Far fewer casino players know how to play Baccarat than virtually any other casino game, but why?
Baccarat is a legendary and mysterious card game that is not particularly popular in the UK. The only thing you really need to know about Baccarat is that it’s all luck, there are only 3 bets you can make, and you literally cannot play better or worse than the world’s best Baccarat players.
From what bets you can make to how hands are scored, Baccarat is very different to Blackjack and other popular card games. This quick Baccarat guide covers all the things you need to know to get started straight away.
Baccarat rules
Baccarat is a surprisingly simple table game with only 3 possible bets to choose from, and a relatively quick method for deciding who wins. Here’s how to play Baccarat in a nutshell:
- Baccarat is played with a single deck of cards, and suits do not matter at all.
- There are 2 hands, one called PLAYER and one called BANKER.
- You can bet on either hand, or bet on the Tie option.
- Baccarat has a unique scoring system, the hand closest to 9 wins.
- The dealer will play both hands to their conclusion and settle bets.
Baccarat bets and payouts
In roulette, there are hundreds of different betting options, but in Baccarat there are only 3 possible bets and as you can see, the typical baccarat payout is double your money:
| Outcome | Payout odds |
| Player | 1 to 1 |
| Banker | 1 to 1 (minus 5% commission) |
| Tie | 8 to 1 |
Baccarat card values
Before you play, it’s important to know the value of each card in the deck, as Baccarat has its own scoring system.
To figure out what each hand is worth, you need to add up the values of each card from the image below. For hands worth 10 or more, you drop the first digit, so King-6 would be 6, not 16. It sounds like a weird thing to do, but you’ll get used to it!
We’re not done yet though. You don’t just compare the Player and Banker scores and see who wins. That would be too easy! Baccarat has various rules for what happens next. I’d never call you a dummy, but here’s the How To Play Baccarat For Dummies version:
- If the Player and Banker hands are the same, it’s a Tie. No extra cards here, just a quick 8 to 1 payout for Tie bettors, and a Push for everyone else. No one loses!
- If either hand is 8 or 9, they win and the game is over. This is called a ‘natural 8 or 9’, and it’s as good as it gets. If one gets 8 and the other 9, the 9 wins.
- If either hand is 0 to 7, extra cards may be taken based on the Third Card Rule. Here is where Baccarat gets a bit more complicated.
Third card rule
I know I said Baccarat rules are straightforward and mostly they are. But that’s not true of this one. If a winner can’t be found after 2 cards are dealt, the Player hand gets played out using these rules:
After the Player draws or Stands, it’s the Banker’s turn. In simple terms, if the Banker hand is worth 0 to 4, they draw a third card too.
That’s an oversimplified version of how to play Baccarat when it comes to drawing 3rd cards. Here’s the actual table which decides if the Banker stands or draws. Don’t let it freak you out – the casino dealer (or online Baccarat software) will quickly follow these rules, you can just enjoy the ride.
FAQs
Baccarat is a card game that is much less well known than Blackjack, and it has a reputation for both being a high roller’s game, and being hard to play. But nothing can be further from the truth. It’s a game of pure luck with no skill involved, so it’s actually much easier to play than Blackjack. The rules take a little time to learn, but once you see a few hands of Baccarat in action, you’ll pick up the game quickly.
The house edge in Baccarat comes from the way the rules work. The Banker has a slightly better chance of winning each hand, so the game balances that out by paying out 5% less than the Player odds. You might think you are getting stiffed if you bet on Banker and win, but the probabilities for Player and Banker are different, and so therefore are the payout odds.
Once you’ve learned how to play from our Baccarat guide, you can play Baccarat online for as little as 20p per hand at PlayOJO’s Live Baccarat tables.
Baccarat rules are often viewed as harder to learn the learning blackjack, but the rules are actually pretty simple. Watch a game of Live Baccarat for a while and you’ll quickly pick up how the game works. There are only 3 possible options to bet on, and each game lasts less than a minute. So it doesn’t take long at all to get familiar with the game of Baccarat.
As a Baccarat player, your goal is to predict which hand will get closer to 9, or to bet on a Tie if you think that’s what will happen.
Baccarat is a game of chance with zero skill whatsoever, but there are some useful Baccarat tips that ensure you get more for you money and have more fun when you play online. Another tip we always give beginners is to play safely.
