How to Play Baccarat: Rules, Bets and House Edge

Baccarat is a card game in which players bet on which of two hands, the Player or the Banker, will finish closer to a total of 9, or on a Tie. The player never draws cards or makes decisions after placing the bet: the dealer deals both hands and follows fixed drawing rules. A winning Player bet pays 1 to 1, a winning Banker bet pays 1 to 1 minus a 5% commission at most standard tables, and a Tie typically pays 8 to 1.

That simplicity is part of the appeal, but the three bets are not equal. Under standard eight-deck rules, the Banker bet has a house edge of 1.06%, the Player bet 1.24%, and the Tie bet paying 8 to 1 a much higher 14.36%. The names are labels for the two hands, not people, and betting on Banker does not mean betting on the casino.

This guide explains how card values work, how a round is played, what each bet pays, how the commission works, and which mistakes to avoid. Rules that differ between tables are flagged.

The Basic Rules of Baccarat

Two hands are dealt in every round: the Player hand and the Banker hand. The goal is to bet on the hand whose total will be closest to 9, or on a Tie if both hands will finish equal. Both hands start with two cards, and each hand may receive a third card depending on its total.

Card values differ from other games. Aces count as 1, cards 2 through 9 count at face value, and 10s, jacks, queens and kings all count as 0. A hand’s total is the last digit of the sum of its cards. For example, 7 and 8 add up to 15, which counts as a total of 5, because only the final digit matters. A hand can therefore never exceed 9.

A first-two-card total of 8 or 9 is called a natural, and when either hand has a natural, both hands stand and the round ends. Otherwise the drawing rules decide whether a third card is dealt. Players do not need to memorize these rules, as the dealer handles every card automatically.

Baccarat is dealt from a shoe holding several decks, most often eight in standard punto banco. Tables come in a few formats, including mini-baccarat, which is played at a smaller table with a lower minimum bet, and the full-size big table. The rules and payouts are the same in principle, but speed and limits vary by casino. For background on why every bet carries a cost, see the house edge explained.

How a Round of Baccarat Works

A round begins when players place a bet on Player, Banker or Tie. The dealer then deals two cards to each hand, face up, and totals them. If either hand has a natural 8 or 9, the round ends immediately and the higher total wins. If the totals are equal, the result is a Tie.

The Player’s third card

If neither hand has a natural, the Player hand acts first. The Player hand draws a third card with a total of 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. The player at the table does not decide this, since the rule is fixed.

The Banker’s third card

The Banker rule is more detailed. If the Player hand stood, the Banker hand draws on a total of 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. If the Player hand drew a third card, the Banker’s decision depends on both the Banker’s total and the value of the Player’s third card, and it follows a fixed table that the dealer applies. After all cards are dealt, the hand closest to 9 wins, and the casino pays the bets.

A Tie returns the stake on Player and Banker bets, since a tied hand is a push for those bets. Only a bet placed on Tie wins or loses on that result. This is why a Tie bet is considered separately from the two main bets, not as a variation of them.

Worked Examples: A Third-Card Hand and a Banker Win

Suppose the Player hand receives 7♠ and 8♦, a sum of 15 and a total of 5. The Banker hand receives K♣ and 4♥, a total of 4. Neither hand has a natural, and the Player hand draws because its total is 0 to 5. It receives 3♦, so the new total is 5 + 3 = 8.

The Banker hand, with a total of 4 and facing a Player third card of 3, also draws under the standard table. It receives 2♠, so the Banker total is 4 + 2 = 6. The Player’s 8 beats the Banker’s 6, so a $10 Player bet wins $10 at 1 to 1, while a $10 Banker bet loses.

Now take a Banker win. The Banker hand receives 5♣ and 4♠ for a natural 9, while the Player hand receives K♠ and 7♦ for a total of 7. The round ends with no further cards. A $100 Banker bet wins, but the 5% commission is taken from the win, so the payout is $100 − $5 = $95. A $100 Player bet on the same round loses $100.

Baccarat Payouts and House Edge

Under standard eight-deck punto banco rules, the Banker hand wins about 45.86% of the time, the Player hand about 44.62%, and a Tie about 9.52%. Banker wins more often than Player, which is why the casino charges a 5% commission on Banker wins. Without it, the Banker bet would favor the player by about 1.24%.

The Tie payout varies by casino, so the sign at the table matters. A Tie bet paying 8 to 1 needs to win about 1 time in 9 (11.1%) to break even, yet it wins about 9.52% of the time, which is where the 14.36% edge comes from. At 9 to 1 the edge falls to 4.84%, still higher than either main bet. Some tables offer no-commission versions and side bets, and their rules and edges differ, so verify the rule and the payout before playing.

In money terms, $1,000 wagered on Banker costs about $10.60 on average, compared with about $12.40 on Player and about $143.60 on a Tie paying 8 to 1.

Common Baccarat Mistakes and Myths

The costliest habit is betting on the Tie because it pays 8 to 1. The large payout hides a house edge of 14.36%, more than ten times the cost of a Banker bet. A Tie wins occasionally, which feels rewarding, but the average cost per $100 wagered remains far above the main bets.

The second is reading the scorecard, the pad of recent results many tables display. Players trace streaks and patterns, but each hand is dealt from a shuffled shoe, so past results do not predict the next hand in any way a bettor can use. A pattern board describes history, not the future.

A third mistake is believing a betting system, such as raising stakes after a loss, can change the odds. Every system leaves the house edge exactly where it was, and only the size of the swings changes. Systems also run into table maximums and limited budgets.

A fourth is forgetting the commission. Winning Banker bets pay $95 on $100, not $100, and some players overlook the small deduction when tracking results. Finally, assuming “Banker always wins” confuses frequency with profit: Banker wins about 45.86% of hands, so most hands are not Banker wins.

What to Check at the Table

Before sitting down, read the table placard. Confirm the Banker commission, the Tie payout and the table minimum, and note whether the table is a mini, midi or big format. Some tables use no-commission rules, which change the payouts and the house edge, so the printed rules decide what applies.

Place chips in the correct betting area and wait for the dealer to run each hand. Players generally do not touch the cards unless a casino invites them to, since the dealer handles dealing in most formats. If unsure about a rule, ask the dealer before betting.

Finally, set a budget before the first hand and stop when it is spent. Choose the Banker or Player bet rather than the Tie if the aim is to keep the average cost low, and treat even those as the price of entertainment. No pattern or system turns baccarat into a way to make money.

What to Learn Next

Once the three bets are clear, the natural next step is to learn the third-card rules in full, since they explain exactly why Banker wins slightly more often than Player. The Banker drawing table is the most detailed rule in the game, though the dealer always applies it.

From there, readers can look at how the Banker commission works, how no-commission versions change the edge, and why scorecards and betting systems do not help. For the underlying math, the fundamentals of the house edge apply to every baccarat bet, and a comparison of baccarat with other table games makes the numbers easier to place in context.