Baccarat Guide - Rules and Strategies

The objective of Baccarat is to draw a two or three card hand that has a numerical value closer that is closer to 9 than the banker's hand. In this game, any player can be appointed "the banker", including you.

In versions where you bet on the outcome of the game, you are given the choice of either betting on the banker's hand winning, the player's hand wining or that the two hands will tie.

If you are betting on the outcome of the game, the hand you bet on wins you win one to one, meaning that if you bet $20 dollars you win $20.

If you bet that the game will be a tie, then your bet pays of eight to one. So if you bet $20 then you will win $160.

If you are asked to be a player, banker or a dealer in the game, there is a little more then you are not betting on the outcome, you are playing to win the game by holding a hand that is the closest to the numerical value of nine.

The game begins with the dealer dealing two cards to the player and the banker.

Below is a breakdown of the value of the cards.

Numbered cards have a numerical value that equals their face value

10, Jack, Queen and King count as 0 points

Ace counts as 1 point

There is a caveat to the game as well. If the value of your cards is more than 10, you are allowed to subtract 10 points so that your hand is equal to less than 9. So hand of two 8s totals 6 (after subtracting 10 from 16)

If the first two cards dealt to a hand totals 8 or 9 points then the hand is declared a "natural" and automatically wins the game. If the total is not a natural win on either hand, another card is drawn for each player. The second dealing of the cards determines the winner.

If the numerical value of the cards you draw is less than five then you automatically ask the banker to "hit me." You will be dealt another card. The banker also automatically draws a card according to these rules:

If the banker's hand totals less than 2 points, the banker always draws a third card.

If the banker's hand totals 3: banker draws again if your third card is one of the following face values: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9 or 0.

If the banker's hand totals 4 the banker draws again from the deck if your third card is 2-3-4-5-6 or 7.

If the banker's hand totals 5 the banker draws if your third card is 4-5-6 or 7.

When the banker's hand totals 6, the banker draws if your third card is 6 or7.

When the banker's hand totals 7, the banker stands and does not draw another card.

After all of the cards are dealt, the player or banker with the total closest to nine wins...

It is always good to know the rules of any game before you play, but one convenience of playing baccarat online is that the computer gaming software does a lot of calculating and reminding for you so you know when to stand or draw another card.

Remember that some sites do not necessarily ask you to be a banker or player. Many sites also ask you to bet on the outcome of the game.