If you’ve been looking around this site for a while, you’re probably interested in learning about baccarat rules. Baccarat rules are really quite simple, so just go through a make-believe hand and show you that way. There is something quite unique about baccarat that many people don’t know, and that is that it’s the only card game in the casino where the players get a chance to deal the cards. The dealing of the cards simply progresses around the table, starting at the #1 seat, and so on. But baccarat rules aren’t so strict that you are absolutely required to deal when it’s your turn. You’re perfectly welcome to pass the “shoe” to the next player, who is then referred to as the Banker, while dealing. The shoe stays with the banker until the banker’s hand loses, at which point it’s simply passed to the next person in line. This style of play can add a certain camaraderie to the game with the feeling that you’re all in it together, not you against the dealer, as in Blackjack.
The list of baccarat rules is really quite short, and there are only 3 ways to bet, so it’s a very simple game to learn. The basic premise behind baccarat is that two hands are dealt (the player and the banker), and whoever gets closest to 9 points in their hand, without going over, wins. Here already talked about the tie bet on my baccarat tips page, but suffice it to say that this is a bad bet to make. The odds are generally around 8 or 9 to 1 because it’s such a rare occurrence. Anyway, this page is about baccarat rules, not how to bet, so get on with the sequence of events in a typical baccarat hand now.
According to standard baccarat rules, there are only two hands in play at a time, even when the table is full (14 players max. per table). Even if you’re not directly involved in the current hand, you may still place bets on who you think will win, so there’s not a long wait between betting opportunities. To start a baccarat hand, the banker will deal 4 cards, the 1st card goes to the player, the 2nd card goes to the banker (him/herself), the 3rd card goes to the player and the 4th card goes to the banker again. The player may then check their cards and make a decision about whether to take another. Standard baccarat rules state that the winning hand is the one that comes closest to 9 points. The points associated with the cards go like this: the non-face cards (except the 10’s) count their value in points, including the Ace, which is worth 1. The 10’s and face cards all count 0. So if you are dealt a Queen and a 3, your points equal 3. In other words, if the total is over 10, just take away the 1 from your total, and you’ll have the actually point value of your hand. Everywhere you go, baccarat rules will generally go as follows, as far as what happens after the first 4 cards are dealt:
No hand may contain more than 3 cards, so you’ll only get one more card if you want it.
If the banker or the player has a point total of 8 or 9 with their initial two cards, no more cards will be dealt to either hand.
The player must take another card if they have 5 or less, and must stand if they have 6 or 7.
