The basics and how to play baccarat
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-rule
- 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
See Chemin De
Fer - A brief description of the French version of Baccarat.
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