Baccarat is a card game in which you bet on which of two hands, Banker or Player, will finish closer to 9, or on a tie. You make no decisions after the bet: the cards are drawn by fixed rules. That makes it one of the simplest casino games to learn and, on the Banker bet, one of the cheapest to play, with a house edge of 1.06% in the standard 8-deck game. This guide explains card values, the drawing rules, every main bet with its real odds, where the game came from and what actually helps when you play.
Some history
Baccarat’s origins are disputed. A popular story names an Italian gambler, Felix Falguiere, and dates the game to 15th-century Italy, where “baccara” means zero, the value of tens and face cards. An older legend about an Etruscan ritual with a nine-sided die is often repeated, but there is no evidence linking it to the card game. What is documented is that baccarat was played in France in the 19th century in two forms: chemin de fer, where players take turns to act as banker, and baccarat banque, where one banker plays against the table.
The version played in casinos today, punto banco, developed in Latin America, where the house banks the game and all draws follow fixed rules. It reached Las Vegas in the late 1950s, usually credited to Tommy Renzoni at the Sands. Baccarat kept its upmarket image partly through fiction: in Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953), Bond plays chemin de fer. In the decades since, the game has become the largest table game by revenue in Macau, where punto banco dominates the casino floors.
Where can you play it?
Online, baccarat comes in two forms. RNG baccarat is software with a demo mode in most casino lobbies, good for learning the flow. Live dealer baccarat streams a real dealer and real cards from a studio and is the more popular format: Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live and Playtech all run several table types. Our live dealer casinos page compares studios and limits, and our live dealer guide explains how the streams work.
Live formats you will meet include standard tables, Speed Baccarat with shorter betting windows, Squeeze tables where the dealer slowly reveals the cards, and multiplier games that add random boosts. Evolution states an RTP of 98.94% for Banker, 98.76% for Player and 85.64% for Tie at its Baccarat Squeeze table, which matches the standard 8-deck game.
Are there rules to follow?
Yes, but the dealer follows them, not you. First, card values:
- Aces count 1.
- Cards 2 to 9 count face value.
- Tens, jacks, queens and kings count 0.
- Only the last digit of a total counts: 7 + 8 = 15, which counts as 5.
Each hand starts with two cards. If either hand has 8 or 9 (a “natural”), both stand and the hand is settled. Otherwise, a third card may be drawn by these rules:
| Hand | Total | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Player | 0 to 5 | Draws a third card |
| Player | 6 or 7 | Stands |
| Banker (if Player stood) | 0 to 5 | Draws; stands on 6 or 7 |
| Banker 0, 1 or 2 | Any Player third card | Draws |
| Banker 3 | Player’s third card is anything except 8 | Draws (stands if it is 8) |
| Banker 4 | Player’s third card is 2 to 7 | Draws; otherwise stands |
| Banker 5 | Player’s third card is 4 to 7 | Draws; otherwise stands |
| Banker 6 | Player’s third card is 6 or 7 | Draws; otherwise stands |
| Banker 7 | Any | Stands |
You never need to memorise this table to play: the dealer or the software applies it. Knowing it simply explains why Banker wins slightly more often, since it acts with knowledge of the Player’s third card.
What do you bet?
Odds below are for the standard 8-deck game (Wizard of Odds).
| Bet | Pays | Wins (8 decks) | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1:1 minus 5% commission | 45.86% | 1.06% |
| Player | 1:1 | 44.62% | 1.24% |
| Tie | 8:1 | 9.52% | 14.36% |
| Tie (some tables) | 9:1 | 9.52% | 4.84% |
| Player Pair or Banker Pair | 11:1 | 7.47% | 10.36% |
| Banker, no-commission (6 pays half) | 1:1, or 1:2 on a Banker 6 | 45.86% | 1.46% |
| Banker, EZ Baccarat (three-card Banker 7 pushes) | 1:1, push on a three-card Banker 7 | 45.86% less the pushes | 1.02% |
| Dragon 7 (EZ Baccarat) | 40:1 | 2.25% | 7.61% |
No-commission games use one of two rules to replace the commission. Paying half on a Banker win with 6 costs you more than the 5% commission (1.46% against 1.06%). EZ Baccarat instead pushes a Banker win with a three-card 7, which costs slightly less (1.02%). Check which rule your table uses in the info panel. When the hand ties, Banker and Player bets push (your stake comes back). That is why the win rates above do not add up to 100% for those two bets.
How does the game go?
- Place your bet on Banker, Player or Tie, plus any side bets, before the timer ends.
- The deal: two cards each to Player and Banker, face up.
- Naturals: if either hand shows 8 or 9, the hand ends.
- Third cards: the drawing table above decides whether Player and then Banker take a third card.
- Settlement: the higher total wins. Banker wins pay even money minus 5% commission, Player wins even money, Tie 8:1.
A hand takes well under a minute at a live table and a few seconds in RNG baccarat. Speed matters for your budget: more hands an hour at the same stake means a higher hourly cost.
Are you a beginner? Here are some important tips for you
- Bet Banker by default. It has the lowest house edge on the table, even after commission.
- Avoid the Tie at 8:1. Its 14.36% edge makes it about 13 times as expensive as Banker. At 9:1 it is less bad but still several times the cost.
- Prefer standard commission tables over no-commission ones, which cost 1.46% on Banker instead of 1.06%.
- Ignore the roads. Big Road, Bead Plate and the other scorecards are records, not forecasts. Each hand is independent.
- Treat side bets as extras. Pair bets cost about ten times as much as Banker; Dragon 7 about seven times.
- Do not use baccarat to clear bonuses. Most casinos give it a low or zero wagering contribution, and many ban betting both sides.
- Size bets to your session. A stake of 1% to 2% of the session budget makes it last; betting systems such as Martingale do not change the edge.
- Use Speed tables with care. Faster rounds mean faster losses at the same edge.
Chemin de fer, baccarat banque and punto banco
The three classic forms share card values and the goal of 9, but differ in who banks and who decides.
- Chemin de fer: players take turns as banker, and the bank passes around the table. The player and the banker can sometimes choose whether to draw on a total of 5, so there is a little skill. The casino earns a commission on the bank’s winnings.
- Baccarat banque (à deux tableaux): one banker, often the house or a concession holder, plays against two player hands on either side of the table.
- Punto banco: the house banks every hand, all draws are fixed, and you choose only which hand to back. This is the game in almost every casino today and in every online lobby we have seen.
“Mini baccarat” is punto banco at a smaller table with lower limits and the dealer handling all the cards. Online RNG baccarat follows the same rules.
Baccarat terms you will see online
- Natural: a two-card total of 8 or 9; the hand ends at once.
- Commission (vig): the 5% the casino keeps from Banker wins.
- Shoe: the box holding the decks, usually 8 in live baccarat.
- Squeeze: slowly bending a card to reveal it, a ritual popular in Asian casinos and on live Squeeze tables.
- Roads: scorecards such as Big Road and Bead Plate that record previous results.
- Burn cards: cards discarded at the start of a shoe, a security habit that does not change the odds.
What a session costs: a worked example
Suppose you bet EUR 10 on Banker for an hour at a live table dealing about 70 hands. You stake EUR 700 in total, and at a 1.06% house edge the average cost is about EUR 7.40. Put the same EUR 10 on Tie every hand and the average cost rises to about EUR 100 an hour, with long losing runs between ties. A pattern-chasing player who switches between Banker and Player pays somewhere in between, around EUR 8, and gains nothing from the switching.
Baccarat swings are moderate on the main bets, because each hand is close to a coin flip. A run of five or six losses in a row is ordinary, not a sign that the table is “cold”.
Baccarat compared with other table games
| Game and bet | House edge | Player decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Baccarat, Banker | 1.06% | None after the bet |
| Blackjack, basic strategy, good rules | Roughly 0.3% to 0.6% | Every hand |
| European roulette | 2.70% | None after the bet |
| Baccarat, Tie at 8:1 | 14.36% | None after the bet |
For a game where decisions lower the edge further, read our blackjack guide. Our casino tips compare the cost of all the main games.
Play responsibly
Baccarat is for adults only: 18+ (higher in some countries). Its calm pace hides how quickly stakes add up, so set a deposit and loss limit before you sit down. Free help is available from the National Gambling Helpline (GamCare) on 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland or 0808 2819 265 in Wales, or Gambling Therapy internationally. Our responsible gambling page lists more tools.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best bet in baccarat?
The Banker bet. With 8 decks and a 5% commission on Banker wins its house edge is 1.06%, against 1.24% for Player. The Tie bet at 8:1 has a house edge of 14.36%.
Is baccarat a game of skill?
No. Once you have chosen your bet, the cards are dealt and drawn by fixed rules, and neither you nor the dealer makes any decision. The only choice that matters is which bet you make.
Why do casinos charge commission on the Banker bet?
The Banker hand acts last and wins slightly more often (about 45.9% of hands against 44.6% for Player with 8 decks). Without the 5% commission the Banker bet would give the player an edge.
What is no-commission baccarat?
A version that pays Banker wins at even money with no commission, except a Banker win with a total of 6, which pays half. That rule raises the Banker house edge to 1.46% with 8 decks, so it costs more than standard baccarat.
Do baccarat patterns and scorecards help?
No. The roads and scorecards record past results, but each hand is independent, so patterns do not predict the next one. They are there for entertainment.
What is the difference between punto banco and chemin de fer?
In punto banco, the version played in almost all casinos and online, the house banks the game and all draws are fixed. In chemin de fer, players take turns as banker and have limited choices about drawing a third card.