Baccarat Rules: How to Play Baccarat

When playing baccarat, 2 hands (the bank and the player) play against each other. You, as the player do not have to bet only on the player hand, but are also allowed to put your money on the Bank (but will have to pay a commission when betting on the bank and winning).

At the beginning of each game, both hands (Player and Bank) get at least 2 cards, but no more than 3, with the goal being to get as close to 9 as possible, which means that it's somewhat like blackjack, with the exception that one cannot bust for going over 9. Should one player have more than 9, the last digit of the hand value will count.

Hand values will be calculated using the following values for each card. Face cards (Jack, Queen and King), as well as the 10 have no value, Aces count as 1, and the cards 2 to 9 count at face value. Should you, for example, have an 8 and a Jack, you have a hand value of 8. Should you have a 7 and a 9, you have a hand value of 16, which counts in baccarat as 6.

After the first 2 cards are dealt, should the player of the bank have a hand valued at 8 or 9, it's called a "Natural" and no more cards are dealt. The hand closer to 9 wins the game. Should both hands have the same value, the game is tied and you will get your original bet back, unless you bet on the tie, in which case you win.

Should neither the player nor the bank have a natural, a third-card might be drawn, according to the following rules:

~ If the player's hand value is less than or equal to 5, the Player draws a third card.

~ Should the player not draw a third card (because he has a hand value of 6 or 7), the Bank will stand when having a hand value of 6 or more, and draw a third card when the hand value is 5 or less.

If the player does draw a third card, then the following third-card rules for the Bank will determine if the Bank also draws a third card or not:
~ If the bank's hand value is 2 or less, the Bank draws a third card, regardless of what the player's third card was.
~ If the bank's total is 3, the bank draws a third card unless the player's third card was an 8.
~ If the bank's hand value is 4, the bank draws a third card unless the player's third card was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.
~ If the bank's total is 5, the bank draws a third card if the player's third card was 4, 5, 6, or 7.
~ If the bank's total is 6, the bank draws a third card if the player's third card was a 6 or 7.
~ If the bank's hand value is 7, the bank stands regardless of what the player's third card was.

Now, you know the basic rules of baccarat and should feel comfortable playing this game after some practise at one of our recommended internet casinos. For more information about the best strategy when playing baccarat in order to minimize the edge of the casino, visit the baccarat strategy section of this website. If you just want to play baccarat, visit our internet casinos section to find a great online casino to play baccarat online. For baccarat, we don't recommend a particular gambling software, as the rules are the same at all online casinos.