Baccarat Rules: How to Play and What Points to Remember
There is no surprise why so many gamblers like baccarat card game much: it is very easy but exciting to play and you should not be a genius or very good mathematician in order to remember all baccarat rules and start playing this popular casino game.
A gambler who chooses baccarat and likes the Card games of luck will never be disappointed in this game for sure. Everything one should know about the way of how to play baccarat is:
- The object of the game
- The possible options to bet on
- The rule of the third card
- The commission and payouts
What is the goal?
The maximum points a player can get in baccarat is NINE, and the goal of every player is to guess what card hand will have this number or the points closer to nine than other hands. Players do not gamble against each other, they play with a dealer but it will be not a person but option that will be a winner: the duty of a player is to predict which option it will be.
There are only 3 possible options a player can bet on: Player, Banker, Tie. 14 players maximum can take part in a game but only one of them will play with a dealer: other ones will just make their bets on this or that option. Two initial cards are dealt both to a player and a dealer and the sum of the points these hands have determines the winning option - it can be Player or Banker (Tie is also possible but it happens very seldom).
How to count the points?
Usually, baccarat is played with 8 decks of 52 cards. Each card gives a definite number of points which are the following:
Ace = 1
King, Queen, Jack, 10's = 0
2's - 9's = according to their number
All points will be counted and summed up in a way the final result will not exceed 9 points. The worst result will be 0 of course (it is surprisingly, but baccarat is named after its worst result: "baccarat" means "zero" in Italian).
So, if a player has two cards of 7 and 8 for example, his/her final result will be counted as 6:
7 + 8 = 15 = 1 + 5 = 6.
The rule of the 3rd card
Depending on what number of points a player and a dealer have, they may have a right to take one more card to their hand in order to change the final result and improve it somehow. This rule is very easy for a player:
If your final result is 8 or 9 points - do not take the third card; if the result is 5 or less points - you are welcome to take one more card from a shoe.
The rule of the 3rd card is more complicated for a dealer because it totally depends on the 3rd card of a player. The table given below describes this rule as following:
Number of points Player's third card What should a banker do?
0-2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7 Whatever
2-7, 9-10
8
2-7
2, 8-10
4-7
2-3, 8-10
6-7
2-5, 8-10
Whatever Take the third card
Take the third card
Stand
Take the third card
Stand
Take the third card
Stand
Take the third card
Stand
Stand
Commission and Payouts
Depending on what bet you make, you will have to pay some amount of your winning to a casino as a commission: the best bet here is Player (Punto according to baccarat glossary) and the worst one is Tie; so, be attentive here:
- Player is paid as 1:1.
- Banker is paid as 1:1 too but it will take 5% of your winning as a commission.
- Tie is paid as 8:1 (14,4% will be taken from you in a case of winning).
