Live Baccarat

The classic card game Baccarat is enjoying something of a renaissance, especially in the world of online casinos. If you fancy giving it a try, then you might be interested in some of the live baccarat offers in the table below:

What is Live Baccarat?

Baccarat is a popular casino card game that has been in existence for over 500 years. Like Blackjack, it is a very simple and quick game, which makes it appealing for novice and experienced card players alike. The most popular version of the game, known as punto banco (player banker) baccarat, is a pure game of chance, in which two pairs of cards are laid face down on the table by the dealer. One pair is referred to as the banker, and the other as the player. The customers can then choose to bet on the banker or the player. After all the bets are in, the cards are turned over to reveal which was the winning hand.

Same rules, Live game

The exact rules regarding what constitutes a winning hand are somewhat convoluted, but thankfully the dealer will do the necessary sums and inform the customers of the outcome. Traditional online versions of the game follow this simple format, with a random number generator taking over the role of the human dealer. While there are many advantages to playing baccarat online rather than in a brick and mortar casino, such as the fact that you can play at any time and do not have to pay inflated bar prices for refreshments, the traditional online version lacks atmosphere and transparency when held up next to its brick and mortar equivalent. You can't see the dealer shuffle the cards, so you just have to trust that the casino is not stacking the odds in their favour.

Enjoy from the comfort of your armchair

Also, looking at a graphical representation of the cards being dealt is no match for the real thing. However, with live baccarat, which is now being offered by many online casinos, you can enjoy a more authentic casino experience from the comfort of your armchair. Real human dealers deal the cards, which can be seen via a live web video link, and players can bet on the outcome via an onscreen betting console. In between games, players can chat to each other and the dealer about anything they like via instant messaging or a headset microphone. This helps to give the game more of a lively, sociable atmosphere than you might find in a typical online casino. Some sites will require you to download and install special software in order to play the games, whereas others use existing web based technologies such as Flash to display and operate the games. To sum up, live baccarat really is the closest thing to playing baccarat in a brick and mortar casino without leaving your house, so if you like your card games fast and furious, you should definitely give live baccarat a try.