Grand Baccarat

Online casino fans, you won’t have to go far to enjoy all the thrills of live casino action. Play Live Baccarat with real dealers right here at William Hill Casino. Live Baccarat brings all the sights and sounds of a real casino directly to your computer screen. If you enjoy online blackjack at William Hill, you are bound to enjoy this game as well.

This version of Live Baccarat is played with 8 decks and standard rules.  You can learn more about the rules of baccarat at William Hill Casino in the Live Baccarat Rules section on the bottom of this page. The table can host up to seven players at any one time. The cards will be shuffled when two decks worth are left in the shoe.

To play the game:

• There may be a game in progress when you first arrive at the table. In this situation you should wait until the game round ends – just like in a regular casino.
• Betting options are clearly displayed on the betting table. You must use your cursor to place bets and interact in the game.
• To place a bet select a chip (by left-clicking on it) and place it on the relevant part of the betting area.
• The betting options in the main game are Player, Banker or Tie: these are clearly marked on the table. Place a chip(s) on the area you wish to bet on. You can place multiple chips on different areas. When you have placed your bets – along with any side bets – press confirm.
• Please be aware: there is a time limit in which you must place your bets, if you do not have your bets placed and confirmed the game will begin without your participation.
• On the bottom right of your screen you will see the Side Bets Menu, open this to place side bets on Perfect Pair, Player Pair, Banker Pair or Either Pair. You will also be able to bet on Big or Small side bets. More information on side bets is given in the next section.
• Before the game begins the first card from the deck will be ‘burned’ by the dealer, i.e. it is not used in the game.
• When you have confirmed your bets they cannot be changed are taken back. The game will play out and if you are successful it will be clearly highlighted and your winnings credited to your balance.

Side Bets:

Live Baccarat at William Hill Casino also features options for side bets. These do not impact upon the outcome of the main game. Instead, they are a side wager on certain combinations or the number of cards drawn.  The side bets available are Perfect Pair, Player Pair, Banker Pair or Either Pair. You can also bet on the number of cards drawn, Big (5 or 6) or Small (4).

Please note: multiple side bets can be placed. However, all side bets must be placed before the cards have been dealt. With side bets – just as in the main game – you can bet on either you or the dealer getting the desired outcome.

The different side bets and the winning outcomes are displayed below:

Pairs:

Perfect Pair = a bet on either your or the dealer receiving two cards of the same value and the same suit, for example two ‘7 of Hearts’ cards.

Player Pair = a bet on you receiving any pair of cards, for example Jack of Clubs and Jack of Diamonds.

Banker Pair = a bet on the Banker (dealer) receiving any pair of cards.

Either Pair = a bet on either the Player or the Banker receiving any type of pair, i.e. it is a combination of Player Pair and Banker Pair.

Big or Small:

Big = a bet on there being five or six cards drawn in the game (between you and the dealer, thus excluding any other players at the table). This means you are essentially betting on the prospect of you or the dealer being obligated to draw an extra card.

Small = a bet on there being just four cards drawn in the game.

Tips:

If you have had a worthwhile experience playing Live Baccarat, you may want to leave the dealer a tip. This can be done by placing a chip(s) (in the same manner as placing a bet) on the Tip Stack.

Live Baccarat Game window:

The top part of the game window has 3 panels.

In the centre, you will see the video feed of the dealer. You can hide this feed by clicking on the top=left button of the panel. Just select it to enable viewing. The connection strength indicator is at the top right, and it displays the quality of the feed. It is possible to toggle through the screens by clicking on the buttons.

Game info is displayed on both sides of the video feed, such as the last round’s bet and win amounts and the name of your table and dealer.

The Chat tab lets you enter a message via the text field, which is shown at the bottom of the panel.

The Info tab lets you see details about the game, minimum and max betting amounts and other such info.  If you should join a table with a differential limit, you will see a notice that gives the total amount of bets by all players.

Banker Bets – displays the total value of all players’ bets on the Banker position.

Differential Limits Value – shows the maximum amount from which Banker bets can differ from Player bets.

Differential Limits:

• Limits Tab – displays the maximum and minimum limits for bets and side bets.
• Personal Tab – displays the total accumulative amount you have bet in the current round.
• Total Tab – shows the total amount bet on all positions by all players in the current round, as well as how many times a position has won in the current scoreboard.

Changing Seats:

You will be assigned a seat automatically when you join a live table. You can only change seats once the current round has ended. Click on the Change Seat button and then click on the betting area next to any free seat.

Score Cards:

Each player can choose from one of five Baccarat Score cards, which are found at the bottom of the screen. Up to 50 rounds can be recorded on each score card, with a new scorecard started with each shoe change.  The symbols on the score card are:

Red Circle = Banker win

Blue Circle = Player win

Green Slash = tied game

Straight Score Cards:

There are four straight score cards: Big Road, Big Eye Road, Small Road and Cockroach Road. They can be viewed as follows:

• Big Road only, collapsed mode.
• Big Road only, expanded mode.
• All four score cards, expanded mode.
• Big Eye Road, Small Road and Cockroach Road, collapsed mode.

The score cards are designed to let you see streaks for either banker or player wins. Each win adds a column to the score card. Ties do not break a streak.

The following buttons can be used on the score card:

• Last – allows you to see the scores for the previous shoe.
• Last -1 – allows you to see the scores for the second to last shoe.
• Current – allows you to view the scores for the current shoe.
• Total – allows you to view the total scores for the shoes mentioned above.
• Expand/Collapse – allows you to switch between those two modes.
• Change View – allows you to change views.
• Vertical Arrows – allows you to scroll the Big Road card vertically. You cannot scroll the other score cards.
• Horizontal Arrows – allows you to scroll through any visible score cards.
• B – will display how the score card would look hypothetically if the next win was Banker.
• P – will display how the score card would look hypothetically if the next win was Player.

Full Score Card – Bead Road:

You can find the Bead Road score card on the bottom right of the screen. It will display the Big and Small side bet results in sequence from earliest (top of cell) to latest.

• The Bead Road score card will also display the point total of the winning hand.
• A Player pair is represented by a blue dot and a Banker pair is represented by a red dot on the top corner of the score card.

You can toggle the Bead Road score card to view the Big/Small score card. This is very similar to bead road.

• If the round had 5/6 cards (Big Bet) it will be represented by a circle with a B in it.
• If the round had 4 cards (Small Bet) it will be represented by a circle with an S in it.

More on Score Cards:

Score cards below are taken from Big Road. All examples shown below are based on a hypothetical result on a Big Road score card.

Big Eye Road

The arrows show how Big Eye Road comes from Big Road.

Big Eye Road then will look like below:

Starting Point

The starting point corresponds to cell B2 on the Big Road score card, which is the second result (hand) after the first change in the game. If B2 is empty, the starting point is A3.

Marking the Results:

When marking any row but A the cell on the previous row is also examined.

• Big Eye Road will be marked red if that particular cell contains a result.
• Big Eye Road will be marked blue if that cell contains no result.
• All cells with no corresponding result after the first cell will be marked red in Big Eye Road.

Two previous results are compared for marking row A in any column. If the number of results is the same, then Big Eye Road is marked red. If the results are not the same it is marked blue.

Please note: a change in the colours will start a new column. Ties do not affect the score card.

Small Road:

The arrows show how Small Road is derived from Big Road.

Small Road then will look as below:

Starting point:

The starting point corresponds to cell B3 on the Big Road score card, which is the second result (hand) after the second change in the game. If B3 is empty, the starting point is A4.

Marking the Results:

When marking any row but A the cell on the second previous row is also examined.

• Small Road will be marked red if that particular cell contains a result.
• Small Road will be marked blue if that cell contains no result.
• All cells with no corresponding result after the first will be marked red in Small Road.

Two previous results are compared for marking row A in any column. If the number of results is the same, then Small Road is marked red. If the results are not the same it is marked blue.

Please note: a change in the colours will start a new column. Ties do not affect the score card.

Cockroach Road:

The arrows show how Cockroach Road is derived from Big Road.

Cockroach Road then will look as below:

Starting point:

The starting point corresponds to cell B4 on the Big Road score card, which is the second result (hand) after the third change in the game. If B4 is empty, the starting point is A5.

Marking the Results:

When marking any row but A the cell on the third previous row is also examined.

• Cockroach Road will be marked red if that particular cell contains a result.
• Cockroach Road will be marked blue if that cell contains no result.
• All cells with no corresponding result after the first will be marked red in Cockroach Road.

Two previous results are compared for marking row A in any column. If the number of results is the same, then Cockroach Road is marked red. If the results are not the same it is marked blue.

Please note: a change in the colours will start a new column. Ties do not affect the score card.

Buttons:

• Rebet – place the same bet as before.
• Clear bets – remove all bets from the game.
• Confirm – confirm your bets. Any bets that are not confirmed will not be valid.

The casino tool bar is located on the bottom edge of the game window. The following is located on the tool bar display:

Current balance – your William Hill Casino account balance.

Cashier – choose this to launch William Hill banking options – deposit, withdrawal etc.

Play for Real Money – allows you to switch from fun mode to play for real money.

Chat – selecting this will launch the chat window, where you can enter text and chat to other players in multi-player games.

Menu – allows you to view game History, adjust audio (through Options) and open this Help text.

You can contact a member of the customer service team through the Online Support button.

Close/lobby – exits the game and returns you to the William Hill Casino lobby.

Shortcut Keys:

The following keys can perform functions using your keyboard:

Tab – move between buttons.

Enter – select the current button.

Spacebar – place the same bet again (rebet).

Number Keys – allow you to select chips. This is subject to change depending on the player’s circumstances.

Esc – close game and return to casino lobby.

Large Wins:

Any win over $10,000, or the equivalent in other currencies is regarded as a Large Win, and must be verified by a live casino operator before withdrawal.

Note on Disconnections:

From time to time you may become disconnected from the game.  This will come at no loss to the player. On re-establishing a connection you can view the outcome of the game through the history function.

Differential Limit:    

In baccarat a differential limit is the maximum amount by which bets on the Banker and Player positions may differ. The differential limits for each particular game is displayed in the casino lobby. Whenever this limit is reached, the Banker or Player position is blocked until the balance has been re-established.

Live Baccarat Rules:

The aim of Baccarat is to place a bet on the value of cards drawn by either you or the dealer. The ‘winner’ is the hand that is closest to the value of nine. In baccarat the objective is not solely to get a good hand, rather to predict who (you or the dealer) gets the best hand. The value of the cards is added together to get the baccarat score. Initially, each player receives two cards; a third card can be drawn by player and/or dealer under certain circumstances, this will be explained below. The cards are valued as follows:

• Ace has a value of one.
• Ten, Jack, Queen and King have a value of Zero.
• Other cards have the representative value, i.e. 2 = 2, 7 = 7 etc.

The baccarat score is calculated by adding the cards together, for example a hand of 6 of Clubs and 3 of Diamonds would be 6+3 = 9. Or, a hand of King of Clubs and 7 of Hearts would be 0 + 7 = 7.

If the score exceeds 9, then the first digit value is removed, i.e. 10 is taken away from the score. For example, 7 of Diamonds and 9 of Clubs, 7 + 9 = 16 (-10), thus the baccarat score would be 6.

For the main game there are three betting options: Player, Banker and Tie. Remember the aim of the game is to predict who gets the best hand, so if you think the dealer is going to win, bet on the Banker. The different bets work like this:

Player Bet = a wager on you having a hand that is closer in value to 9 than the hand of the Banker. This bet pays Evens (1:1), thus you will win double your initial stake.

Banker Bet = a wager on the dealer/banker having the best hand. A successful bet will return Evens (1:1). However this bet will charge 5% commission on your winnings, this is sometimes called ‘vigorish’.

Tie Bet = a wager on the same value of hands being drawn by you and the dealer, i.e a draw. For this bet the payout is 8-1.

Third Card Rules:

In certain circumstance you and/or the dealer will be obliged to take a 3^rd card. The following table highlights the situations in which you must draw another card:

Player Third Card Rules

For the dealer the general rule is that they must take another card (hit), if you stand and they have a score of five or less. The other situations for the dealer/banker are displayed in the next table:

Banker Third Card Rules

Please note: if either player has a score of 8 or 9 no further cards will be drawn by player or dealer. This rule negates all other rules.