Learn baccarat for beginners

1. 1

   Find a game

   When you’ve signed up with a suitable baccarat casino, you can load up a (once you know how to play!) baccarat table and get ready to enjoy the action of the game.
2. 2

   Place your bet(s)

   Next it’s time to decide how much you’d like to wager and place a bet on the banker hand, player hand, or the tie (as well as any side bets that are calling your name).
3. 3

   The cards are dealt

   The player and the banker hand will each receive two cards. Those numbered 2-9 are worth the value on the card, Aces are worth 1, and face cards are worth 0. Using these figures, each hand is given a value between 0 and 9.
4. 4

   More cards are (sometimes) dealt

   Based on the value of each hand – more on this below – the player and/or the banker hand may receive a third card that will close out the round.
5. 5

   The winner is revealed

   By totalling the score of each hand, eliminating the first digit of any double-digit hand values, we can see which hand has the value closest to nine. This hand wins, ending the round.

If any of the above sounds complicated, it’s worth pointing out that the player doesn’t have to calculate anything themselves; all you need to worry about is picking the hand you want to bet on. With that said, you might like to check out our free baccarat page to use practice mode and familiarize yourself with the rules of baccarat outlined on this page.

There are two hands in play when using standard baccarat game rules: player and banker. The player can actually bet on either hand. A win on the player hand will pay out 1:1, while a bet on the banker hand, due to slightly better odds, will cost you a 5% commission from your winnings. Despite that, many players still swear by the banker bet.

Baccarat hand values

Once bets have been placed, both hands receive two cards. Any card between 2 and 9 is worth the value shown on the card, aces are worth 1, and face cards count for 0. Based on these figures, a hand is worth between 0 and 9. For hands worth 10 or more the first digit is ignored. So hands of 16 and 23 are worth six and three respectively.

In most variations of baccarat game rules, the player does not choose whether the player/banker hand receives a third card or not. On a total of eight or nine, the player hand will get no additional cards. The player hand also stands on totals of six or seven, and draws a third card on any total of five or under - unless the banker hand totals eight or nine.

Whether or not the banker hand receives a third card depends on the player’s third card. See the chart below, where S is stands and H is hits, for more information:

Baccarat hand chart

Baccarat bets

For baccarat betting, all you need to think about is whether to bet on the banker hand, player hand, or tie. With a house edge of more than 14%, many players choose to ignore the tie bet entirely. This makes the game pretty straightforward, although as a result many variants switch up the rules of baccarat gambling by offering a range of side bets, too.

These include everything from betting on the suit of cards in a hand – all red/all black, with a payout of 22:1 or 24:1 – to the Bellagio match – a 75:1 payout (or 68:1 on the banker hand) if a hand contains three cards of the same rank. There’s also the dragon bonus, a bet on a hand being a natural 8 or 9 and beating the other hand by a certain margin, which pays out up to 30:1.

As for whether or not side bets are “worth it”, that’s very subjective. They typically have a high house edge and may only hit very rarely, but if you put one on at the right time you’ll feel like the smartest gambler on the planet. We’d recommend using them with caution and only after you’re familiar with the game’s main bets.

Different variations of baccarat rules also help give the game a slightly different flavor. In European baccarat, for example, players can choose whether they want to stand or draw if the value of their hand is five. The banker can choose whether to draw a third card or not. Although European baccarat isn’t very common online, some software providers throw equivalent quirks like this one into their games.

1. 1
   The banker hand has a lower house edge - This means it has better odds of winning. Just remember, however, that you’ll need to pay that 5% commission on any banker hand wins.
2. 2
   Don’t rely on betting with, or against, streaks - The result of previous rounds has absolutely no bearing on future rounds, whatever the superstitious who live among us might argue.
3. 3
   Beware of live dealer baccarat games - We say this not because live dealer games aren’t fun, but because players lose all control over how quickly they can play through a round.
4. 4
   Consider practicing first - Try free baccarat games before you start using real money casinos, especially if you’re playing an unfamiliar variation of the game like 3-card baccarat or European baccarat.
5. 5
   The tie bet has a high house edge - This means that it’s best avoided. Feel free to sprinkle it in if you have a hunch, but the odds of winning on it aren’t great!

Baccarat’s house edge is much lower than that of both slots and many other table games. Your odds of winning, or at least making your bankroll last for a while, are higher than plenty of other options available in the casino.

But the house edge and odds of winning at baccarat can vary considerably depending on several factors. For punto banco, the house edge of betting on the player hand is 1.24% and the banker hand is 1.06%. The house edge of the tie bet is a high 14.4%.

In a single deck game, however, these numbers change to 1.29%, 1.01% and 15.75% respectively, and you might want to stick with the banker bet. Generally speaking, though, the number of decks used is unlikely to have much impact on any one session.

Elsewhere, in Dragon Tiger, players face a house edge of 3.73% on 1:1 payouts and a whopping 32.77% on the tie bet. In 3-card baccarat, you’ll see a house edge of 2.41% and 20.80% on the tie.

Some players are hesitant about wagering on the banker hand for one key reason: the 5% commission. No doubt, it can be frustrating to hand over your precious winnings to the casino…especially if you’ve already given them some of your hard-earned cash.

However, if you’re really lucky, you might be able to find 4%, 2.75%, or even 0% commission on banker bets in some versions of baccarat rules that will lower the game’s house edge even further.

1. 1
   Cards numbered 2 to 9 are worth their face value, e.g. 4 is worth four points
2. 2
   10s and face cards (Kings, Queens, Jacks) have a value of 0, Aces are worth 1
3. 3
   Winning wagers are paid even money, minus a 5% commission on banker bets
4. 4
   A winning bet on the tie pays 9:1 or 8:1 depending on the casino you’re using
5. 5
   Depending on their values, the player and/or the banker hand may receive a third card

Baccarat odds vs. roulette

There are tons of different bets you can make at the online roulette table, from placing an even money bet through to wagering big on a single number. Let’s stick with talking about even bets like black vs. red, or odd vs. even.

In European roulette the odds of winning such a bet stand at 48.60%, compared with 47.4% in American roulette. Whichever version of roulette you’re playing, that means an even money bet has slightly better odds of victory than a comparable bet on a game of baccarat.

Baccarat odds vs. blackjack

Depending on the variant you’re playing, the base odds of winning a hand of blackjack are 42.22%. In other words, a few percentage points lower than a round of baccarat. That number can also vary depending on whether or not you’re using basic strategy and how many decks are in play.

Of course, it’s also worth observing that playing online blackjack games effectively requires knowledge of the best move to make depending on the hand you have in front of you. With baccarat, all you need to do is pick a hand to bet on, place your wager, and hit deal.

Baccarat odds vs. craps

Craps has a huge variety of bets available, which can make the game quite daunting to new players. The most popular bets in craps – Pass/Don’t Pass and Come/Don’t Come – are also the ones it makes the most sense to compare with betting on the player or banker in a round of baccarat.

Pass and Come bets have a house edge of 1.41%, while wagers on Don’t Pass and Don’t Come have a house edge of 1.36%. As you can see from the table above, that means all of these bets have a slightly more punishing house edge than either of the main bets most players make on baccarat.

Baccarat odds vs. poker

We could hit you with facts like the odds of landing a Royal Flush are almost 1 in 650,000 here, but that’s probably not particularly useful. It’s actually very difficult to nail down the odds of winning at poker because they can vary massively depending on a number of different factors.

In addition to the variant you’re playing, you also need to consider who you’re playing against and whether tells, bluffing, etc. will be a big factor in the game. Not to mention that playing poker effectively requires skill and knowledge of the game! You’d have to be very lucky to find yourself at a poker table where your odds of winning are as close to 50-50 as they are when playing baccarat.