Baccarat Rules

Overview
Baccarat is one of the easiest games in all of gambling to learn and requires little practice or skill for participants to be successful at winning. Players simply wager on which of two hands of cards adds up to or comes closest to 9.

Gaming Items
8 standard 52-card decks Shoe – Container where playing cards are drawn from. Baccarat table.

Players and Personnel
Dealer – Monitors all betting and handles all payoffs. One to Fifteen players.

Object of the Game
Players simply wager on which of two hands of cards (The “Player” or the “Banker” hand) adds up to or comes closest to 9.

Basic Rules of Play
The “Player” hand and the “Banker” hand are drawn from 8 standard 52-card decks that have been shuffled together and placed in the “Shoe.” Cards one and three go to the “Player” hand while cards two and four make up the “Banker” hand. Each hand starts with a minimum of two cards and can never have more than three cards. Traditionally, one of the participants at the table deals the cards. Dealing, however, is optional and a player may choose to pass the cards along to another. The winning hand is the hand that adds up to or comes closest to a total of 9 points. Participants win even money (i.e double there original bet) when the “Player” hand wins. Those who bet the “Bank” win even money, as well. However, there is a 5% commission charged on winning “Banker” bets. The “Bank” has a slight advantage in the way that the cards are drawn, therefore, this commission is charged. Players can also bet on a “Tie” game that generally pays out 8:1.

Rules for the “Player” and “Banker” hands
During play, there are a number of strict rules that apply to the cards total point values drawn for both the “Player” and “Banker” hands.

“Player” Rules

The “Player” hand total point value is:	The “Player” hand must:
1,2,3,4,5 or 0	Draw a third card
6 or 7	Stand with two cards
8 or 9	Stand with two cards

“Banker” Rules

“Banker” hand value is:	“Banker” draws a card when the “Player’s” third card is a:	Does not draw when “Players” third card is:
3	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,0	8
4	2,3,4,5,6,7	1,8,9,0
5	4,5,6,7	1,2,3,8,9,0
6	6,7	1,2,3,4,5,8,9,0
7		Stands with two cards
8		Stands with two cards

Card Values
Cards numbered 1 through 9 count at face value.
10s and face cards count as zero points.
Aces count as one point.

If the cards in either the “Player” hand or the “Banker” hand add up to a two-digit number, only the last digit counts. Ex. A hand holding a 7 and a 9 adds up to 16. This hands value is 6.