Learn How to Play Baccarat: Rules, Tips, and Strategies
Learn everything about Baccarat with our comprehensive guide. Discover rules, strategies, and tips to improve your game and increase your chances of winning.
Learn everything about Baccarat with our comprehensive guide. Discover rules, strategies, and tips to improve your game and increase your chances of winning.
Baccarat is usually played with 6 or 8 decks of French cards, each containing 52 cards, without jokers. The French deck has four suits: ♠ spade, ♥ heart, ♦ diamond, and ♣ club. The coloration of the cards, red or black, has no significance in baccarat.
| French Card Suit Symbol | English Name |
|---|---|
| ♠ | Spade |
| ♥ | Heart |
| ♦ | Diamond |
| ♣ | Club |
Furthermore, the French deck has 13 ranks: 2 to 9 are valued at their face value, 10, jack, queen, and king are worth 0 points, and the ace is worth 1 point.
| French Card Symbol | Baccarat Value | English Expression |
|---|---|---|
| 🂪 | 0 | Ten |
| 🂫 | 0 | Jack |
| 🂭 | 0 | Queen |
| 🂮 | 0 | King |
| 🂱 | 1 | Ace |
| 🂢 | 2 | Two |
| 🂣 | 3 | Three |
| 🂤 | 4 | Four |
| 🂥 | 5 | Five |
| 🂦 | 6 | Six |
| 🂧 | 7 | Seven |
| 🂨 | 8 | Eight |
| 🂩 | 9 | Nine |
The main objective in Baccarat is to bet on the hand that you believe will have the highest total value. There are three possible bets: the Player's hand, the Banker's hand, or a Tie. The aim is to predict which hand will have a total closest to 9. The values of the cards are added together, but only the last digit of the total counts.
If the total exceeds 9, the counter resets to zero instead of reaching a second digit and only the excess, the last digit is added. For example, a hand with a 7 and a 6 will have a total value of 3 since 7 + 6 = 13, and the last digit is 3.
Initially, players place their bets on one of three options: the Player's hand, the Banker's hand, or a Tie. Side bets vary depending on game type.
Once the bets are placed, the dealer distributes two cards to both the Player and the Banker. The values of these hands are then calculated to determine if either has a "natural" total of 8 or 9. Otherwise, additional cards may be drawn depending on the following drawing rules:
The main bets in Baccarat are on the Player, Banker, or Tie, there are several side bets you can place to increase the excitement and potential payouts depending on the type of game and casino. Below is a table summarizing the chances of winning for each main outcome.
The general golden rule in Baccarat is that the Banker bet has a slight edge over the Player bet. This edge is compensated by a 5% commission fee on banker bet payouts.
Disclaimer: The values provided in the table below are general estimates and may vary depending on the specific rules and variations of Baccarat offered by different casinos. Always check the specific rules and policies of the casino you are playing at for the most accurate information.
| Bet Type | Chance of Winning | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Player | 44.62% | 1:1 |
| Banker | 45.86% | 0.95:1 (with a 5% commission) |
| Tie | 9.52% | 8:1 or 9:1 |
The drawing rules and variations can be quite elaborate, if not nuanced. For beginners, diving into these complexities might be overwhelming. Therefore, it's recommended to start with simpler versions of the game such as the "RNG Table Game" version of Baccarat by Pragmatic Play, or if you prefer to learn, and enjoy by the side of a live community, Mega Baccarat is the way to go. These versions offer the same thrilling experience but with more straightforward rules, making them ideal for new players to grasp the basics before moving on to more complex variations like Punto Banco.
Decks Used: Punto banco is dealt from a shoe containing 6 or 8 decks of cards shuffled together.
Card Burning: The dealer places the first card on the discard pile ("burns" it) face up and then based on its respective numerical value, with aces worth 1 and face cards worth 10, the dealer "burns" that many cards face down.
Initial Dealing: For each round, two cards are dealt face up to each hand, starting from "PLAYER" and alternating between the hands. The dealer may call the total (e.g., "five player, three banker").
Natural Win: If either the Player or Banker or both achieve a total of 8 or 9 at this stage, the round is finished and the result is announced: a player win, a banker win, or tie.
Third Card Rule: If neither hand has 8 or 9, the drawing rules are applied to determine whether the player should receive a third card:
Outcome Announcement: The round is then finished, the outcome is announced, and winning bets are paid out similarly as in traditional baccarat.
Mini-baccarat is a version of Punto Banco played on a small table with smaller minimums/maximums. It is popular with more casual players, particularly those from Asia.
A mini-baccarat variation, where even money is paid on winning banker bets (rather than 95%), except when the banker wins with 6, which pays only 50% of the bet.
The house edge on a banker bet under Super 6 is 1.46% compared with regular commission baccarat at 1.058%. This is equivalent to increasing the commission by 17.45% to 5.87%. The banker wins with a 6 about five times every eight-deck shoe.
As well as its increased house edge, the Super 6 variation is used by casinos for its speed, since it partially does away with the time-consuming process of calculating and collecting commission on winning banker bets except for winning with a 6.
In a similar variation called EZ-baccarat, even money is paid on both winning banker or player bets, except when the banker wins with a total of 7 after the third card is drawn, which results in a push on banker bets. The game has two additional options:
Decks Used: Six decks of cards, shuffled together.
Table Setup: Players are seated in random order around an oval table; discarded cards go to the center.
Play Order: Begins to the right of the croupier and continues counterclockwise.
Once play begins, one player is designated as the banker; this player also deals. The other players are "punters". The position of banker passes counterclockwise in the course of the game.
In each round, the banker wagers the amount they are willing to risk. Each other player, in order, then declares whether they will "go bank", playing against the entire current bank with a matching wager. A maximum of one player may "go bank".
If no one "goes bank", players make their wagers in order. If the total wagers from the players are less than the bank, observing bystanders may also wager up to the amount of the bank. If the total wagers from the players are greater than the bank, the banker may choose to increase the bank to match; otherwise, the excess wagers are removed in reverse play order.
Dealing Cards: The banker deals four cards face-down: two to themselves and two held in common by the remaining players.
Choosing a Player: The player with the highest individual wager (or first in play order if tied for highest wager) is selected to represent the group of non-banker players.
Revealing Hands: The banker and player both look at their cards; if either has an 8 or a 9, this is immediately announced and the hands are turned face-up and compared.
Player Decision: If neither hand is an 8 or 9, the player has a choice to accept or refuse a third card; if accepted, it is dealt face-up. Traditional practice dictates accepting a card if the hand totals 0-4, and refusing if it totals 6 or 7.
Banker Decision: After the player finishes, the banker decides either to accept or to refuse another card.
Comparing Hands: Once both have made their decision, the hands are turned face-up and compared.
If the player's hand exceeds the banker's hand when they are compared, each wagering player receives back their wager and a matching amount from the bank, and the position of banker passes to the next player in order. If the banker's hand exceeds the player's hand, all wagers are forfeit and placed into the bank, and the banker position does not change. If there is a tie, wagers remain as they are for the next hand.
If the banker wishes to withdraw, the new banker is the first player in order willing to stake an amount equal to the current bank total. If no one is willing to stake this amount, the new banker is instead the next player in order, and the bank resets to whatever they wish to stake. Many games have a set minimum bank or wager amount.
In Baccarat banque the position of banker is more permanent compared to Chemin de fer. The shoe contains three inter-shuffled decks. The banker, unless they retire because they wish to or ran out of money to stake, keeps their role until all these cards have been dealt.
The banker is initially determined via auctioning, i.e. is given to the player who will undertake to risk the largest amount. In some circles, the person who has first set down their name on the list of players has the right to hold the first bank, risking such amount as they may think proper.
When a banker is determined, they sit opposite the croupier with the discard area between. On both sides of the banker are the "punters", other players cannot sit directly and may only bet when active players' bets don't cover the banker's stakes.
The croupier shuffles the cards then prompts one punter from their right, one from their left then the banker to reshuffle and finally selects a random player to cut. After every player has bet, the banker deals one card to one of the right punters, the second to one of the left punters, and the third to themselves. This is done twice, resulting in 6 cards on the table. Each side wins or loses depending on the cards dealt to that side only. The drawing rules are the following:
Each punter continues to hold the cards for their side so long as they win or tie. If they lose, the next hand is dealt to the player next following them in rotation.
In each side, any player may "go bank", like in Chemin de Fer. If two players on opposite sides desire to "go bank", each player bets half the bank.
A player going bank may either do so for as many times as they like until they lose, or on two hands separately ("cheval"), one-half of the stake being played upon each hand. A player going bank and losing may go bank again, until they lose for the third time.
A banker must play out one hand, but may retire at any time afterwards. On retiring, they must state the amount they retire with. It is then open to any other player (in order of rotation) to continue as the bank, starting with the same stake and dealing from undealt cards. The outgoing banker takes the place previously occupied by their successor.
Should the bank empty, the banker may freely put more money at stake without losing their right to bank.
If all punters' bets exceed the bank stake, the banker does not need to put more money. In the event of their losing, the croupier pays the punters in order of rotation until the bank runs out of money. The banker may, however, choose to accept the bets and increase their own stakes anyway. If they do so, the bank becomes unlimited and the banker must either cover all bets posted by all players or give up the bank.