KEY TAKEAWAYS
Baccarat is a casino card game in which bettors wager on which of two hands, called the Player and the Banker, will finish closer to nine points, or on whether the two hands will tie. Both hands are dealt and completed by fixed rules, so the only decision a bettor makes is which bet to place. That keeps the rules short to learn, although the payouts and the house edge differ between bets in ways worth understanding. This reference card summarizes the objective, how a round works, the third-card rules, the standard bets and payouts, common variations and the key terms. It follows rules published by gaming regulators, and where venues differ, as with the commission rate or the Tie payout, it says so. It is a reference summary rather than a strategy guide, and the house edge figures assume a standard eight-deck shoe.
Baccarat at a Glance
Baccarat is played on a table with a marked layout, and the casino deals every hand. The table below gathers the basic facts, and the sections after it explain each part.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Players | Several bettors at one table, each playing against the casino |
| Equipment | A shoe of standard 52-card decks (commonly eight) and a layout with Player, Banker and Tie areas |
| Objective | Bet on which hand finishes closer to 9 points, or on a tie |
| Card values | Ace = 1, 2 to 9 at face value, 10 and face cards = 0 |
| Bets | Player, Banker and Tie, plus optional side bets |
| House edge (8 decks) | Banker 1.06%, Player 1.24%, Tie 14.36% at 8 to 1 |
| Where found | Casino table-game floors |
Bettors do not play the cards themselves. A dealer deals two hands, applies the drawing rules and announces the result, and bettors are paid according to the bet they placed. House edges differ by bet, so the choice of bet is the only meaningful decision.
Setup and Objective
A baccarat table has a layout with areas for the Player, Banker and Tie bets, and cards come from a shoe holding several standard decks. The Player and the Banker are only labels for the two hands. Neither one is the bettor’s own hand, and a bettor may wager on either.
Each card has a point value. Aces count as 1, cards from 2 to 9 count at face value, and tens and face cards count as 0. A hand’s value is the last digit of its total, so 7 and 8 make 15, which is 5 points, and two face cards make 0. The best possible hand is 9.
The objective is simple. Bettors choose the Player, the Banker or a Tie, and the bet wins when the hand they chose finishes closer to 9 than the other, or, for a Tie bet, when both finish with the same value. Two cards totaling 8 or 9 are called a natural, and a natural usually ends the round at once.
How a Round Works
Each round follows the same sequence, and the dealer handles every step.
- Bettors place wagers on the Player, the Banker or a Tie before the dealer closes betting.
- The dealer deals four cards: the first and third go to the Player hand, and the second and fourth go to the Banker hand.
- The dealer announces the point count of each hand.
- If either hand is a natural, 8 or 9, no more cards are dealt, and the higher hand wins or the hands tie.
- Otherwise the Player hand draws or stands according to the Player rule below.
- The Banker hand then draws or stands according to the Banker rule below. No hand receives more than one extra card.
- The hands are compared, and the hand closer to 9 wins. Bets are settled and the next round begins.
Player Third-Card Rule
| Player’s first two cards | Action |
|---|---|
| 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 | Draws a third card |
| 6 or 7 | Stands |
| 8 or 9 | Natural: no more cards for either hand |
Banker Third-Card Rule
If the Player hand stands on 6 or 7, the Banker draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. If the Player hand draws, the Banker follows this table.
| Banker’s first two cards | Banker draws when Player’s third card is | Banker stands when Player’s third card is |
|---|---|---|
| 0, 1 or 2 | Any card | Never |
| 3 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 | 8 |
| 4 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 0, 1, 8, 9 |
| 5 | 4, 5, 6, 7 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 |
| 6 | 6, 7 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 |
| 7 | Never | Always |
A Worked Round
Suppose the Player hand receives a 4 and a 3, for 7 points, and the Banker hand receives a 2 and a 1, for 3 points. Neither hand is a natural. The Player hand stands on 7, so the Banker, holding 3, draws a card and receives a 5, which brings the total to 8. The Banker hand wins, 8 to 7, and Banker bets are paid at 1 to 1 less the commission.
Dealing continues until the cutting card appears in the shoe. The hand in progress is finished, the dealer announces the last hand, and after one more hand no more cards are dealt until the shoe is reshuffled.
Standard Bets and Payouts
Baccarat has three standard bets. The table shows how each one pays and the house edge for each in an eight-deck game, computed from the full deal-and-draw rules.
| Bet | Pays | House edge (8 decks) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 1 to 1 | 1.24% | Wins 44.62% of rounds |
| Banker | 1 to 1 less 5% commission (0.95 to 1) | 1.06% | Wins 45.86% of rounds |
| Tie | 8 to 1 | 14.36% | Happens in 9.52% of rounds |
| Tie (where the layout says 9 to 1) | 9 to 1 | 4.84% | Offered by some venues |
A winning Banker bet pays 1 to 1 less a 5% commission on the amount won, so a $100 bet wins $95. When the hands tie, Player and Banker bets are returned and only Tie bets are paid. Commission rates and the Tie payout are set by the venue within local rules, so the layout and posted rules decide what applies.
Common Variations
The standard game has several common variations, and the main ones affect payouts rather than how the cards are drawn.
Commission-free baccarat. Banker wins pay 1 to 1 with no commission, except when the Banker wins with a total of 6, which pays 1 to 2, so a $100 bet wins $50.
Tie payout. A winning Tie bet pays 8 to 1 or 9 to 1, as specified on the table layout.
Commission rate. Some jurisdictions let the casino set the commission on Banker wins within a range, such as 5% to 25% in Colorado, instead of a fixed 5%.
Pair side bets. Some tables offer Player Pair and Banker Pair bets, which win when the first two cards of that hand form a pair.
Key Terms
A short list of the words used at the table. A full glossary of casino vocabulary appears in the casino glossary articles.
Banker: the hand that receives the second and fourth cards, which any bettor may bet on.
Player: the hand that receives the first and third cards, which any bettor may bet on.
Point count: the last digit of a hand’s total, from 0 to 9.
Natural: a two-card total of 8 or 9, which ends the round with no further cards.
Third card: the one extra card a hand may receive under the drawing rules.
Tie: a round in which both hands have the same point count.
Push: a bet returned with no win or loss, as Player and Banker bets are on a tie.
Commission: the percentage the casino keeps from a winning Banker bet.
Shoe: the box that holds the decks and from which the dealer deals.
Cutting card: a marker card in the shoe that signals the last hand before a reshuffle.
Related
Other quick-reference cards cover Roulette Rules: Bets, Payouts and How the Game Works and Sic Bo Rules: Bets, Payouts and How the Game Works. How to read payouts such as 0.95 to 1 and 8 to 1 is explained in Gambling Payout Terms: 22 Definitions With Examples, and more table-game vocabulary appears in Blackjack Terms: 24 Definitions With Examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
