Baccarat Game
Rules
The basics
Baccarat or Punto Banco is usually played in a separate
casino area. The playing table is about the size of a craps
table with three casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players.
There are just two principal bets to make: banker or player
- Banco or Punto, plus the rarely used Standoff. Some casinos
let the players deal the cards in turn and others have a
casino dealer to deal the cards. In online Baccarat the
cards are dealt automatically by a virtual dealer.
Each player, including the player dealing, may bet on either
Punto or Banco but it is customary for the dealer to bet
on Banco. Players may opt not to deal, passing the 'Shoe'
to the next player. The shoe remains with one player as
long as the Bank wins. If Punto wins, the shoe passes on
to the next player.
Two hands are dealt and you bet which one will win, or
that they will tie. It is just like betting on Black or
Red at roulette, and the payoff is even money, 1:1 (except
for the standoff, which pays 8-1 or 9-1). The only difference
between the Banco and Punto bet is a win on Banco will cost
you 5% commission or tax levied by the casino - the in-built
advantage.
The reason for taxing the Banco is because it has been
established that over an 8-deck cards play on average the
Banco will win three to four hands more than the Punto.
Each hand consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of
three cards. The person dealing will put two cards, face
down, tucked under the shoe, and give the player with the
largest bet on Punto the other two cards, face down.
The Punto player then looks at the cards and gives them
back to the player who is dealing. Then the player who is
dealing will turn over the cards of both hands while one
of the casino dealers will announce the results and the
winner.
If either hand has a total of 8 or 9 (nine is the highest),
then it is called a 'Natural' and no more cards are dealt.
If it is not a natural, then depending on the value of each
hand the casino dealer may instruct the card dealer to deal
a third card. The decision when to deal a third card follows
precise set rules used by all casinos.
Once dealing is completed, the hand with the highest count
wins. The paying casino dealers will collect the losing
bets first and then pay the winning ones. The player who
actually deals the cards is not responsible for the payouts.
He is just like any other player, playing against the casino.
The rules
Baccarat is played from a six-deck or an eight-deck shoe.
All face cards and 10s have no value. Cards less than 10
are counted at face value, Aces are worth 1. Suits don't
matter. Only single digit values are valid. Any count that
reaches a double digit drops the left digit. 15 is counted
as 5 and 25 is also counted as 5.
To start, the players bet either on Banco or Punto or Standoff.
The card dealer gives two cards each; first to the player
and then the banker. The object of the game is to bet on
the hand that you think will have the highest total value.
A third card may be dealt to either or both the player
(Punto) and the bank (Banco) based on the following three-card-rules.
It is not necessary to learn these rules to play, they are
compulsory decisions and therefore automatic. Only on rare
occasions a mistake is made:
Player's third-card-rule
If either the player or the bank have a total of 8 or 9
on the first two cards no further cards are drawn. The resulting
hand is called a natural and the hand is over.
If the player's total is less than or equal to 5 the player's
hand draws a third card.
If the player does not draw a third card, then the bank's
hand stands on 6 or more and takes a third card on a total
of 5 or less. If the player does take a third card then
the Bank's third-card-rule below will determine if the bank
takes a third card.
Bank's third-card-rules
If the bank's total is 2 or less then bank draws a card,
regardless of what the players third card is.
If the banks total is 3 then the bank draws a third card
unless the players third card was an 8.
If the banks total is 4 then the bank draws a third card
unless the players third card was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.
If the banks total is 5 then the bank draws a third card
if the players third card was 4, 5, 6, or 7.
If the banks total is 6 then the bank draws a third card
if the players third card was a 6 or 7.
If the banks total is 7 then the bank stands.
House advantage
Banker (Banco) 1.17%
Player (Punto) 1.36%
Tie (Standoff) 14.12% at 8:1 payout
