Baccarat Casino Rules: Learn How to Play Baccarat Online

You start by making a bet. There are three main bets: Player, Banker or Tie. There are also optional side bets.

Note: In regular online baccarat, a croupier deals the cards. In traditional big table baccarat, however, players rotate clockwise in assuming the role of a ‘banker’ and dealing the cards. Don’t let that confuse you who is who and what is what. Player and Banker are simply bet names, so any gambler on the table, including the one playing ‘banker’ in a traditional setup, can bet on either.

Note: You cannot bet on Player and Banker at the same time, it’s either or.

Initially, four cards are dealt face down (or face up in more outdated online baccarat games).

The first and the third one make the Player hand, and the second and the fourth make the Banker hand. Both hands are revealed.

Note: Most often, the hand, on which the highest betting player has bet, is revealed last. For instance, if the punter has bet on Banker, the Player hand is revealed first, then the first card of the Banker hand, and finally the second Banker card may be ‘peeked’ at and ‘squeezed’ at the edges, i.e. partial reveal followed by complete reveal to add drama.

The value of each hand is considered.

At this point, the game either ends with a win for one side or additional cards may be drawn. This is determined by strict rules and players have no say in the matter.

Card value in baccarat is counted in points: 2-9s equal their pip value; Aces = 1 point; 10s and face cards = zero points. Maximum value of a hand is 9. You can’t go bust like in blackjack, instead the counting is reset by dropping the tens digit, the so-called modulo. For instance, if the initial hand has 8 and 5, the hand is 3: 8+3 = (1) 3

If either hand is a Natural, i.e. has 8 or 9, it wins straightway.

If both are natural, 9 is superior to 8, but the same natural hands. i.e. 8-8 or 9-9, end in a Tie.

The Player hand is considered first. If the Player hand has a total of 6 or 7 points, the Player ‘stands’ and no third card is drawn. If the Player has 5 or less, a third card is drawn.
Then, it is the Banker hand’s turn. If the Banker hand is 7, the Banker ‘stands’ no matter what the Player has. For all other cases, whether the banker draws a third card or stands depends on the Player hand. Below is the table with strict drawing rules for the Banker that must be adhered by.

S = Stand on two cards
D = Draw third card

Thus, the game may end with four, five or six cards on the table.

Any winning side bets are paid out at the end.

Baccarat Payouts:

Note: Almost uniformly, there is a 5% on Banker bets. This is justified because betting on the Banker is slightly more advantageous than betting on the Player.

Baccarat Payout

House Edge and Return to Player (RTP) %

Betting on the Banker is slightly more favorable statistically, as mentioned above. This is due to the Banker’s positional advantage, i.e. Player has already laid out everything and the choice of whether or not to boost the Banker hand with a third card is highly strategical. Here is a table with the house edge and RTP percentages for all bets. As you can see, betting on Ties is much riskier, since ties do not happen as often as players might hope.