Baccarat Rules

Baccarat allows you to make two main types of bets: a bet on the players hand and a bet on the bankers (dealers) hand. There is also a Standoff bet option, but it is hardly ever used. You will simply have two sets of cards dealt – one for the dealer and one for you – and you place a bet on one of them. If you place a bet on the banker and win, you will usually have to pay a small (about 5%) commission to the casino.

The goal is to get a two card hand or three card hand that earns you points with a total closer to 9 points then the banker’s total. The cards have the following values in Baccarat: cards with values of 2 to 9 correspond to the same number of points; Jacks, Queens, Kings and 10s correspond to 0 points; Ace corresponds to 1 point. If you have a total number of points that exceeds 10 points, you take away the 10 points from the total.

After both the banker and a player drawn two cards, they count their points. If either one of them has 8 or 9 point, both of them are required to stand. The rules of Baccarat also require a player to stand if he or she has a total of 6 or 7 points. In this case a banker gets a third card if he has less then 5 points. If a player has less then 5, the banker deals the player the third card. In a case when a player gets the third card, the banker also gets the third card based on a number of rules.

If the banker has a total of 7, he stands. If the banker has a total of 6 and the player’s third card was 6 or 7, the banker draws a third card. If the banker has a total of 5 and the player’s third card was 4, 5, 6 or 7, the banker draws a third card. If the banker has a total of 4 and the player’s third card was 0, 1, 8 or 9, the banker draws a third card. If the banker has a total of 3 and the player’s third card was not an 8, the banker also draws a third card. If the banker has a total of 2, he draws a third card. After all these steps are complete, the total points are counted. The person who has a total number of points closest to 9 wins.