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Baccarat rules
The rules of baccarat are simple. Baccarat originated in France.
In American casinos two types of the game are played. The first is
punto banco, a baccarat game for 12 to 14 players with relatively
high betting ranges. The second is mini-baccarat, and adaptation of
punto banco for 6 players and lower betting ranges. Both games follow
the same basic baccarat rules.
Regardless ot the number of players at the table, two hands are
dealt, the banker hand and the player hand. Before the hands are
dealt, bets may be placed on the banker hand, on the player hand,
or on a tie. The objective of baccarat is to bet on the hand that
you feel will come closest to a total of 9 (le grande natural).
After the banker and the player hands are dealt, you can sit back
and relax, as a set of fixed rules determines how the hands are
played.
Tip: The best Baccarat bets (with the lowest house edge)
are offered Micrograming casinos
and Boss Media casinos, because
they offer single-deck Baccarat.
Value of the cards
To compute the value of a hand you add up the values of the hand's
cards, according to the table below. If the value of the hand exceeds
9, you drop the first digit to get the real value of your hand. For
example, a hand consisting of a 9 and a 5 has a value of 4. As such,
it is impossible to 'bust' a hand in baccarat.
| Card |
Value of card |
| Ace |
1 |
| 1-9 |
face value |
| 10, J, Q, K |
0 |
Baccarat rules for natural hands
A game is started by dealing two cards for the player hand and two
cards for the banker hand. If one, and only one, of both the player
and the dealer hands is a natural (8 or 9), the natural hand wins.
If both hands are a natural and one, and only one, hand equals 9,
le grande natural (9) wins over le petit natural (8). If both hands
are a natural and equal in value, the game ends in a tie. Otherwise
the game continues.
Baccarat rules for the player hand
If the value of the player hand totals 6 or more, the player must
stand without drawing a card. If the value of the player hand totals
5 or less, the player must draw one additional card.
Baccarat rules for the banker hand
If the player did stand, the banker will only draw an additional card
if the value of the banker hand equals 5 or less. If the player did
stand, and the value of the banker hand equals 6 or more, the banker
will stand. If the player did draw a third card, the decision whether
the banker will stand or hit depends on the value of the player's
third card and the value of the banker hand, according to the table
below.
|
Value of banker hand |
Player's third card |
| 0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| >=7 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| 6 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
S |
S |
| 5 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
| 4 |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
| 3 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
H |
| <=2 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
* Where S = Stand, H = Hit
After both hands have been played, following the baccarat rules
described above, the hand closest to 9 wins. Bets on a winning player
hand are paid 1 to 1. Bets on a winning banker hand are paid 1 to
1 initially, but you will have to pay a 5% commission on your winning
banker bets, when the shoe is reshuffled or when you leave the table.
Bets on a tie pay 8 or 9 to 1. In case of a tie all bets on the
player and the banker hand are returned.
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