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
