Welcome to baccarat: how to play

Lesson 1 of 24 · Foundations · 4 min

Two hands, three bets, no decisions after you bet.

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Baccarat (say "bah-kah-RAH") is one of the simplest games in the casino, and one of the cheapest to play. The version almost every casino deals is called Punto Banco, and that's what this app teaches.

The dealer deals two hands. One is called Player and the other Banker. Those are just names. You aren't the Player, and the casino isn't the Banker. Before the cards come out, you bet on the hand you think will win:

• Player pays 1 to 1: bet $10, win $10.
• Banker pays 1 to 1, minus a 5% commission: bet $10, win $9.50.
• Tie (both hands end equal) pays 8 to 1: bet $10, win $80.

Then the dealer deals and the hand plays itself. Each hand gets two cards, sometimes a third, and the hand closer to 9 wins. Whether a hand takes a third card is decided by a fixed rule, never by you or the dealer. You'll learn that rule in chapter 2, but you never have to apply it at a real table. It's still worth knowing, because it explains everything else: why Banker wins more often, why it pays a commission, and why so many side bets exist.

So where's the strategy? It's in which bet you make, at which table, and how much. The bets have very different prices. This course shows the exact price of each one before you bet, so you can choose with your eyes open.

Open this lesson in baccaratton — free, play money