Baccarat might not be a very common card game, but it’s definitely one of the easiest. Once you’ve played just a few rounds, you’ll understand the game perfectly.

However, to get a good understanding of the game, you must first learn the main rules of Baccarat. Below, we’ll explain the basic Baccarat rules you should know before you get a hand of cards dealt to you.

Card values

Perhaps the toughest part of the rules is to get used to the point values of all the cards.

All the numeric cards are equal to their face value, e.g. nines are worth 9 points. However, that rule applies only to the cards from two to nine. Tens, jacks, queens and kings have no value at all and aces are considered to be worth 1 point.

When the value of your hand is calculated, the points are added up and the actual value of your hand will be determined by the rightmost number of the points that got added up. For example, if you have a 5 and a 7, the value of your hand will be 2 as the rightmost digit of 12 is 1. The highest possible value can be 9.

Gameplay

The reason why baccarat is one of the easiest casino games is the fact there’s not much you have to do in order to win. In baccarat, your task is to bet on either the player, the banker or a possible tie. All you need to do is make the decision, place your bet and then sit back and watch how the game unfolds.

So in a way, there’s not much you can do to change the game in your favor. However, it’s useful to understand what’s exactly unfolding.

The game of baccarat gets kicked off when the dealer hands out two cards for the banker and two cards also for the player. The cards are then flipped to showcase the outcome and in some situations, a third card might be dealt. Some of those situations would be: 

• when the player’s hand is smaller than 5;
• when the banker’s hand is under 2;

When the player or the banker already have 8 or 9 in their hand, a third card won’t be dealt. And of course, the winner is the one who has a higher score in their hand.

Overall, you need to keep in mind 3 things:

• you can only bet on either the player, the banker or a tie;
• 2 cards will be dealt and in certain situations, a third card will be dealt;
• the winner is the one with more points.

Collecting your earnings

One aspect that makes baccarat a bit more strategic is the way winnings pay out. If you wager on the player, the winnings will be paid out 1:1.

However, bets made on the banker pay 19:20. The difference comes from the banker’s more advantageous position in the whole game.

Tie bet is the least profitable as the house edge is the highest: successfully placed tie bet pays 8 to 1 which makes the house edge a whopping 14%. Player bets and banker bets have an average 1% house edge so it’s always more useful to stick to player or banker bets, not to even mention that the odds for a tie occurring are significantly lower than the odds to win when betting on the player or the banker.

In conclusion, baccarat is an easy and entertaining card game that will definitely get your adrenaline pumping. Online baccarat and live baccarat offer the same delight as you can find from land-based casinos, so don’t be afraid to try your luck in online baccarat. What’s even better – you can play against a computer and refine your baccarat betting strategy before moving on to live-baccarat. Just choose your favorite online casino and let the wild game of baccarat begin!