Baccarat

How the Game Is Played

In Baccarat, no matter how many players are at the table, only two hands are dealt: the Player hand and the Banker hand. Players wager on the hand they predict will total closest to 9 (or they wager on a tie) by placing chips in the appropriate box on the table layout in front of their seat.

The act of placing a bet is the end of the player’s decision-making. The round is then played out according to a strict procedure involving no player choices. You could skip to Baccarat Payouts at this point and not be any worse off than someone who knows the Baccarat rules backwards and forwards. For the record, though, here is how a Baccarat hand plays out:

1.     Two cards are dealt face down to the Player hand, followed by two cards face down to the Banker hand. The dealer first reveals the Player hand, and then the Banker hand.

2.     The dealer assesses the current value of the hands. The value of a hand is determined as follows:

·          Tens and face cards count as zero.

·          Aces count as one.

·          Cards 2 through 9 count as their face value.

·          When a hand totals more than nine, the first digit is dropped: for example, a hand of a 9 and a 4 totals three, not 13. A hand of two 10s totals zero, not 20. This means that all hands have a value from 0 to 9.

3.     If either hand totals 8 or 9, it is called a natural, and the hand ends. If neither hand is a natural, the dealer then determines if either of the hands requires a third card based on the Baccarat drawing rules. No Baccarat hand ever has more than three cards.

4.     The dealer determines if the Player hand or Banker hand is closer to nine, or if they are tied. The dealer pays off winning bets according to Baccarat payout rules, and collects losing bets.

Baccarat Drawing Rules

The Baccarat drawing rules are a bit confusing, but the irony is that you don’t have to

know these rules to play the game! Essentially, though, the player hand hits on a total

of 5 or less, and the banker hand then hits or stands based on the value of the

player's third card. For the record, here are the details:

Baccarat

If either the Banker or Player hand is dealt an 8 or a 9 (a natural), the round ends. If not, the dealer first follows the rules on the Player Hand Drawing Chart, and then, if necessary, follows the Banker Hand Drawing Chart.

Player Hand Drawing Chart (No Naturals)

If the player total is…           …the player hand:               and the banker hand:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5                       draws a card.                         follows the Banker

 Hand Chart (below)

6 or 7                                       stands.                                  draws on 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 

5, stand on 6 or 7.

Round ends.

Banker Hand Drawing Rules (No Naturals)

If banker hand total is…      …the banker hand                …and the banker

draws when the                    hand stands when

player’s third card is:           the player’s third card is:

0, 1 or 2                                  …anything                             (never stands)

3                                              0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9             8

4                                              2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7                         0, 1, 8, 9

5                                               4, 5, 6, 7                                                 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9

6                                               6, 7                                         0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9

7                                              (never draws)                        …anything

Payoffs in Baccarat

Once the hand has played out, the dealer announces whether Player or Banker is the winner, or whether it was a tie.

·          Winning Player bets are paid off at even money.

·          Winning Banker bets are paid off at even money, and the house takes a 5% commission.

·          Winning Tie bets are paid off at 8-1, and all Player and Banker bets are a push (they neither win nor lose).       

The Banker hand is a bit more likely to win than the player hand, which is why the house takes the 5% commission on winning Banker bets. Taking the commission into account, the house edge is 1.24% on Player wagers, 1.06% on Banker wagers, and 14.36% on Tie wagers. Obviously, the Tie wager is a sucker bet that should be avoided unless you are clairvoyant, in which case, skip Baccarat altogether and play the lottery instead.

As for Banker vs. Player, you may be thinking, if the house edge is lower on the Banker bet, I should bet it every time, right? While it is true that the numbers support the Banker wager as the statistically better bet, the difference is slight. If you sit down at a Baccarat table and bet Banker all night, you are trading the fun of going with your gut and mixing it up a bit in exchange for a very small statistical gain.

Placing a Bet in Baccarat

At the beginning of each hand, you have the option to place a bet. If you make a bet, it must meet the minimum bet requirement, but not exceed the maximum bet limit.

Chips appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. To view all values of chips available, click the left and right arrow symbols.

To place a bet:

1              Click on the chips to add to or subtract from your intended bet.

·          To add money to the bet, click the left mouse button on the chip or chips you want to add.

·          To subtract money from the bet, click the right mouse button on the chip or chips you want to subtract.

·          To clear the bet, click on the eraser.

2              When you are satisfied with the amount of your bet, click on the type of bet you want to place: Player, Banker, or Tie. You can place as many bets as you like. When you are finished betting, click Done, and play will begin.

The Baccarat Scorecard

Like most casinos, Hoyle Casino offers Baccarat players a scorecard for tracking the Player and Banker wins. Many Baccarat players swear by various methods of tracking Player-Banker patterns to predict future outcomes. Unfortunately, there is no statistical basis for the notion of finding predictable patterns in the chaos of well-shuffled cards. The fact that most casinos provide a Baccarat scorecard should be any gambler's first clue that there is no advantage to doing it.

However, keeping score does add to the fun of Baccarat, and in Hoyle Casino, we keep score for you! To view you scorecard, click the scorecard next to your character.

Scorecard Notation

·          Wins are recorded in red, and losses are recorded in black.

·          The number used to record each Player and Banker result represents how many times that hand has won in the current shoe. This gives you a running total of Player and Banker wins at a glance.

·          Ties are recorded as dashes through the Player and Banker spaces.

·          When you sit out the hand, Player and Banker results are recorded in black with a circle around them. Tie results when you sit out are not circled.