Baccarat

Punto Banco

How Baccarat Works

🎯 The Goal

Bet on the hand closest to 9. That's the whole game. Two hands are dealt — Player and Banker — and you bet on which finishes closer to 9, or on a Tie. The twist: you are not the Player. "Player" is just a betting spot, like red or black on roulette. You can bet Banker every hand if you want.

Card Values

Number cards (2–9) are worth their face value.
10s and face cards (J, Q, K) are worth 0. Yes, zero!
An Ace is worth 1.
Only the last digit counts: a total of 14 is worth 4, and 20 is worth 0.
Suits (♠♥♦♣) don't matter at all.

Example: 7♥ + 8♠ = 15 → your hand is 5. K♦ + 9♣ → 9 (the King counts as 0). 9 + 9 = 18 → 8.

✋ You Make No Decisions

Easiest game in the casino: you never hit, stand, double, or split. Once bets are down, the dealer runs a fixed set of drawing rules called the tableau — it plays itself, the same way every time. Your only job was picking where to put your chips.

The drawing rules, simplified: if either hand has 8 or 9, both stand (a natural). Player draws a third card on 0–5, stands on 6–7. Banker follows a fixed chart based on its own total and the Player's third card. No memorizing needed — the dealer handles it.

🙋 Betting & Table Manners

With no playing decisions, baccarat etiquette is all about betting cleanly:

🎯 Put your bet in the right box

The felt is marked Player, Banker, and Tie. Set your chips neatly inside one box before the dealer calls "no more bets."

🃏 The squeeze (where allowed)

At some tables you may slowly bend and peek at your cards — the famous squeeze. Handle them gently: bending or folding gets you warned. In most mini-baccarat games, don't touch the cards at all.

🚫 Table Manners: What NOT to Do

Don't touch your bet once the hand starts. Chips are locked until the coup is paid.
Don't touch the cards unless the table allows the squeeze — and never bend or fold them.
Don't hand cash to the dealer. Lay money flat on the table for chips.
Don't bet after "no more bets." Late chips get pushed back.
Don't use your phone at the table.
Don't chase the pattern. The scoreboard of past coups tells you nothing — every hand is independent.

✅ Tipping — not mandatory, not expected. But on a good run, sliding the dealer a chip after a nice win is the classic move. Some degens go further and bet for the dealer: place a chip next to your bet (say "for the dealers") and it rides on your hand. Win, and the dealer pockets it; lose, and it's gone like any other bet. Suddenly they're sweating your cards too — dealers love it.

🏟️ Rules That Change By Table

Baccarat is more standardized than blackjack, but a few things still vary:

Decks — Almost always 8 decks in the shoe.
Commission — Standard tables take 5% on winning Banker bets (bet $100, win $95). "No commission" tables skip it but pay only half when Banker wins with a 6.
Tie pays — Usually 8 to 1; some tables pay 9 to 1.
Side bets — Pairs and others come and go by casino, and carry a much bigger house edge than the main bets.

💰 Winning & Payouts

Player wins → pays 1 to 1.
Banker wins → pays 1 to 1 minus 5% commission (bet $100, win $95). Banker wins slightly more often — that's the casino's cut.
Tie wins → pays 8 to 1. A tie also pushes Player and Banker bets (returned, not lost).

House edge: Banker ≈ 1.06%, Player ≈ 1.24%, Tie ≈ 14.4%. Banker is the best bet on the table; Tie is one of the worst bets in the casino.

📖 Key Terms

Coup — a single round (one deal)

Tableau — the fixed drawing rules

Natural — an 8 or 9 on the first two cards

Commission — the 5% cut on Banker wins

Shoe — the box the cards are dealt from

Squeeze — slowly revealing your cards (where allowed)

TableauThird Card Draw

Natural?

Player or Banker start with 8–9?

Yes.

Coup Ends. Hand Over.

No.

Player Hand Value?

Player

6–7No 3rd Card.

Banker

0–5Draw 3rd Card.

6–7No 3rd Card.

Player

0–5Draw 3rd Card

Banker

0–2Always Draws

3Draws on everything
except 8

4Draws on 2–7

5Draws on 4–7

6Draws on 6–7

7Always Stands

Exact Hand Calculator

Player

Banker

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