Best Baccarat Guide

★ Ultra-low house edge   

★ Very easy to play  

★ Regular and live versions available

This guide will teach you how to play super spy James Bond’s favourite game – baccarat!

Enjoyed by high-rollers in Monte Carlo, Las Vegas and Macau, this casino classic is popular at crypto casinos and is perfect for mobile or desktop play.

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How to play baccarat

Baccarat is a card game played with standard decks of 52 cards. There are three possible outcomes for each hand played – player wins, banker wins or a tie.

The ‘player’ and ‘banker’ do not correspond to actual players – they are just positions on the table.

You bet on which hand you think will win with a score closest to 9 points. 

For bigger odds, you can bet on the tie, in which the player and banker finish with a hand of the same value.

You can also bet on the player and the tie or the banker and the tie. You cannot bet on both the player and the banker, though.

How to play baccarat

Baccarat rules

Bets are placed, and then the player and the banker position are dealt two hands each. 

Card values are assigned like this:

  • 10 and picture cards (king, queen, jack) = zero points
  • Aces = one point
  • All other cards use their denominations – e.g. a nine = nine points

Important: No score of 10 or more is possible. If a hand adds up to more than 10, then the total is subtracted by 10 to give a new score. 

For example, a nine and an eight = 17. But the revised total would be seven (17-10 = 7). It’s common to see scores of zero.

Baccarat gameplay goes like this:

  • If either the player or the banker has a score of eight or nine from the first two cards, it’s a ‘natural’, and the game is over.
  • The player stands (gets no more cards) on a score of six or seven.
  • If the player’s total is zero, one, two, three, four or five, a third card is drawn (dealt).
  • See below for when the banker receives a third card.
  • No player gets more than three cards, and all bets are settled on scores after the final card is dealt.
  • If the player and the banker tie, player and banker stakes are returned, while bets on the tie are settled as winners.

Baccarat banker third card rules

Banker’s total after two cardsBanker’s action
0, 1 or 2Draws
Draws if player’s third card is not an 8
Draws if player’s third card is 2,3,4,5,6 or 7
5Draws if player’s third card is 4,5,6 or 7 
6Draws if player’s third card is 6 or 7
7Stands

* Even if the banker would win with two cards, there are situations when they still draw the third card.

Baccarat rules for when the banker gets a third card can be hard to recall for new players. But the easiest thing to do is remember that you want a score as close as nine to win. 

And when you play baccarat online, the software does all the hard work for you! If you play live baccarat, you’ll be able to talk with real croupiers as they deal the cards.

Baccarat banker win

Baccarat payouts

ResultOdds
Player wins 1/1
Banker wins 1/1*
Tie 8/1

* Winners on the banker pay 1/1 minus 5% commission.

Examples: You have a winning 5 SOL bet on the player. You receive 10 SOL returns – 5 SOL winnings, plus the stake.

You have a winning 10 SOL bet on the banker. You receive 19.5 SOL returns – 9.5 SOL winnings (10-5%), plus the stake.

Baccarat strategy and tips

Beware those who say there is a baccarat strategy because there isn’t! As soon as you place your bets, the game plays out the same way every time, with no decisions taken by anyone at the table.

However, baccarat is so popular – aside from its super cool reputation and simplicity – because the edge is the lowest of any major casino game.

The house edge on banker bets is just 1.06% and 1.24% on player bets, meaning your chance of winning each time you play is almost 50%.

What’s the catch? Casinos make money from people betting on the tie. The 8/1 odds are shorter than the real ones, with an edge of 14%!

But if you want to play, there is no good reason to bet on the player, with the banker offering slightly better odds. 

Good luck!

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Baccarat Frequently Asked Questions

Baccarat has one of the lowest house edges of any popular casino game. The house edge is 1.06% on banker bets and a tiny bit higher on player bets at 1.24%.

Some craps bets pay the real money odds, and a good blackjack player can get the house edge down to around 0.5%, although this requires serious discipline over a long period.

As with all casino games, the best strategy is to play responsibly and don’t bet more than you can afford. Baccarat has a (slight) house edge, so you should expect to lose in the long term. But you should enjoy the short term wins. Betting solely on the banker position and avoiding the tie bet keeps the house edge as low as possible.

Betting only on the banker bet is recommended. There is no difference between this and the player position, but the edge is 0.18% lower, so there is absolutely no reason not to bet on the banker position.