area of the casino, hidden behind velvet curtains. Baccarat players are usually dressed up and the betting limits are higher comparing to other table games. In order to attract the medium budget players, a lower limit version of baccarat, called mini baccarat, was invented. Mini baccarat is played on a smaller table, inside the casino gambling area with lower betting limits than baccarat.

How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is played with 3 dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. Baccarat is usually played with 8 standard card decks. Aces valued as one, face cards and ten cards valued as zero, and the rest of the number cards worth their face value. The suit has no meaning. The object of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible.

The play begins by all players, including the dealer, placing their bets either on the player, the banker, or on a tie. Traditionally, the dealer bets on the banker. The dealer can be the house dealer or one of the players. After everyone has placed their bets, the dealer gives two cards to each player and to the banker.

The score of each hand is calculated as the sum of the two cards minus the left digit. For example, if the sum of the two cards is 15, the score would be 5. The decision whether to deal a third card is determined by a set or rules and it is not up to the player or the dealers decision. 
If the score of the players hand is 9 or 8, he wins
If the score of the dealers hand is 9 or 8, it is a tie
If a players score is 7 or 6, he can be dealt a third card
If a players score is 5 or less, he has to receive a third card
If a player gets a third card and the score of the dealers hand is 2, 1 or 0, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 3 and the players third card is any value but 8, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 4 and the players third card value is between 2 and 7, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 5 and the players third card value is between 4 and seven, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 6 and the players third card is 6 or 7, he must draw a third card.
If the score of the dealers hand is 7, he cannot draw a third card.

How to Maintain your Mental Health

Mental health is just as if not more important then physical health. Here I have provided some suggestions on how to keep up your mental heath.

In recent years people have realized the importance of proper diet and exercise, and recent surveys show that over the last 20 years people are eating better and working out more often, resulting in people living longer, but people are still lacking in their understanding that their mental well being is just as important as their physical health.

Today most people get on average 4 to 6 hours of exercise every day, and make sure that everything they put in their mouths is not filled with sugars or preservatives, but they pay no attention to their mental health, no vacations, not even the occasional long weekend, 60 hour weeks, taking work home with them and even working weekends. All of this for hopes of one day getting that big promotion. What good will it do you when your brain overloads and you have a breakdown in the office.

In the end your physical health will suffer no matter how well you eat and how often you exercise. You will wind up with high blood pressure, stress and tension all of which raises the chances of you having a stroke or heart attack.

In hopes of helping you avoid this I am providing you with the things I do to keep my mental health in tip top condition.

My absolute favorite thing to do to refocus myself is to go for a long ride on my Harley. Nothing brings the world back into focus like riding free like the wind, there is no better forms of therapy as far as I am concerned.

Another great way to relieve the stresses in your life and help put a sparkle in your mental health is a trip to the casinos. Most people go to the casinos and expect to go home a winner, I do not. I go to have a good time.

I enjoy the skill required in
blackjack or poker, or just like pressing my luck on the roulette wheel or slot machine. I also make sure not to take my credit cards with me to the casinos. Every week I put a few bucks on the side and when I have enough to go to the casino I go, and have a real good time. This way I can blow every penny I bring with me and know I am not hurting my self financially.

Sometime I just like to sit at a poker table, blackjack table or roulette table and just make small bets. This may not be as exciting as risking large sums of money, but in the end I play longer, and I probably win more often. The best part is because I do not expect to win I am not disappointed when I don’t win, and on those occasions that I do win beside going home with more money I have a supper big smile on my face because the night was all that much better.

Another reason why I love the casinos is how far they are from where I live so I can take my bike out in the morning have a good 3 hour drive to Atlantic City then at the end of the day I get to enjoy another 3 hours on my Harley, and if the weather is really bad I can either take my truck or just stay home and log on to one of the many online casinos available to choose from.

I also enjoy watching an hour or 2 of television every night, some light sitcoms are a great way to lighten your minds load, and laughing out loud for 30 seconds every day is a great way to release stress.

Video games are also great for stress release, if you are mad at your boss what better way to get it out of you then boxing, just imagine you are pounding on your boss and hope you don’t lose.

I hope you try some of these methods or think of some of your own to help keep the stress down in your life and keep your mental health in as good of condition as the rest of you.

How to Act on a First Date

Usually by the time you have a first date you have either already meet someplace, or have at least talked on the telephone or over the internet, and there should at least be some amount of interest in each other or why would you have agreed to the date in the first place.

The key to a successful first date is to relax and just be the real you. If you try to act in a way that you think the other person will like, then they may start liking someone who you are not, and in the end you will wind up breaking up and getting hurt, so honest truly is the best policy, and in the end if you are just being you and it does not work you, you know they were not the one for you.

Dating is like gambling at poker, sure a good bluff may win you a hand or two but you are not going to win the World Series of Poker by bluffing, only by playing the best you can. This is no different from dating if you make things up to try and impress this person they are not liking you but are liking the fake you  and eventually they will see the two are no the same.

 Try to think back to the things you talked about when the both of you spoke on the phone and see if you learned anything that may help you decide where to go for your date, but if you do not have enough information about them to know what they may like you sometimes have to gamble and throw the dice, and hope you don’t crap out.

The most important thing to do on a first date is to have a good time, the bigger a deal you make of it the harder it is going to be and the higher the chances of you making a jerk of yourself. If you are nervous before the date take a few minutes and take a few deep breaths and if this does not help then I recommend you do what I like to do in the casinos when my nerves are bothering me I simply have a drink. The alcohol in one drink will usually calm me down enough to concentrate.

The key to having a nice first date is simple:

Take her/ him to a nice place, quite but not too quiet, you should be able to hear each other but other distractions are also good for those uncomfortable moments.

Do not take her/ him to a place where your friends hang out, this will make her/ him feel as if they are being ganged up on or they may feel out of place and resent you for making them feel that way.

It is very important to have the whole night planned out already before the date and have a backup idea just incase. The tricky part is making it look like it was not all planned. Let's say you decide that you are going to take her for dinner, then after you want to take a walk on the beach do not just say hey after dinner let's take a walk on the beach. I would recommend you wait till after dinner and ask her if she wants to take a walk to burn off dinner and then take her to the beach.

Then when you are on the beach take her/his hand while walking, this makes a physical connection between you and makes it easier later on when you go for your first kiss.

Just remember that dating is a gambling sometimes you are going to get a bad hand and eventually if you play your cards right you will find the right person and win the jackpot.