Baccarat Rules

Baccarat is played with eight complete decks of cards. The cards are shuffled by the dealer or croupier, and then reshuffled and placed in a special box called the Shoe. Baccarat is one of the easiest table games to play. In fact it is probably the most uncomplicated game there is.

While at first the rules may seem a bit confusing, the best thing to remember is that there really is no need to know them exactly.

As a game of chance, all you really have to do is decide which hand you think will win, and bet accordingly. However, knowing the basic rules will certainly help you follow what is going on, making the game a lot more enjoyable.

You have the choice of betting on either the Bank, the Player or for a Tie. (Betting "tie" is not usually recommended, as the house advantage is too high). Except for the Tie bet, Baccarat has a very low house advantage - 1.36 % if you bet on Player and 1.17% for bets on Banker.

1. Two hands are dealt, one for the Player and one for the Banker - it is time to bet on one or the other.

2. If the hand you bet on wins, you receive a 1 to 1 (even money) payoff. You can also bet that the hands will tie, but as mentioned above, it is not recommended. You receive an 8 to 1 payoff, but ties occur less than once out of every ten hands, making the tie bet a rare (but rewarding) choice.

At the start of a game of baccarat, each hand receives just two cards. When necessary, additional cards are drawn according to the rules.

THE HAND CLOSEST TO 9 WINS
A person holds the shoe and is known as the banker and stays with this title as long as the banker's hand wins. When the player's hand wins, the Shoe is then passed on to the next player. He/she then becomes the banker. A player may pass the shoe if he so desires.

The person acting as the banker takes the cards from the shoe. Two cards referred to as 'the Player's hand' are extended to the player's side. This is done as a courtesy. The cards are turned over by the player and called by the croupier.

Values of the cards:
Ten - 0
Jack - 0
Queen - 0
King - 0
Ace - 1
Cards 2 through 9 are at face value

Remember that hands don't 'bust' like in blackjack (i.e. go over the target total). In baccarat, the first digit of a two-digit number is always dropped. For example, if 5 and 7 are drawn for a total of 12, the count is 2.

WHEN THERE IS A TIE, NOBODY LOSES
If the first two cards total 8 or 9, the hand is called a natural and YOU WIN, unless both hands have equal value naturals, in which case it's a tie.

If neither hand has a natural additional cards are drawn to determine a winner.

THE PAYOUTS
Banker and player bets pay even money on your wins. However, winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission.
So therefore even after paying out a 5% commission on winning banker bets, betting on the banker is still a slightly (0.19% to be exact) better proposition than betting on the player.

BANKER HANDS WIN MORE OFTEN