Baccarat is an exciting game of pure chance.
While it’s portrayed as formal and elegant, it’s actually an easy, slow-paced game.
There’s no strategy or skill needed. Plus, Baccarat offers some of the best odds in the casino.
The goal in baccarat is to have the hand you’re betting on, either the player or the banker, be the best hand of the two dealt.
The winning hand is the one with a score where the final digit when all the pips (the dots on a playing card that are clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) are added up is the closest to nine.
Rules
Baccarat is a simple game with three types of bets:
- Banker bet
- Player bet
- Tie bet
Though the game is simple, baccarat follows strict dealing rules.
- Live Baccarat is played from a six-deck shoe.
- All face cards and 10s have no value.
- Cards less than 10 are counted at face value,
- Aces are worth 1.
- The suits of the cards don't play a role in the game.
- Only single-digit values are valid.
- Any count that reaches double-digit drops the left digit. 15 is counted as 5 and 25 is also counted as 5.
- Each hand is consisted of no more than three cards, the baccarat rules do not allow a fourth card to be dealt
- under any circumstances.
To start, the players bet either on Banker, Player, or Tie. Both Player and Banker pay even money, but a winning Banker bet commands a 5% commission.
A Tie bet pays 8:1.
The goal in baccarat is to reach a point total of 9 with your hand.
The dealer gives two cards to both the Player's hand and the Banker's hand; first to the Player and then to the Banker.
A third card may be dealt to either or both the Player and the Bank based on the following three-card rules. It is not necessary to learn these rules to play, they are compulsory decisions and therefore automatic.
Player's third-card-rule
- If either the Player or Banker has a total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards no further cards are drawn.
- The resulting hand is called a Natural and the hand is over.
- If the Player's total is less than or equal to 5 the Player's hand draws a third card.
- If the Player does not draw a third card, then the bank's hand stands on 6 or more and takes a third card on a total of 5 or less.
- If the Player does take a third card, then the Bank's third-card-rule below will determine if the Bank takes a third card.
Banker's third-card-rule
- If the Bank's total is 2 or less then the bank draws a card, regardless of what the player’s third card is.
- If the Banks total is 3 then the bank draws a third card unless the Players third card was an
- If the Banks total is 4 then the bank draws a third card unless the Players third card was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.
- If the Banks total is 5 then the bank draws a third card if the Players third card was 4, 5, 6, or 7.
- If the Banks total is 6 then the bank draws a third card if the Players third card was a 6 or 7.
- If the Banks total is 7 then the bank stands.
After the dealer has followed the third card dealing rule, the hand closest to 9 without going over is announced the winner.
Payouts Chart
Side Bets
Dragon Bonus Side Bet:
- The Dragon Bonus is a side bet that pays when the hand is a Natural winner, or when the hand wins by at least 4 points.
- Natural winners pay even money on the Dragon Bonus bet, and in the event of a Natural that ties, the Dragon Bonus bet pushes.
- Non-Natural winners that win by at least 4 points pay even money, and the larger the margin of victory, the larger the payout.
For example, a non-Natural hand that wins by 9 points receives a payout of 30:1!
To view the entire Dragon Payout table, click the ‘Dragon Payout’ tab on the right side of the game interface:
To participate in the Dragon Bonus players must wager by betting in the marked area labeled ‘Player Dragon’, ‘Banker Dragon’, or both.
Player Pair, Banker Pair, Either Pair, Perfect Pair, Big bet, and Small bet side bets:
- Banker or Player Pair bets win if they have a pair of cards as their first two cards, and pay 11 to 1.
- Either Pair bet wins if either the Banker or Player has a pair in their first two cards, and pays 5 to 1.
- Perfect pair occurs when the first two cards have the same values and suits, and pay 25:1.
- The big bet wins if there are five cards on the board, meaning that at least one participant has a 3rd card.
- The small bet wins if neither participant has a 3rd card and there are four cards on the board in total.
In order to participate in the pairs side bets, you must wager by betting the marked area labeled.
You may bet on any or all of these pair’s bets at the same time.
Super 6 Side Bet:
- Super 6, a popular variant of Baccarat, follows the same rules, with an extra side bet.
- There is a side bet offered as insurance to a Banker 6 win.
- If you take the Super 6 side bet you are betting that the Banker will win with a score of 6 and this side bet pays 12:1 if it wins
Basic Navigation
How to read baccarat game history:
- Bread Plate: indicates player, banker, and tie wins + score. Pair wins are also noted with red/blue dots on the top left/right of the circle.
- Big Road: the "Big Road." primarily keeps track of Player and Banker wins.
Tie wins are also noted with slashes, and a yellow dot inside the circle indicates a natural 8/9 win.
- Big Eye Boy: The Big Eye Boy table is useful in gauging how repetitive the shoe is.
Red entries are a sign of repetition, and blue entries are a sign of a chaotic, "choppy" shoe. It is important to note that in the Big Eye Boy table, blue and red are not associated with Player and Banker wins, as they are on the previous two charts.
- Small Road: The Small Road works exactly like the Big Eye Boy, except it skips the column to the left of the current column in the Big Road.
To have enough information to go on, the Small Road must wait until the entry after the first entry in the third column of the Big Road.
- Cockroach Pig: The Cockroach works exactly like the Small Road, except it skips two columns to the left of the current column in the Big Road.
To have enough information to go on, the Cockroach Pig must wait until the entry after the first entry in the fourth column of the Big Road.
