Learn How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is a card game played at casinos in several different versions. The most popular one provided by most casinos is Punto Banco.

The basic rules:

• Punto Banco is played with 4, 6, or 8 decks, shuffled together.
• It can be played with up to 12 or 14 players, or a single player against the casino.
• There are only three main bets to make; the player (Punto), or Banker (Banco), plus Tie (Stand-Off).

‘Tie’ is not recommended because of its high casino advantage. It’s important to know the card values in Baccarat. Cards from 2 to 9 are worth face value. Tens and face cards are worth 0. Aces are worth 1 point. The score of a hand is the sum of all cards, MODULO 10, which is equivalent of the right most digits. In other words, any sum that reaches two digits drops the left digit.

The word ‘Baccarat’ is used for cards or hands worth 0 points. The best possible score in the game of Baccarat is 9, also called NATURAL.

Baccarat Bets

Before the cards are dealt, you can place your bets on the player, banker, or Tie. The player for Player and Banker bet is 1:1. However, if you win a Banker bet, the casino keeps a 5% commission from your bet because Banker bets have a lower casino advantage. The payoff for Tie is usually 9:1 or 8:1. Depending on the specific house rules, this kind of bet has the highest casino advantage of over 14% and thus is not recommended in the long term.