Home l Download l About Us l Promotions l Previews l Webmaster l Security l Help l

Baccarat

Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards. Each numbered card less than ten is worth its face value, aces are worth 1, and tens and face cards are worth 0. The suit does not matter.

Play begins by all players betting either on the 'player', 'banker', or a tie. I put player and banker in quotes because that is the correct terminology but they do not necessarily represent the dealer or the actual players.

After all bets are down the dealer gives two cards each to the player and the banker. The score of the hand is the right digit of the total of the cards. For example if the two cards were an 8 and 7, then the total would be 15, and the score would be a 5. The scores will always range from 0 to 9 and it is impossible to bust.

A third card may or may not be dealt to either or both the player and the dealer depending on the following rules.

If either the player or the banker has a total of an 8 or a 9 they both stand. This rule overrides all other rules.
If the player's total is 5 or less then the player hits, otherwise the player stands.
If the player stands, then the banker hits on a total of 5 or less. If the player does hit then use the chart below to determine if the banker hits (H) or stands (S).

Banker's
Score

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

bonuses casinos

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

1

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

0

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

The score of the player and dealer are compared, the winner is the one which is greater. Winning bets on the banker pay 19 to 20 (or even money less a 5% commission), winning bets on the player pay 1 to 1, winning bets on a tie usually pay 8 to 1.

You may wonder how the dealer collects the 5% commission on winning banker bets. If they did so every hand it would involve a lot of change and slow down the game. To avoid this during the course of play the dealer will pay even money to winning banker bets and consider the 5% an IOU. As the dealer plays through an eight deck shoe he/she will keep track of the commissions every player owes. At the end of the shoe or when a player wants to leave mid-shoe the dealer will collect on the commissions. Make sure you don't run out of money with outstanding commissions.