Baccarat

Are you looking for a game with a low house edge and easy to play? If so baccarat may be an ideal game for you. The house edge on the best bet is only 1.07% and playing is almost as simple as betting on the toss of a coin.

Procedure of Play
Baccarat is played in a snooty roped off area to separate itself from the other games. The players are usually very well dressed and the table minimums are often high. The regular baccarat table is about the size of a craps table with 3 casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. Each player, including the player dealing, may still bet on either the player or the banker but it is customary for the dealer to bet on the banker.
The deal will rotate around the table, much like the dice rotate around the craps table. If a player does not want to deal they may pass the shoe to the next player. The same person will keep dealing as long as the banker keeps winning. The person dealing will put two cards, face down, tucked under the shoe, and give the player with the greatest bet on the player the other two cards, face down. This player then looks at the cards and then gives them back to the player who is dealing. Then the player who is dealing will turn over the cards and one of the casino dealers will announce the totals. Depending on the totals the dealer may then instruct the person dealing the cards to deal a third card. Finally the dealers will pay winning wagers and collect losing ones out of the dealer's tray. The player who actually deals is not assuming any financial responsibility of the other players bets, unlike pai gow, and is just turning over cards.

The Rules
Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards. Each numbered card less than ten is worth its face value, aces are worth 1, and tens and face cards are worth 0. The suit does not matter.
Play begins by all players betting either on the 'player', 'banker', or a tie. I put player and banker in quotes because that is the correct terminology but they do not necessarily represent the dealer or the actual players.
After all bets are down the dealer gives two cards each to the player and the banker. The score of the hand is the right digit of the total of the cards. For example if the two cards were an 8 and 7, then the total would be 15, and the score would be a 5. The scores will always range from 0 to 9 and it is impossible to bust.
A third card may or may not be dealt to either or both the player and the dealer depending on the following rules.
If either the player or the banker has a total of an 8 or a 9 they both stand. This rule overrides all other rules.
If the player's total is 5 or less then the player hits, otherwise the player stands.
If the player stands, then the banker hits on a total of 5 or less. If the player does hit then use the chart below to determine if the banker hits (H) or stands (S).
Banker's
Score Player's Third Card
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
7 S S S S S S S S S S
6 S S S S S S H H S S
5 S S S S H H H H S S
4 S S H H H H H H S S
3 H H H H H H H H S H
2 H H H H H H H H H H
1 H H H H H H H H H H
0 H H H H H H H H H H
The score of the player and dealer are compared, the winner is the one which is greater. Winning bets on the banker pay 19 to 20 (or even money less a 5% commission), winning bets on the player pay 1 to 1, winning bets on a tie usually pay 8 to 1.
You may wonder how the dealer collects the 5% commission on winning banker bets. If they did so every hand it would involve a lot of change and slow down the game. To avoid this during the course of play the dealer will pay even money to winning banker bets and consider the 5% an IOU. As the dealer plays through an eight deck shoe he/she will keep track of the commissions every player owes. At the end of the shoe or when a player wants to leave mid-shoe the dealer will collect on the commissions. Make sure you don't run out of money with outstanding commissions.

The House Edge
Except for the tie bet, baccarat is one of the best bets in the casino. The following table shows the house edge on all available bets. Usually a tie will pay 8:1 but sometimes will pay 9:1.
Probabilities in 8-deck Baccarat
Bet Combinations Probability House
Edge
Bank 2,292,252,566,437,888 45.86% 1.06%
Player 2,230,518,282,592,256 44.62% 1.24%
Tie 475,627,426,473,216 9.52% 14.36%
Note: If the tie bet pays 9:1 the house edge on that bet drops to 4.80%.

One and Six Deck Baccarat
Real Time Gaming online casinos offer a six-deck baccarat game, and Microgaming online casinos offer a single deck game. The fewer the decks the lower the house edge on the banker bet and the greater the house edge on the player and tie bets. The following tables show the specific numbers.
Probabilities in 6-deck Baccarat
Bet Combinations Probability House
Edge
Bank 403,095,751,234,560 45.87% 1.06%
Player 392,220,492,728,832 44.63% 1.24%
Tie 83,552,962,932,288 9.51% 14.44%

Probabilities in single deck Baccarat
Bet Combinations Probability House
Edge
Bank 6,737,232,640 45.96% 1.01%
Player 6,548,674,432 44.68% 1.29%
Tie 1,372,227,328 9.36% 15.75%

Riding Trends
Every baccarat table will have plenty of scorecards and pencils for the players to keep track of the outcome of every hand. Most players will do so religiously and carefully analyze their card for trends as the winning hand switches back and forth from the banker to player. This is a big waste of time! The smart player will bet on the banker every time and leave the scorecards alone.
Where to Play Baccarat
Baccarat is becoming a hard game to find. In Las Vegas only the largest casinos generally offer the game. Of the four megacasinos at the intersection of Tropicana and the Strip (MGM Grand, New York New York, the Excalibur, and the Tropicana) only the MGM Grand offers the game. In downtown Las Vegas only the Golden Nugget offers the game and only on weekend evenings. Many places that do offer the game only deal it at night (the Luxor and Hard Rock for example).
The table minimum is usually very high. During my last Vegas trip I inquired about the minimums at the MGM Grand: one table was $500, one was $1000, and another was a private game. A sign at the baccarat room at the Stardust indicates they have a $25 minimum game (nights only) which is the least I have ever seen. I believe the Las Vegas Hilton has a $100 minimum.

The Silver Legacy in Reno offers big table baccarat in the main casino for a $10 minimum. While I was there nobody was playing other than myself.

Mini-Baccarat
Are the baccarat minimums too high for you? Then you may want to try mini-baccarat. The rules and house edge are the same but the minimum is usually only $5 or $10. Unlike regular baccarat with its player participation and unique decorum mini-baccarat is played at a blackjack size table where the dealer controls everything. The pace of mini-baccarat is very fast, it would not surprise me if more were bet per hour at a $10 mini-baccarat table than a $25 regular baccarat table. Without the atmosphere of the big baccarat table it is my opinion that mini-baccarat loses its charm and is reduced to a redundant and boring game. It is not surprising to me that mini-baccarat is one of the least popular table games in any casino.
Commission Free Baccarat
The Atlantic City Hilton offers a version of the banker bet in baccarat which pays even money but only wins 1:2 odds on a winning total of 6. The house edge on the banker bet is 1.623%. As usual gimmicks do not pay as well as the regular game, and this game is no exception.

Practice Mini-Baccarat for Free
Go to our Free Games section.
Appendices
Appendix 1 indicates the number of combinations of every combination of banker and player scores.
Appendix 2 explores the topic of card counting in baccarat.

Appendix 3 displays the probability of each possible outcome given the banker and player total after the first four cards are dealt.