Lucky Draw Baccarat

deck-and-chipsBaccarat is among the oldest games played in casinos all over the world. It is a game that was popular in France before making it to casinos worldwide, but it is said to have originated in Italy. It has many variants, with the same basic rules – face cards are worth 0 points, aces are worth 1 point and the rest of the cards are worth pip value. The goal of the game is to reach a hand of 9 points, or at least with a value closer to 9 as the banker has. A simple, yet highly entertaining game that has not changed too much in the last decades.

A new version of Baccarat has been spotted in land-based casinos recently, called Lucky Draw Baccarat. The game is a proprietary version of the classic baccarat offered by TCS John Huxley, a casino solutions provider for land based gambling businesses worldwide. It is a combination of classic baccarat with some elements likely to have been borrowed from blackjack. It retains the card values from the classic game, but it has some spins on how the payouts are made. Also, unlike in the classic game, Lucky Draw Baccarat is played against the house, without the opportunity to bet on the bank’s hand.

Lucky Draw Baccarat is played with eight standard 52 card decks. The rules of the game are a bit more complex compared to the classic Baccarat game, but they are easy to learn. Here is what a game of Lucky Draw Baccarat is played:

  • the player is required to place an Enter-Bet, and has the opportunity to also place a Block Bonus side bet at the same time
  • the dealer deals two cards to each player face up, and one card face up and another one face down for himself
  • at this point the player can stand with the current hand value, or ask for an additional card by placing a Draw-Bet equal to the Enter-Bet
  • when all players are served, the dealer reveals his concealed card. If the dealer’s hand has a value of 4 or less the dealer can draw another card. At five points or higher the dealer must stand.
  • the hands are compared:
    • If the dealer’s total is higher than the player’s total, the house wins
    • if the hand values are equal all bets except the Block Bonus bet are push
    • if the player’s total is higher, the Enter-Bet pays 1 to 1, and the Draw-Bet pays according to the DrawWin paytable the payouts can be up to 3 to 1, depending on the option chosen by the house)

The Block Bonus pays out up to 35 to 1 in the following conditions:

  • Ultimate Block – Two cards the same rank, higher and both of them are the same suit as the dealer’s first card (35 to 1)
  • Pair Block – Two cards the same rank, higher and one of them is the same suit as the dealer’s first card. (10 to 1)
  • Flush Block – Two cards the same suit and one/both cards are higher and in the same suit as the dealer’s first card. (5 to 1)
  • Normal Block – One card higher and in the same suit as the dealer’s first card. (2 to 1)

The Lucky Draw Baccarat is only available at land-based online casinos at this time, but it will surely be adapted to the online casino market soon enough.

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