Guide to Playing Chemin de Fer
The name of this variant is an interesting one. The word Chemin De Fer means “railway”. If you sit down to play, you will be given six cards shuffled and are arranged in a kidney shape.
The game is usually played between 8 to 12 persons. When you are part of this game, you will find that a croupier controls course of the game between the first and last player. If you are in this position you will find two dealers handling the bets.
The majority of the casino games found on G2G can be played online. But so is not the case for Chemin de Fer. This baccarat version can only be found on land-based casinos in Las Vegas, Macau or Goa.
If you are interested in online versions you should check out Baccarat Squeeze or Punto Banco.
Chemin De Fer Rules
When you sit at a table to play Chemin De Fer you will find the following layout:
- Two squares are found on the table, first called Banque which denotes bets on Banker and second set is Reliquat which are the bets of the banker and not by the player;
- There is another slot found in the table’s middle that I find interesting, called Panier and another slot is Cognate that accounts for the baccarat commission of 5% that is gained from winning bets;
- If you are sitting on the right side of the croupier and in middle position you become the banker and others take on the role of players; players usually take a turn to become a banker;
- As a banker, you will put up an amount which you are willing to risk;
- The players in their turn announce Banco! and wager against the bank;
- There could be another player only beside the banker; when there is more than one player the one who is sitting on the right-hand side is given priority and he calls Banco prime;
- Players might choose not to announce Banco! in which case they can place bets by their discretion;
- When bets exceed bank, Banker might raise the wager; the other way to go is to remove redundant bets;
- The croupier deals out four cards, two cards are given to the players while two cards he keeps to himself;
- If you are the player who has placed the highest bet you represent the players;
- Player and banker then look at their respective cards; if the total of their cards is 8 or 9 then is announced and cards are shown; the one who has a higher value in total will win;
When the win cannot be decided in the above way, you will find the following rules apply:
| Total Amount | What it Means for the Player |
|---|---|
| 0-4 | Draw |
| 5 | Draw or stand |
| 6 or 7 | Stand |
| 8 or 9 | Wins |
How does it work for the Banker and Player?
After the cards are dealt face down the interaction of the player and banker works in the following ways in Chemin De Fer:
- The player can demand a third card and announce Carte; as a player, you show the cards after the banker has shown his or her own cards;
- As a player when your card values total 5 you have a choice of standing or drawing a card; banker accordingly adjusts his or her decision;
- Additional cards that are drawn are with face-up;
Results of the Game Chemin De Fer
Outcomes can be different such as:
- A player achieves a total that is higher than banker and all players are then paid a 1:1 ratio;
- If the total of the banker exceeds that of the players the losing bet money of the players is allocated to the bank and the banker continues in his or her role;
- If there is a tie bets are kept on the table and destiny decided in the consecutive rounds;
- The banker can give up role any time by Passcode but it is impolite to do so after he or she has gained a win. Players need to be given a chance to win back their money. After three rounds players can change roles;
- When the group is undecided on who would hold the bank the next player automatically gets the role;
- The minimum amount for the bets and the bank are set by the casinos for Chemin De Fer;
Tactics that Players can Use
When the sum of cards is five, banker and player can decide on different baccarat tactics. The style of play should be changed that makes an opponent insecure. Hence, as a player, if you obtain five as a total, you could choose to stand or draw a third card.
The player who calls for a draw is called Tireur, the French word for the shooter while the one who stands is called Non-Tireur. The player who alternates the play motives is known as Douteur or doubter. If you have understood your opponent’s playing motive you will stand at an advantage while a uniform strategy could allow your opponent to predict your moves. Hence, the style of play needs to keep changing in Chemin De Fer.
As mentioned above, this is not an online version of Baccarat, but if you are interested in finding baccarat websites for money, then I have reviewed a bunch!
