The Rules of Baccarat

Definitions

"Dummy hand" will be a hand that is played as normal, without any wagers accepted.

"Natural" will be a hand with a point count of 8 or 9, in the original 2 cards.

"Push" shall mean that the banker's and player's point counts are the same.

Number of Decks and Value of Cards

1. Baccarat shall be played with a minimum of eight (8) decks of cards with backs of the same color and design. Baccarat will be dealt using a shoe.
2. The value of the cards contained in each deck shall be as follows:
   1. Any card from 2 to 9 shall have its face value;
   2. Any Ten, Jack, Queen, or King shall have a value of zero (0);
   3. Ace shall have a value of one (1).
3. The "Point Count" of a hand shall be a single digit number from 0 to 9 inclusive and shall be determined by totaling the value of the cards in the hand. If the total of the cards is a two-digit number, the left digit of such number shall be discarded having no value and the right digit shall constitute the Point Count of the hand. Examples of this rule are as follows:
   1. A hand composed of an Ace, a 2 and 4 has a point count of 7.
   2. A hand composed of an Ace, a 2 and a 9 has a total of 12 but only a point count of 2 since the digit 1 in the number 12 is discarded.

Wagers

1. Prior to the first card being dealt for each round of play, each player at the game of Baccarat may make a wager on either the player, banker, or a tie hand, which shall win if:
   1. A wager on the "Banker's Hand" shall
      1. Win if the banker's hand has a point count higher than that of the player's hand;
      2. Lose if the banker's hand has a point count lower than that of the player's hand;
      3. Be a push if the point counts of the banker's hand and the player's hand are equal.
   2. A wager on the "Player's Hand" shall
      1. Win if the player's hand has a point count higher than that of the banker's hand;
      2. Lose if the player's hand has a point count lower than that of the banker's hand;
      3. Be a push if the point counts of the banker's hand and the player's hand are equal.
   3. A "Tie Bet" shall win if the point count of the banker's hand and the player's hands are equal.
2. No wager shall be made, increased or withdrawn after the first card of the respective round has been dealt.
3. All wagers at Baccarat shall be made by placement of gaming chips or tokens on the appropriate areas of the Baccarat layout. Verbal wagers accompanied by cash will not be accepted at the game of Baccarat.
4. The minimum wagers and maximum wagers shall be posted on a sign at each table. Wagers will be allowed in increments of $5.00 on player and banker bets. Wagers will be allowed in increments of $1.00 on tie bets. Dealer wagers will be allowed in $1.00 increments on any wagering position.
5. After each round of play is complete, the dealer shall collect all losing wagers and pay all winning wagers. All winning wagers shall be paid at odds of 1 to 1 with the exception of the tie wagers, which shall be paid at odds of 8 to 1.
6. All winnings resulting from wagers on the Banker, shall be charged a 5% commission. Winning Dealer wagers will be charged no commission.
7. Once the first card of a hand has been dealt, no player shall handle, remove, or alter any wagers that have been made, until a decision has been rendered and implemented with respect to that wager.

Prairie Meadows has the right to deny play to any player at any time for any reason which it considers detrimental to the best interest of Prairie Meadows and the State of Iowa gaming industry.

Inspection of Cards

When cards are placed on the gaming table at the beginning of the gaming day, a casino supervisor will break the seal then give the cards to the dealer for inspection. When the Deck Checker system is not used, the dealer or casino supervisor will spread the cards face up in two rows to verify that all cards are present. The backs of cards will be checked to make certain there are no marking, which can be identified as to the value of the card. The backs will be spread once in each direction. Cards will be checked for any kind of damage. If after checking the cards, the dealer or supervisor finds that cards are damaged or improper, the supervisor will replace them. The defective decks will have the defect noted, and returned to the Card and Dice storage.

Shuffle and Cut of Cards

Opening Shuffle: New Cards – Manual Shuffle (8 Deck)

1. Cards will be "washed" two (2) decks at a time and then placed into the discard rack.
2. Remove all decks from discard rack and place in center of table.
3. The cards are then placed in four equal stacks in front of the gaming tray about shoulder width apart.
4. A cut card is placed in the middle of the table between the stacks of cards.
5. Approximately 1/2 deck is picked from each of stacks 1 & 3, riffled twice, stripped 7-10 times, and riffled together once again and left laced so three logos are visible. This is then placed on the cut card between the three stacks, forming a new pile (stack 5).
6. This process is continued alternating between stacks 1 & 3, and stacks 2 & 4, until there is one single pile (stack 5) of cards in the middle of the table once again.
7. The dealer will call out in a loud clear voice "Shuffle Check" or "Cut" and wait for the supervisor to verify and approve the lacing, before proceeding to the cut process.

Automatic Shuffling Device

Cards used to play Baccarat may be shuffled using an automatic card-shuffling device. Should one not be in use the Standard Shuffle Procedure will apply.

The following procedures are applicable to the automatic shuffling device:

1. When an automatic shuffling device is used, the cards will be inspected as described under "Baccarat-Inspection of Cards". The cards will then be washed 2 decks at a time and loaded into the shuffler.
2. To facilitate opening if the shuffler has not completed its cycle on the first set of cards, the second set of cards may be prepared and manually shuffled at table opening.
3. On subsequent shuffles the unused portion of cards from the shoe are removed and inserted into the center of the discards already in the rack.
4. The discards are then removed from the rack and inserted into the automatic shuffler.
5. The shuffler will then eject the already shuffled cards, and the dealer will proceed with the cut process.
6. If an error light turns on during the shuffle, the cards in the machine will not be brought into play until a supervisor investigates the error.

SHUFFLE

When the cut card appears during the hand, one more hand will be played. After the last hand is played, the standard shuffle will be used.

Standard Shuffle Procedure (8 Deck)

Immediately prior to commencement of play, the dealer shall shuffle the cards so that they are randomly intermixed. Cards will be shuffled as follows:

1. Remove unused portion of cards from the shoe and insert the stub into the center of discards already in the rack.
2. Remove all decks from the discard rack and place in center of table.
3. The cards are then placed in four equal stacks in front of the gaming tray about shoulder width apart.
4. A cut card is placed in the middle of the table between the stacks of cards.
5. Approximately 1/2 deck is picked from each of stacks 1 & 3, riffled twice, stripped 7-10 times, and riffled together once again and left laced so three logos are visible. This is then placed on the cut card between the three stacks, forming a new pile (stack 5).
6. This process is continued alternating between stacks 1 & 3, and stacks 2 & 4, until there is one single pile (stack 5) of cards in the middle of the table once again.
7. The dealer will call out in a loud clear voice "Shuffle Check" or "Cut" and wait for supervisor approval before proceeding to the cut process.

Cut of the Cards

1. Once the shuffle is complete, the dealer will roll the cards, square them, and offer the cut to the designated player. ( If opening a new game WITH a shuffle machine, the cards are unloaded from the shuffle machine and offered for cut.)
2. The player shall cut the cards by placing the cutting card in the stack, at least one deck from either end.
3. Once the cutting card has been inserted by the player, the dealer shall take all cards in front of the cutting card and place them to the back of the stack after which the dealer shall insert the cutting card in a position at least one deck in from the back of the stack. The stack of cards shall then be inserted into the dealing shoe for commencement of play.
4. If a player refuses the cut, the cards shall be offered to each other player moving clockwise around the table until a player accepts the cut. If no player accepts the cut, the dealer shall cut the cards.
5. A reshuffle of the cards in the shoe shall take place after the cutting card is reached in the shoe except that:
   1. Prairie Meadows may determine after each round of play that the cards should be reshuffled.
   2. If the Games Supervisor has any doubts about the validity of the cut or the integrity of the game, he/she may instruct the dealer to reshuffle the cards.

When the shuffle procedure is completed, the cards are placed into the shoe.

"BURNING OF THE CARDS"

1. The first card from the shoe shall be exposed by placing it onto the layout in front of the dealer face up.
2. A number of cards will be "burned" corresponding to the value of the exposed card. Faces count as 10, Aces count as 1.
3. Cards will be burnt in the following situations.
   1. The shuffle has been completed.
   2. Play resumes on a dead game (may be waived with management approval).
   3. With management approval.

Dealing the Cards

1. The Dealer will draw four cards from the shoe face down. The first and third cards will represent the player's hand. The second and fourth cards will represent the bank hand.
2. After all four cards are drawn from the shoe, the Dealer will then turn over and call the player's hand.
3. The Dealer will then turn over and call the bank hand, placing the bank hand in the appropriate area.
4. If either player or bank has a "natural" 8 or 9, the game ends and there will be no more cards drawn.
5. In the event of a tie, the Dealer will pay tie bets at 8 to 1.
6. If the players are to receive a third card according to the rules of Mini-Baccarat, the Dealer draws a card for the player's hand, turns it over and places it perpendicular to the player's previous cards.
7. If the bank hand is entitled to a third card according to the rules of the Mini-Baccarat, the Dealer draws a card for the bank, turns it over and places it over and perpendicular to the previous banker's cards.
8. The Dealer will announce the winner, will take all losing wagers, and will then pay all winning wagers from right to left.
9. The Dealer will collect a 5% commission on all winning Bank wagers.
10. The Dealer continues the game until the cutting card is reached in the deal of the cards. The dealer shall continue dealing the cards until that round of play is completed after which he/she shall reshuffle the cards. If the cutting card is drawn as the first card of a new round, the dealer shall continue dealing the cards until that round of play is completed after which he/she shall reshuffle the cards.
11. At the conclusion of a round of play, all cards still remaining on the layout shall be picked up by the dealer in order and in such a way that they can be readily arranged to indicate each hand in case of questions or dispute.
12. No player or spectator shall handle, remove or alter any cards, and no dealer or other employee or casino key employee shall permit a player or spectator to engage in such activity.

IRREGULARITIES

If the first card of a hand is drawn face upwards from the shoe, the hand shall be declared dead, and the cards shall be played as a "dummy hand", preserving the order and integrity of the remaining shoe. If a card other than the first card of a hand is drawn face up, the hand will be played as normal.

If a card is mistakenly drawn (exposed), the card will be used to complete the hand as it should have been played, if the card is not needed to complete the hand, it will be used to play out a "dummy hand".

If a card is drawn in error without its face being exposed, it will be used as the next card.

If two cards come out of the shoe at the same time face down, the Dealer will call a supervisor who will determine the proper card.

A "dummy hand" may be played when requested, with management approval.

Mini Baccarat Rules

These charts describe the fixed rules governing the drawing of additional cards:

Rules: Player

If the Banker hand is a Natural, there will be no cards drawn. 0-1-2-3-4-5 Draws 6-7 Stands 8-9 Natural Stands

RULES - Player
When Player's first two cards total 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5	Players draws a card
6 or 7	Player Stands
8 or 9	Natural - Stands - Banker cannot draw

Rules: Banker

If the Player hand is a Natural, there will be no cards drawn.

When the Player stands on 6 or 7 (player has not drawn a third card), the Banker will always draw on totals of 0-1-2-3-4 and 5, and stand on 6-7-8 and 9.

RULES - Banker - Player has two cards
When Banker's first two cards total 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5	Banker draws a card
6 or 7	Banker Stands
8 or 9	Natural - Stands - Player cannot draw

When the player does not have a 6,7, or a Natural (player has drawn third card), the Banker shall always observe the following rules:

RULES – Banker - Player has three cards
Banker's first two cards total	Draws when Player's THIRD card is:	Does not draw when Player's THIRD card is:
0, 1, or 2	Banker draws a card
3	1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-0	8
4	2-3-4-5-6-7	1-8-9-0
5	4-5-6-7	1-2-3-8-9-0
6	6-7	1-2-3-4-5-8-9-0
7	Stands
8	Natural - Stands - Player cannot draw