Baccarat or Punto Banco is a very simple game to play

Baccarat is in some circles known as the King of casino games but where that comes from is a bit of a mystery although the game does have a reputation for being exclusively for high rollers which is helped by some land based casinos having high stakes baccarat tables separated from the rest of the casino. Baccarat which is sometimes known as Punto Banco is in actual fact a very simple game to play, is available at all online casinos and requires no skill at all so maybe that is what attracts some people to the game and what is rather unique is that you have the chance to bet on the dealer winning. Baccarat is so simple that there are only three possible bets and only two hands are dealt, so you can bet on either hand to win (player or bank) or for it to be a tie. Although one of the hands is called the player, there is in fact no player as both hands are played by the dealer which may sound a bit strange but as there are strict rules governing what must be done under what circumstances there is no discretion and it is exactly this that makes baccarat ideal for an online casino. At first playing baccarat might seem a little confusing as counting the value of cards is unconventional and as it is the total value of hand which determines the winner it helps if you can get to grips with what is happening. To this end, for the benefit of Irish casino players, casinos.ie does have a page dedicated to baccarat where the counting is explained. After playing for a while you will notice that the player winning or the bank winning is not a 50/50 chance; the way the cards are played means that the bank is more likely to win than the player but to compensate all winnings from betting on the bank are subject to a 5% reduction.