Baccarat (Punto Banco)
A two-hand comparing card game where every move is fixed by rules; the Banker bet carries a 1.06% house edge.
- House edge 1.06% to 14.36%
- Luck only
- Many players can bet on the same hands at one table
- Typically about 30 to 60 seconds per coup; online games can be faster
Information only. 18+. The house edge means players lose on average over time.
Overview
Baccarat (punto banco) compares two hands, Player and Banker, dealt from an eight-deck shoe; whichever hand is closer to 9 wins. Players only choose what to bet on, because all drawing is decided by fixed rules. The house edge is 1.06% on Banker, 1.24% on Player and 14.36% on Tie at 8 to 1.
Baccarat is a comparing card game played between two hands, called the Player (punto) and the Banker (banco). Each round, or coup, has three possible outcomes: the Player hand wins, the Banker hand wins, or the hands tie. The goal is to bet on which hand will finish closest to nine; the labels do not mean the bettor is the Player or that the casino is the Banker.
The origins of baccarat are disputed. Some sources date it to the 19th century, others say it came to France from Italy at the end of the 15th century, and card-game historians point to earlier games such as Macao as a precursor. Old forms such as baccarat banque and chemin de fer let players make choices and bank the game; the form played in most casinos today, punto banco, developed as a house-banked game in Havana, Cuba, in the 1940s.
Today baccarat is played at casino tables with a shoe of six or eight decks, in smaller 'mini-baccarat' versions, and online both as random-number games and as live-dealer games where real cards are dealt on camera. In punto banco no player makes decisions about drawing cards: both hands are dealt and completed under a fixed table of drawing rules, so the game is purely one of chance.
- Origin
- Disputed; France and Italy in the 15th to 19th centuries, with the modern punto banco form from Havana in the 1940s
- Cards
- Eight decks (416 cards) in the common version; some tables use six
- Aim
- Bet on which hand finishes closest to 9: Player, Banker or Tie
- Card values
- Ace is 1, 2 to 9 face value, ten and picture cards are 0
- Best total
- 9; a total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards is a 'natural'
- Banker commission
- Commonly 5% on winning Banker bets (so Banker pays 19 to 20)
- House edge
- 1.06% Banker, 1.24% Player, 14.36% Tie at 8 to 1
- Decisions
- None during play: all drawing follows fixed rules
How to play Baccarat
- 1Before the round, place a bet on Player, Banker or Tie. Side bets such as pair bets may also be available.
- 2The dealer deals two cards to the Player hand and two cards to the Banker hand from the shoe, all face up.
- 3Add up each hand. Aces count 1, cards 2 to 9 count their face value and tens and picture cards count 0. Only the last digit of the total is used, so 7 + 8 = 15 counts as 5.
- 4If either hand has a total of 8 or 9, the round ends immediately. This is called a natural and no more cards are drawn.
- 5If neither hand has a natural, the Player hand draws a third card if its total is 0 to 5, and stands on 6 or 7.
- 6The Banker hand then follows the Banker drawing rules, which depend on the Banker's own total and, if the Player drew, on the value of the Player's third card (explained in the rules below).
- 7The hand with the higher total wins. If the totals are equal, the round is a tie.
- 8Winning bets are paid: Player at 1 to 1, Banker at 1 to 1 minus the commission, and Tie at the table's tie payout. On a tie, Player and Banker bets are returned (pushed).
- 9A new round starts from the same shoe until the cut card is reached, which marks the final round of that shoe.
Rules
- Card values: ace = 1, cards 2 to 9 = face value, ten, jack, queen and king = 0. Suits are irrelevant.
- A hand's value is the last digit of the sum of its cards; the highest possible value is 9.
- Naturals: if the Player or the Banker has 8 or 9 on the first two cards, no more cards are drawn and the higher total wins.
- Player rule: with 0 to 5 the Player hand draws a third card; with 6 or 7 it stands.
- Banker rule when the Player stands: the Banker draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7, exactly like the Player.
- Banker rule when the Player drew a third card, Banker total 0 to 2: the Banker always draws.
- Banker total 3: draws unless the Player's third card was an 8. Banker total 4: draws if the Player's third card was 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
- Banker total 5: draws if the Player's third card was 4, 5, 6 or 7. Banker total 6: draws only if the Player's third card was 6 or 7. Banker total 7: always stands.
- No hand ever draws more than one extra card, so a hand has at most three cards.
- A bet on Banker that wins is commonly paid at 1 to 1 minus a 5% commission, because the Banker hand wins slightly more often than the Player hand.
- On a tie, bets on Player and Banker are returned. A Tie bet commonly pays 8 to 1 (9 to 1 in some places).
- At the start of a shoe the dealer burns cards, and a cut card marks when the shoe will be reshuffled.
Bets, payouts & house edge
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1 to 1 less 5% commission (19 to 20) | 1.06% | Banker wins about 45.86% of rounds, Player about 44.62%, ties about 9.52%. |
| Player | 1 to 1 | 1.24% | Ties are pushed (the stake is returned). |
| Tie (8 to 1) | 8 to 1 | 14.36% | A tie happens about once in 10.5 rounds. Common payout in many casinos. |
| Tie (9 to 1) | 9 to 1 | 4.84% | Paid at 9 to 1 in some places, such as many UK casinos. |
| Player pair or Banker pair (side bet) | Commonly 11 to 1 | 10.36% | Wins if the first two cards of that hand are the same rank. Offered only at some tables. |
| Banker, no-commission version ('EZ' style) | 1 to 1; push if Banker wins with a three-card 7 | 1.02% | Common variant that removes the 5% commission. Usually paired with a Dragon 7 side bet. |
| Banker, 'Super 6' version | 1 to 1; pays 1 to 2 if Banker wins with 6 | 1.46% | A variant where winning Banker bets pay no commission but pay half on a total of 6. |
Payouts, commissions and side bets differ between providers and casinos. Always read the rules shown at the table or in the game before anything else.
How these numbers are worked out
Edges are exact, computed by enumerating every possible sequence of cards from a fresh eight-deck shoe (416 cards, each deck contributing sixteen 10-value cards and four of each other rank), applying the drawing rules above, and weighting each sequence by its probability. Results: Banker wins 45.8597%, Player wins 44.6247%, tie 9.5156%. Expected result per unit staked: Player = P(Player) - P(Banker) = -1.2351%; Banker = 0.95 x P(Banker) - P(Player) = -1.0579%; Tie at 8 to 1 = 9 x P(Tie) - 1 = -14.3596%; Tie at 9 to 1 = 10 x P(Tie) - 1 = -4.8440%. Player and Banker bets push on ties. The pair bet edge assumes the first two cards of a hand match in rank, probability 31/415 = 7.47%, at 11 to 1. The edge shifts slightly with six decks and changes as cards leave the shoe, but a fresh-shoe, eight-deck figure is used throughout. Payouts, commission and side bets are the common versions and vary by casino and provider.
Tips for playing sensibly
If you play, understand that the Banker bet has the lowest house edge (1.06%) and the Tie bet has by far the highest (14.36% at 8 to 1), but even the lowest edge is still a negative expected result.
Keep in mind that the choice between Player and Banker is only a choice of which small edge to face, not a way to beat the game.
Do not rely on road maps or score boards. They record past results, but each coup depends only on the cards remaining in the shoe, and no pattern gives a reliable advantage.
Work out the commission before betting on Banker, and check the payout for Tie and the side bets, because they differ between tables.
Set a time limit and a spending limit in advance, and stop when you reach either of them.
Do not chase losses and do not raise your stake to recover money you have already lost.
Treat any money staked as the cost of entertainment, not as a way to earn money.
Gambling is for adults only (18+, or the legal age where you live). If it stops being fun, take a break and consider contacting a local support service.
Common myths
Myth After a streak of Banker wins, Player is due.
Truth This is the gambler's fallacy. The next coup depends only on the cards left in the shoe, and the long-run chances of Player, Banker and Tie do not change because of the previous few results.
Myth Road maps and scoreboards reveal patterns that can be exploited.
Truth Roads are only a way of recording past outcomes. They cannot predict random cards, and no road-based method has been shown to overcome the house edge.
Myth Banker always wins more, so betting on Banker will make money.
Truth Banker wins somewhat more often than Player, which is why the commission exists. After the commission the Banker bet still has a 1.06% house edge, so the expected result is a small loss.
Myth The Tie bet is a good value because it pays 8 to 1.
Truth A tie happens only about once in every 10.5 rounds, so 8 to 1 is well below the fair payout and the Tie bet has a house edge of 14.36%, the highest of the main bets.
Variants
Punto banco
The standard casino form covered here: the casino banks the game, six or eight decks are used and all cards are dealt under fixed drawing rules. It is the version played at most casinos worldwide.
Chemin de fer
A historic form in which players take turns as the banker and can choose whether to draw on some totals. It appeared in France in the late 19th century and is more of a social game than the casino standard.
Baccarat banque
Also known as 'a deux tableaux', this is described as the earliest form of baccarat, a three-person game in which the players make choices. It is rarely seen in modern casinos.
Mini-baccarat, no-commission and Super 6
Mini-baccarat is a fast, lower-limit table version of punto banco. Some tables remove the commission and instead pay half on a Banker win with 6 ('Super 6', 1.46% on Banker) or push on a three-card 7 ('EZ' style, 1.02% on Banker).
Glossary
- Punto banco
- The most common casino form of baccarat, in which the casino banks the game and both hands are played by fixed drawing rules.
- Punto
- The Player hand (Spanish for 'point'). It is just a label for one of the two hands.
- Banco
- The Banker hand. It is just a label and does not mean the house is holding that hand.
- Coup
- One round of play, from the deal to the settlement of bets.
- Natural
- A total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards of either hand, which ends the round at once.
- Tableau
- The fixed table of rules that decides whether the Player and Banker hands draw a third card.
- Shoe
- The box that holds the shuffled decks from which the cards are dealt.
- Cut card
- A plastic card placed near the end of the shoe; when it appears, the current round is the last of that shoe.
- Commission
- A fee, commonly 5%, taken from winning Banker bets because the Banker hand wins slightly more often.
- Push
- A bet that neither wins nor loses; the stake is returned. Player and Banker bets push when the round ties.
- Mini-baccarat
- A smaller, faster table version of punto banco with lower table limits, where the dealer handles all cards.
Baccarat FAQ
What is the house edge in baccarat?
On an eight-deck shoe it is 1.06% on Banker (after a 5% commission), 1.24% on Player, and 14.36% on a Tie paying 8 to 1. This means that on average the casino keeps about 1 unit of every 100 staked on Banker or Player over the long run.
Which baccarat bet is best?
Banker has the lowest house edge and Tie has the highest, but none of them is positive for the player. Every bet has a negative expected result, so the choice only decides how fast the average loss accumulates.
Does the player make any decisions in baccarat?
No. In punto banco, drawing a third card is decided entirely by the drawing rules, so the only choice is what to bet on. Whether the game is played at a table or online, the outcome is chance.
Why is there a commission on the Banker bet?
The Banker hand wins slightly more often than the Player hand (about 45.86% against 44.62%), so an even-money payout would favour the Banker bettor. A commission, commonly 5%, restores a house edge on that bet.
Can patterns or road maps predict the next hand?
No. Road maps show past results in a grid, but each coup is determined by random cards from the shoe, and a past result does not change the next one in any practical way. Following a pattern does not change the house edge.
What happens if the Player and Banker tie?
Bets on Player and Banker are returned and stay in play for the next round. Only a Tie bet wins, at the table's tie payout (commonly 8 to 1).
Is baccarat harder to learn than it looks?
The drawing rules look complicated but the dealer applies them for you, so a beginner only needs to know how hands are counted and what the bets pay. The tableau of third-card rules is only relevant for understanding why a hand drew or stood.
What is the minimum age to play?
Gambling is for adults only. The legal age is 18 in many places and higher in others, so check the rules where you live.
Related reading
Keep learning
More games explained
Table games
Roulette
A wheel-and-ball game of pure chance with a fixed house edge of 2.70% on the single-zero wheel.
Rules & odds
Instant games
Crash
How crash games work: a rising multiplier, a hidden crash point and a built-in house edge
Rules & odds
Card games
Andar Bahar
An Indian one-deck card game: guess which side gets the card matching the joker first; edge about 2% to 3%.
Rules & odds
Lottery
Lottery
How number lotteries work: matrix formats, draws, jackpots, rollovers and the odds behind each prize.
Rules & odds