Baccarat carries a formal image: high limits, roped-off tables and dealers in waistcoats. The game underneath is one of the simplest in the casino. You make no decisions about drawing cards; you choose which of three outcomes to back, and fixed rules handle everything else. This guide covers punto banco, the version found in most casinos and online lobbies, for readers aged 18 and over.
Three bets, one choice
Two hands are dealt in each round, one called Player and one called Banker. The names are only labels: you are not the player and the casino is not the banker. Before the cards come out you back one of three results:
- Player wins if the Player hand finishes closer to 9.
- Banker wins if the Banker hand finishes closer to 9.
- Tie wins if both hands finish on the same total.
How hands are counted
Aces count as 1, cards from 2 to 9 count at face value, and tens and picture cards count as zero. When a total reaches 10 or more, only the last digit counts, so a 7 and an 8 make 15, which is read as 5. No hand can score higher than 9, and no hand can bust.
The drawing rules, step by step
Both hands start with two cards. If either hand totals 8 or 9, that is a natural, and the round ends there. Otherwise the following rules apply.
The Player hand
On a total of 0 to 5, the Player hand takes a third card. On 6 or 7 it stands.
The Banker hand
If the Player hand stood, Banker follows the same rule: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7. If the Player hand took a third card, Banker's move depends on its own total and on that third card:
| Banker total | Banker draws when Player's third card is |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | Whatever the third card is |
| 3 | Anything except an 8 |
| 4 | 2 to 7 |
| 5 | 4 to 7 |
| 6 | 6 or 7 |
| 7 | Never; Banker stands |
There is no need to memorise this. The dealer or the software applies it automatically, and it is identical at every punto banco table. It matters for one reason: the Banker hand acts second and with more information, which is why it wins slightly more often than Player.
Payouts and the house edge
| Bet | Usual payout | Approximate house edge |
|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1 to 1, minus 5% commission | About 1.06% |
| Player | 1 to 1 | About 1.24% |
| Tie | 8 to 1 | About 14.4% |
The house edge is the average share of each bet the casino keeps over a very long series of rounds; these are the textbook figures for an eight-deck shoe. Because Banker wins more often than Player, casinos take a 5% commission on winning Banker bets to restore their margin, and even after that charge it remains the cheapest bet on the table. The Tie looks generous at 8 to 1, but ties arrive only about once in every ten or eleven rounds, so the payout falls well short of the true odds. Some tables pay 9 to 1 on a tie, which lowers the cost but still leaves it far above the two main bets.
No-commission tables
Many casinos and online studios now run no-commission baccarat. Instead of charging 5% on every Banker win, they pay half, or call a push, when Banker wins with one particular total: a 6 in some versions, a three-card 7 in others. It can feel cleaner, but the casino has simply moved its margin elsewhere, and the Banker bet usually ends up a little more expensive than in the classic game. Read the paytable before you play.
Scorecards and patterns
Baccarat tables often display boards of past results, sometimes in elaborate grids, and players are handed pencils and cards to track them. They add to the atmosphere, but the cards already dealt make no practical difference to the next round. Streaks appear in any random sequence and do not predict what follows; no pattern on the board changes the edges in the table above.
A calm first session
- Check the minimum stake and whether the table charges commission or uses a no-commission rule.
- Stay mostly with Banker or Player; leave the Tie and the extra boxes alone until you know what they cost. Our piece on baccarat side bets runs through them one by one.
- Decide on a budget and a finishing time, and keep to both.
- Remember that pace adds up: many rounds an hour means the small edge is applied many times over.
Baccarat is entertainment you pay for, and picking a side does not change that. Check the rules where you live before playing, as legal ages and the standing of online casinos depend on your country.
