Baccarat rules explained

Baccarat is a sophisticated and simple casino game. Baccarat is a cards game played with a regular 52-cards deck. Baccarat is a game of chance only, no skills are required. Unlike what most people think, baccarat rules are very easy to learn. The rules of baccarat are rather unknown by the great public because baccarat doesn’t enjoy the popularity of games as roulette, blackjack and poker. On this page we have explained all baccarat rules for those who are interested in the beautiful game of baccarat. Besides the game rules we also added some baccarat background information in this article.

Baccarat history

Baccarat is an age-old casino game. It is believed that baccarat was introduced in the beginning of the 15th century. The French and the Italian both claim to the introduction of the game, this issue never was solved and probably it will never be solved. Baccarat means zero in Italian and also in French. In the beginning baccarat was played with tarot cards.

Baccarat is also mentioned as basset or faro, synonymous who are currently not used anymore. There a 3 variants of the baccarat game, each with its own rules. The baccarat game as we know it by now is called ‘Punto Banco’ or ‘North American baccarat’

Baccarat game rules explained

As said, baccarat rules are easy to understand. Baccarat doesn’t require any skills or tactics, it’s a game of chance only. Baccarat requires very little from the player, all he or she has to do is choose one out of the following three outcomes:

• Tie
• Banker / dealer wins
• Player wins

Players place their bets on the Banker, Player or Tie section on the table. After placing their bets, the game begins. The player and dealer are given two cards each. When the player or the dealer has 8 or 9 points, the game is finished. Following the rules, the hand with the most points win (the closest to 9) if the payer or dealer hasn't got 8 or 9 points, a final card is drawn.

The player:

• Draws a 3rd card If his 2-card total is less than 5
• Draws no extra card if his 2-card total values 8 or 9
• When the player doesn't draw a 3rd card, the dealer will only draw a 3rd card if the total of his 2-cards is not higher than 5.

If the player does draw a 3rd card, the dealer will draw a 3rd card if:

• His cards value 2 or less
• His cards value 3 and the 3rd card of the player isn't a 8
• His cards value 4 and the 3rd card of the player isn't a 0/1/8/9
• His cards value 5 and the players 3rd card is a 4/5/6/7
• His cards value 6 and the players 3rd card is a 6/7

If the dealer's cards value 7, the dealer stands.

Payout:

• A wager on the player will pay even money (1 to 1)
• A Wager on the dealer will pay even money minus 5% tax
• A wager on a tie pays 8:1
• At a draw the wager will be refunded.

Reading our baccarat rules should be enough to play baccarat successfully online. Visit our game rules section for more game rules explained. We wish you all the luck of the world when playing baccarat online.