How to play Baccarat

01The goal

Two hands are dealt: Player and Banker. Despite the names, neither is yours or the dealer's. You bet on which one ends closer to nine, or that they finish level, a Tie.

Nobody makes a decision once the cards are out. Every draw follows fixed rules, so there is nothing to get wrong.

02How hands are counted

A total over nine drops its tens: only the last digit counts. No hand can ever be more than nine.

03How a round runs

1. Place your bets

   While the countdown runs, pick a chip and tap Player, Banker or Tie on the arc, or either pair.

2. Two cards each

   The dealer deals two cards to Player and two to Banker, face up, by hand and on camera.

3. Naturals end it

   If either hand counts 8 or 9 on its first two cards, that is a natural: nobody draws and the round is settled.

4. The third cards

   Otherwise each hand may take one more card, by the rules below. Nobody chooses.

5. Closest to nine wins

   Bets on the winning side are paid; on a tie, Player and Banker bets come back.

04The bets

Player

Wins when the Player hand finishes closer to nine. Pays 1 : 1.

Banker

Wins when the Banker hand finishes closer to nine. Pays 1 : 1 less 5% commission on the win, so 0.95 : 1.

Tie

Wins when both hands finish level. Pays 8 : 1.

Player pair

Wins when Player's first two cards are the same rank (two sevens, two queens). Pays 11 : 1.

Banker pair

The same, on Banker's first two cards. Pays 11 : 1.

05The third-card rules

Player goes first. On 0–5 Player draws a third card; on 6 or 7 Player stands. (On 8 or 9 there is a natural, and nobody draws.)

Then Banker. If Player stood, Banker draws on 0–5 and stands on 6 or 7. If Player drew, Banker's move depends on its own total and on the card Player just drew:

• DBanker draws
• SBanker stands

Columns 0–9 are the value of Player's third card. The dealer follows this table on every hand; you never have to.

06Payouts

A payout is what each unit staked wins; the stake comes back too.

07Reading the roads

Either side of the bets the table keeps two records of the shoe so far. They are a history, not a forecast: every hand is dealt fresh from the shoe.

Big road

Each win is a ring, red for Banker and blue for Player. A new column starts whenever the winner changes, so a streak reads down one column. A tie is a line through the hand before it.

Bead plate

Every hand in the order it came, one bead each: red Banker, blue Player, green Tie.

The Roads card

Open Roads in the table's dock to see the whole shoe at once.

08Glossary

Natural

A first-two-card total of 8 or 9. Nobody draws.

Commission

The 5% taken from a winning Banker bet.

Baccarat

A hand that counts zero. It also gives the game its name.

Shoe

The box the 8 decks are dealt from.

Tableau

The fixed third-card rules above.

09Questions