Baccarat Rules
Baccarat is mainly played in land-based casinos. Usually the casino will have a specific area allocated for the baccarat table. A maximum of 14 players can play at the table at one time. There may be between one to three dealers at the table, depending on the number of players playing at a particular time. The dealers are the casino employees and they are known as "Croupiers". They distribute the cards, accept the bets and make the payouts to winners. Baccarat is also played online where you have a virtual croupier to regulate the game.
You play baccarat against the house. To begin a game, the dealer will shuffle the cards. Then the players place bets which can be on the banker, the player or a tie result. The banker bet can be placed on the bank beating the player's hand. The player bet wagers on the player beating the banker. Some of the casinos permit betting on the tie or "standoff" between the banker and the player.
The dealer or croupier will normally bet on himself, but as a player, you can bet either on 'Banco' or bank or 'Punto' i.e. player. The cards in baccarat are dealt from the shoe, which remains with the same person as long as the banker wins. The next player will get the shoe if the banker loses. Payout is generally 1:1; however, the standoff pays 8:1 or even 9:1. In the game of baccarat, it is advisable to hold some money in your hand. That's to pay the 5% upfront commission in case you win the Banker bet. You must pay this commission to the casino before you decide to leave the table. Often, the banker bet wins because of the house advantage.
Play begins with each player receiving 2 cards for a hand. The player can elect to draw a third card, depending on the cards he gets. The main goal of baccarat is to get close to a card total of 9. The dealer deals two cards face down to each of the players. The player has to look at his cards and return them to the dealer. The dealer will turn up both the hands to determine which player has the higher hand and declare him the winner.
A 'natural' hand is one wherein the total score for the hand is 8 or 9. In this case, no more cards will be handed out. The third card can be offered only when there is no natural hand. After the dealing of cards is complete, the player with a higher hand will be the winner. The losers' bets will be collected and the winning players will be handed out their winnings in accordance with the casino's rules.
In Baccarat, generally a six deck or an eight deck shoe is used. The card values for baccarat are slightly different compared to other card games. The Ace always equals 1. The face cards, i.e. the King, Queen and Jack are valued at zero. All other cards are considered at their face value. In case the card total exceeds 10, only the last digit will be considered as the score of the hand. To quote an example, the score for a hand with a 7 of hearts and an 8 of clubs will be 5 because we consider the last digit of the total. In Baccarat therefore, the score can never go beyond 9.
The banker and the player, both receive two cards each. The cards with a higher total value will be the winner. A third card is allowed in certain circumstances. The rules for the third card are as follows:
Player's Rules
- If either the Banker or the player has the natural with a total of 8 or 9, the third card cannot be taken.
- The player can only take a third card if his total is less than or equal to 5.
- He cannot draw a third card if his hand total is 6 or 7.
Third card rules for the Banker:
- The banker must take the third card if he has a total of 2 or less, irrespective of the player's score.
- The banker can draw a third card if his own score is 3 or less provided the player doesn't have an 8.
- With a score of 4, the banker can take a third card provided the player's third card shows 0,1, 8 or 9.
- If the total shows 5, the banker can take a third card only if the player's 3rd card was either 4, 5, 6, 7.
- If the bank total is 6, the third card can only be taken if the player has 6 or 7 as the 3rd card.
- If the banker draws a 7, he must always stand.
For a Banker bet in Baccarat, the house advantage is 1.17%. The player's bet has an advantage of 1.36%, while in case of the standoff, the advantage is 14.12% giving an 8:1 payout.
Greatest Casino bonuses featuring Baccarat
Top Payout Casinos featuring Baccarat
