Many of you probably heard of baccarat and its origins. You probably also have heard of the many variants baccarat has generated from its early beginnings in Italy during the Middle Ages up to its latest variant: the online baccarat.
I’m here to discuss one of baccarat’s many variants. This is the Punto Banco Baccarat. Punto Banco Baccarat is a modification of the baccarat game from Italy called by the same name and the Chemin de Fer, also a baccarat variant, from France. Punto Banco Baccarat came from Cuba at around the 1500s and has made splashes in the region’s nobility and high-class.
Punto Banco Baccarat has also three variants that are called: the mini, the midi and the large variant of Punto Banco Baccarat. These Punto Banco Baccarat variants differ in the size and shape of the table used and the number of players that can play in each game. It is said that the large variant has higher minimum betting limits as compared to the mini Punto Banco Baccarat variant. In addition, the Punto Banco Baccarat large variant sometimes allows their players to distribute the cards from the shoe. Under normal Punto Banco Baccarat, this is done by the croupier.
One of the amazing things about Punto Banco Baccarat is its rich traditional practices inherited from the first Punto Banco Baccarat days. Example of this is the tradition that players leave tips for the croupier where they say, “For the staff” or “Pour les employes” and the croupier would respond with “Thank you on behalf of the staff” or “Merci pour les employes.” The tips, of course form a part of the earnings of the staff.
The Punto Banco Baccarat variant also uses different names than the other baccarat variants. They call the bet for the player’s hand as the “punto,” the bet for the banker’s hand as the “banco” and the tie bet as “egalite.”
The rules for betting and game play in Punto Banco Baccarat are the same as American baccarat. Although, there exists a Non-betting coup in Punto Banco Baccarat. A Non-betting coup happens when the croupier accidentally gets an extra card from the deck. He places this card under the shoe and continues with the game. The next round of Punto Banco Baccarat will be a Non-betting coup where the croupier will declare, “A Non-betting coup will be played.” The game will then be played without the bets and the payoffs.
The game of Punto Banco Baccarat is the same as the other baccarat variants, but it is also different in many of the minute details of the game.
