The baccarat table has three betting areas – Player, Banker, and Tie. You may wager on any or all of these options for each hand. The player and Banker don’t refer to you and the dealer, only indicate which hand you are betting to win for that round. You generally want to avoid Tie bets due to the high house edge. More on that shortly. It is strictly players against the dealer, just as in blackjack. Players take turns acting as “Players” while the dealer acts as the “Banker”. You bet on either side regardless of your player designation.
Learn the card values
In baccarat, all numbered cards have their face value from 2 through 9. Aces also count as zero. When the total of two or three cards exceeds 9, the first digit disappears. So a 7-8 hand totals 15 but counts as just 5 points. The same goes for a 6-7-5 hand, which totals 18 but counts as 8. It makes 9 the best possible hand value. Getting closest to 9 versus the dealer determines if Player or Banker wins.
Know the betting options
The standard baccarat betting options are.
- Player – Bet on the Player’s hand to win. Pays 1:1 on winning bets.
- Banker – Wager on the Banker’s hand beating the Player. Also, pays 1:1 minus a 5% commission on net wins.
- Tie – Bet on Player and Banker tying with the same value. These bets typically pay 8:1 but carry a massive house edge.
- Player Pair – Side bet on the occurrence of a pair. Pays 11:1.
- Banker Pair – Side bet on the Banker receiving a pair. The best payout online casinos in usa are 11:1 as well.
Other tables may offer additional side bets like perfect pairs or super 6. Focus on the main Player and Banker bets when starting.
Understand dealing rules
In baccarat, two cards go to the Player and the Banker. Each party ends the game if they score an 8 or 9 (called a “natural”). These naturals occur often since 10-J-Q-K all count as zero. If no natural appears, the Player must stand on a hand value of 6 or higher but take a third card on 5 or less. Likewise, Banker hits on 5 or under but stands on 6 or more. There are exceptions when the Player draws the third card that may alter the Banker’s rules.
While the Player and Banker bets pay evenly (1:1 and 0.95:1 accounting for commission), the Banker bet wins slightly more often. Combined with the small commission, simply betting Banker each round provides the best odds. Don’t let other players winning on Play convince you otherwise stick to Banker in the long run. Baccarat features some of the highest table limits and wagers of any casino game.
