Baccarat, much like roulette and craps, was invented in France and spread far and wide during the late 1800s. Unlike these two other casino main stays, the version of Baccarat played then, Baccarat Banque, did not catch on with the American public. When Nevada legalized casino gaming in 1931, there wasn’t even a mention of Baccarat in the legislation.

The Punto Banco Baccarat that is played around the world today received a mild Las Vegas welcome in the 1950s, but even as late as the 1970s, there were only 15 baccarat tables on the Strip. Of course, baccarat now leads Nevada and the world in gaming revenue, beating out its French cousins by a wide margin.

Still, of all the casino games, baccarat is often overlooked by a wide swath of the American gaming public because they think of it as somehow foreign or confusing when, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. It is the simplest game in the casino and offers tons of excitement while keeping the house advantage at around 1%, one of the lowest house edges you will find in table games.

How to Play Baccarat

Unlike blackjack, the cards tell the story when playing baccarat. The rules of the game dictate when cards are drawn, not the players themselves. The closest hand to nine wins. In essence, the only decision a baccarat player needs to make is whether to bet the Player or the Bank. The player bet is paid even money, and the Banker’s hand is paid even money minus a 5% vig because they are more favorable.

Baccarat Rules

Baccarat is almost always played with eight decks of standard cards, shuffled and put into a secure Baccarat shoe. The Player can bet either the Player’s or the Banker’s Hand. There is also a tie bet on every layout, often accompanied by other side bets. The tie bet will pay 8 to 1, though you may sometimes see a tie bet that pays 9 to 1 at an online baccarat game. The house edge on tie bets at eight to one is over 14%, and even at nine to one is over 4%

In this game, the winning bets are the ones closest to nine. If the Banker’s hand is the winning hand, they will pay a 5% commission. The Banker wins more often due to the game’s rules.

The initial two cards are dealt: one to the Player, one to the bank, another to the Player, and another to the bank. The cards are totaled, with all cards having their respective point totals and all face cards worth 10. Unlike Blackjack, the Ace here is only worth one.

Also, unlike Blackjack, we ignore the 10-digit totals and only use the single-digit total. For instance, a 10, 10 and a third card draw of eight is not 28, but just eight; we ignore the number in the first column. In the same way, two cards dealt a seven and a six are a total of three, not thirteen. And with a third card draw of eight, the total goes to one, not twenty-one.

Again, the players may be given the cards to expose, with the highest wager on the bank hand being given the Banker’s hand and the highest wager on the Player being given the Player’s hand. Still, they do not decide how the Banker or Player’s hand is played.

The card totals tell us who will draw a third card. The Banker draws depend on what the player hand draws. The dealer will push up the winning hand to show whether the Banker wins or the player side has the winning hand and then mark up a commission, if required, on the Banker’s hand winning.

Baccarat Third Card Rules

When the cards are dealt initially, the Player and the bank will receive two cards each from the shoe. If either Player turns over an eight or nine, that is a natural, and no more cards will be drawn; if the Player has less than six, they will now draw a third card. If they have a six or seven, they stand.

The players’ third card draw decides the Banker’s hand third card draw. The Banker will always draw a third card if they have zero, one, or two. They will always draw if they have three unless the Player’s third card draw is an eight.

The Banker’s hand draws a third card when they have a four if the Player’s draw card is a two through seven. If the Banker’s hand is a five, they will draw if the Player’s third card draw is a four, five, six, or seven. And last, the Banker’s hand of six will draw a third card if the Player’s hand’s third card is a six or seven. And that’s all the rules we need to know to play Baccarat.

In-Person Baccarat

Playing in a brick-and-mortar casino, you can find several versions, including Big Baccarat. Big Baccarat has table limits that might require liquidating your 401k, so let’s stick to the much more widely seen midi Baccarat and mini Baccarat.

Midi baccarat is generally played at a sit-down table with one dealer. The seats are numbered 1-10, but there is no four. Many of today’s Baccarat players are from China, where the number four is considered unlucky due to sounding like the word for death.

In this version, when dealt from the shoe, the cards are handed to both the Banker bet and the Player bet with the most wagered. This game will also have a strip directly in front of the dealer, also numbered; that is where the dealer will mark up your commission on all winning bank bets; you will need to pay this when you leave or at the shuffle.

Mini Baccarat is played on a table resembling a black table; the dealer is standing, and the seats aren’t always numbered. Only the dealer will handle the cards here, and they will collect commission on each hand instead of marking it up to pay later.

Online Baccarat Tables take many forms but generally look more like a mini baccarat layout since the computer automatically deducts the vig on winning bank hands.

Baccarat Variations

While Baccarat is the largest producer of revenues amongst casino games in the world, there are always people out there who believe they can improve it. One of the issues with Baccarat is its low house edge, and the other is that the game can move slowly as commission is figured and marked up.

Much like the side bets we will discuss later, newer Baccarat variations revolve mostly around speeding up the game and bumping the house edge. However, some have to do with the Baccarat table itself. But let’s start by talking about one of the oldest Baccarat variations and the one that you may be familiar with from James Bond movies.

Chemin De Fer

Chemmy is what many Americans think about when they imagine sitting down to play Baccarat, thanks to Ian Fleming’s James Bond character in popular movies and books. Chemmy or Chimney is played on a kidney pool-shaped table with about a dozen players.

Chemin De Fer is French for Railway, and this is believed to stem from how the little, almost locomotive-shaped shoe containing the card moves its way around the table, designating which Player is acting as Banker this round. The Banker covers all player bets and retains the shoe until his hand loses, and then the little locomotive shoe goes off to the next Player.

The obvious rule change, other than the players acting as bankers in turn, is that you have some independence when you draw cards, and the Banker will only see the players draw cards before they act, not the Player’s initial two cards. The player hand is played by the Player wagering the most money, and while generally hitting on five or fewer and standing on anything else in their quest to get closest to nine, they are not bound to. The Banker now must decide how to proceed.

EZ Baccarat

Easy is a bit of a misnomer since Baccarat is already relatively easy for the Player. It does, however, make the game easier for the dealer by not charging that time-consuming 5% commission. Instead, if the Banker’s hand receives a three-card total of seven, known here as a dragon seven, the bank pushes, but the Player’s hand still loses. All other wins are paid even money. The game also offers the Panda Eight side bet as well as the opportunity to bet on the Dragon 7 hand.

Three Card Baccarat

Most often seen in Macau or online casinos, this game is also called Prosperity Three Pictures or sometimes single-deck Baccarat since it is only played with one standard deck of cards. You may bet Player or bank, and three cards are dealt to both sides. The side with the most face cards wins the same number of faces; then we use the baccarat point total closest to nine.

As usual, there are many side bets, including a tie bet and the three faces bet that pays if all three cards on either Player or bank are face cards.

Baccarat Bet Types

In classic Baccarat, you only need to decide whether to bet on the Player or Bank. There is also a tie bet, but it is really a side bet, with a high house edge of over 14%. And again, you don’t determine the play of the hands, the way the cards leave the shoe do. So, as soon as that baccarat deck is cut, every hand is predetermined.

Side Bets

Popular Baccarat side bets include some of the games listed below, which you should be able to find either in land-based casinos or online. It may seem like you can bet a side bet on just about any two or three-card combination in Baccarat, but this hides a fundamental truth. This game moves slowly and has a very low house edge of just over 1%, so casinos are desperate to increase the house hold by finding popular side bets with a higher house advantage.

• Dragon Bonus: The larger the difference in point totals, the more you will get paid on this bet. You can bet either the Player’s or the Banker’s hand as well. On hands that aren’t natural, you can win up to 30 times your bet if your hand wins by nine. Win by eight points, and it’s 10x your original wager; win by six or seven points on whichever side you bet, and you get 4x; only win by four or five, and you get 2x. Naturals pay real money on the Dragon Bonus bet. You can play both Player and Banker sides on this side bet if you wish.
• Golden Frog: This side bet is six different side bets built into one table. You can bet on any three-card nine beats any three-card seven, which pays you a whopping 200x; there is a three-card nine beats a three-card one, which pays a respectable 150x on winning bets. You can bet a two-card nine beats a two-card seven, which still pays 50x, and then any eight beats any six, which pays 25 to 1. These first four bets pay regardless of whether the PPlayer or bank wins. In addition, you can bet the Jin Chan Seven hand, which will get you 40x if the Banker’s hand wins with seven, or the Koi 8, which pays you 25x if the Player has a winning hand with a three-card eight.
• Five Treasures: Five Treasures, as the name suggests, consists of five separate side bets, though the cover-all bet wins if any of the other four bets does, maybe around 4.5 side bets. Also, two bets, Fortune Seven and Golden Eights, are the same bets as Jin Chan Seven and Koi 8 above, so maybe around 3.5. In any case, the two new bets here, Blazing Sevens and Heavenly 9s, both have long odds but substantial payouts. Blazing sevens pays if both the Player and bank tie with a seven. If it is a two-card tie, it pays 50x; if it is a three-card tie, it pays 200x. Heavenly Nines pay if either the Banker’s hand or the players end up with a three-card nine. You get 10x if only one hand does, but if the Banker and Player’s hand tie in three card nines, you get 75x. If you bet the Cover All and any of these four things happen, you will get 6x.
• Royal Match: While there is a semi-popular blackjack side bet of the same name, this baccarat side bet pays if the first two cards are dealt to the Player and bank, resulting in a king and Queen. The third card draw doesn’t count; only the initial two cards are dealt. If they are a suited match, you get 75x; if they are unsuited, winning bets are paid 30x.

Baccarat FAQs

You have questions about how to play Baccarat, and we’ve got answers. We understand the baccarat table can be intimidating, but there is nothing to it. Pull up a chair, explain to the dealer that you are new, and they will walk you through it. You’ll be able to play Baccarat like a pro in no time. Or try the online baccarat game in demo mode, where you can play for free or one of the 10-cent games; you will quickly grasp the ins and outs.

What is live dealer Baccarat?

Online Baccarat lacked a lot of the original game. It used Random Number Generators (RNG) instead of cards. They lacked the grace of how the cards are dealt, handed off, squeezed by the players, and then laid down for all to see.

Live Dealer Baccarat brings some of that back with live dealers, dealing real cards streamed to your phone or desktop. The cards are dealt out of the shoe by a live dealer, and some technology has even allowed for some of the thrill of the squeeze where those pips on the cards are revealed before the hand is turned over.

It feels more authentic and social and continues improving as new tweaks are made. These games can often be played for much lower house minimum bets and are a great way to learn the game. They may also have several baccarat variants or tables that will allow you to see how each game is played.

What is a winning Baccarat strategy?

Decide on a session bankroll that you can afford, and stick to that bankroll, no matter what. The bank has a slightly lower house edge, even when the vig is considered, so banker bets have a slightly lower house edge over time. Use welcome bonuses, ongoing promotions, comp rewards, and other casino perks to help cut into that 1% house edge and keep you close to even so you can have a chance at more winning sessions.

Is Baccarat like Blackjack?

They are both played with eight decks of standard cards, but neither the gameplay nor the rules are similar. The most obvious is that blackjack players must decide on their hands, whereas in Baccarat, the cards speak for themselves, and all rules are determined by what cards are dealt.

Winning hands in Baccarat are derived from a point total that shears off the 10 digits and then is closest to nine. For instance, in Baccarat, 10, eight, and seven totals 15, and the 10 digits are removed for a point total of five. In Blackjack, we want to be as close to twenty-one without going over. All cards are worth their face value except for Aces, which can be one or eleven.

Finally, in Baccart, a banker win is charged a 5% commission; there is no commission in Blackjack.