Baccarat, which is pronounced /ˈbæk.ər.æt/ in IPA phonetic transcription, is a card game that originated in France. The spelling of the word can be confusing because of its unusual pronunciation. The first syllable is pronounced with a short 'a' sound, while the second syllable has a stress on the second 'a'. The final syllable is pronounced with a soft 't' sound. The word is often mispronounced with an emphasis on the first syllable or with a hard 'c' sound, but the correct pronunciation is /ˈbæk.ər.æt/.
Baccarat is a card game that originated in Italy in the 15th century and is now commonly played in casinos around the world. It is a game of chance, played between a player and a banker, with the objective of predicting which hand will have a higher point value. The game is typically played with multiple decks of cards.
In baccarat, there are three possible outcomes: the player wins, the banker wins, or it results in a tie. The point values of the cards are used to determine the outcome. Cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value, while face cards and 10s have no point value, and aces are worth 1 point. The total point value of a hand is calculated by adding up the individual card values and then taking the last digit of the resulting sum.
To begin the game, the player and the banker each receive two cards. If either the player or banker has a total point value of 8 or 9 in the initial two-card hand, it is called a "natural," and the game ends. If neither has a natural, additional cards may be drawn based on specific rules governing third cards.
Baccarat is known for its simple and straightforward gameplay, making it popular among both novice and experienced casino players. The game is often associated with elegance, glamour, and high stakes, attracting high rollers in casinos worldwide.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "baccarat" was derived from the Italian word "baccara", which means zero. This stems from the fact that in the game of baccarat, all tens and face cards hold a value of zero. The Italian word was later anglicized to "baccarat" when the game gained popularity in France during the 19th century.