How to Play Baccarat: Baccarat Rules Explained

Baccarat is one of the most straightforward casino games that require minimal skill. It happens to be the perfect game for bettors, who love fast-paced card games, without having to learn plenty of complex rules. Probably only Roulette has as simple rules as Baccarat, which is one of the main reasons why Baccarat is still that popular.

We will go over the major aspects of each and every rule of the game in this guide. Starting with the card evaluation, what the game's objective is, and also what actions can the player and the banker take. To finish things up, we will see some of the major terms that can help even beginners start playing baccarat without any concerns.

Baccarat, also referred to as just Baccara, is a casino card game. The simple gameplay of the baccarat card game is to compare cards, between the player’s hand and the banker’s. Each Baccarat coup, which is the term for the round in the game, has three possible outcomes:

• Player (Player’s hand is better),
• Banker (Banker’s hand is better),
• Tie.

For the purposes of today’s guide, the Punto Banco Baccarat variation will be taken into account. Punto Banco is the type of game which is the most widespread, so it’s usually referred to as the standard baccarat variation.

It is important to remember that the Baccarat card game is a game of chance, so technically, increasing chances of winning are limited. But, there are still some key tricks that can help take an edge over the game, like avoiding the tie bet option.

Baccarat Gameplay

The Baccarat gameplay rules are quite simple, and all that has to be remembered when playing it is:

• The player always makes a bet on what the possible outcome of the game could be, where three options are available:
  • To Bet on a Player Win,
  • To Bet on a Dealer Win,
  • To Bet on a Tie.
• The cards are shuffled by the dealer every time, before dealing two cards to the player and himself, always face down,
• When neither side has a natural hand, which is an automatic win, when the cards are turned over, bets can be placed,
• The main objective of the Baccarat game is to get a hand with a value of 9, which is the highest possible combination.

The statistics say that the banker’s hand will win 45.8% of the time, whereas the player’s hand will win 44.6%, and the rest of 9.6% goes for a Tie.

Card Values

As stated in Baccarat card game rules, cards have point values as follows:

• Ace - 1
• Numbered Cards 2 to 9 - Face Value
• 10, J, Q, K - 0

The hand values in Baccarat are based only on the last digit of the card's value. As an example, if a player is dealt with a 6 and 9, the sum is 15, so the hand value is 5, which is the last digit of the number.

Draws (Hit) and Stands are the only possible actions that can be taken in a Baccarat Game. Draw, which is more popular in the Baccarat world as Hit, is when the player wants to be dealt an additional card, making the total count of cards 3.

If the player chooses to stand, it’s an indication that no more cards are required, so the intention is to proceed with the current value of their hand.

The Baccarat card game rules for hitting and standing are different for the banker and the player’s hands.

Rules for Player’s Hand

How the game proceeds is determined by the player’s hand, as the Banker’s actions may vary depending on the player’s decision to stand or draw.

• If the player is dealt with a total of 6 or 7, he stands.
• If the player gets 5 or less, a third card is drawn.

Rules for Banker’s Hand

The rules for Banker’s Hand are more complex, as the action is strongly dependent on how the player played his hand.

If the player stands, the banker follows the same rules as for the player’s hand. But, if the player has drawn a third hard, the banker’s rules become quite harder.

• If the banker's total is 7, he stands all the time,
• If the banker's total is 6, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 6 or 7,
• If the banker's total is 5, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 4,5,6 or 7,
• If the banker's total is 4, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 2, 4, 5, 6, or 7.
• If the banker's total is 3, he draws in all cases, except if the player's third card is an 8,
• If the banker's total is 2, he draws all the time.

All these baccarat third card rules will be handled by the dealer, but it’s always good for the player to keep them in mind.

Baccarat was and will remain one of the most popular online casino games that players can enjoy playing. There are a lot of reasons for that, but let’s take a look at one of the most essential ones.

Advantages

• Rules of baccarat at top online casino sites can be easily learned,
• There are plenty of generous bonus offers related to playing online baccarat,
• The Baccarat online game can be played simply at any online casino,
• Many variations of the baccarat card game can be found in online casinos,
• Baccarat has one of the lowest house edges among table games,
• When playing the baccarat game online, the bettor controls his bankroll,
• Playing online bacarat is completely free.

Disadvantages

• On most online baccarat tables, commissions on winning bets are charged,
• The banker’s rules are quite a lot, so it’s hard to remember,
• Baccarat tables can be rigged if played in not licensed online casinos,
• Baccarat is a game of luck, so it’s hard to influence the outcome of hands,
• The potential payouts of the best bankers' and players' bets are not so great.

Baccarat is the table game with the easiest rules to learn, but also with the lowest house edge. So, it comes as no surprise that the game is that popular nowadays, and more players want to enjoy it. With all these baccarat rules explained, every player can start playing this simple game online immediately.

It’s always good to keep in mind that, no matter whether the rules of baccarat card games are simple, it’s still a chance game, so the chances of winning cannot be increased that much.