How to remember baccarat rules: the short version

In "How to remember baccarat rules?", the key is the order in which cards are drawn. Baccarat looks formal and plays simply: two hands, called player and banker, are dealt, and the bettor backs one of them or a tie. Nobody at the table makes a decision about drawing, because a fixed rule decides whether each hand takes a third card. Knowing the point values and that rule makes every round easy to follow, from the first card to the result.

When the player stands, the banker follows the same rule as the player: draw on five or less, stand on six or seven. When the player has drawn, the banker's decision depends on its own total and on the value of the player's third card. A banker total of two or less always draws, seven always stands, and totals from three to six draw only against certain third cards. A printed table sets out each case.

Cards from two to nine count at face value, aces count one, and tens and picture cards count nothing. A hand's total is the last digit of the sum, so a seven and an eight make five. The highest possible total is nine. Two cards totalling eight or nine are a natural, and a natural on either side ends the round at once with no further cards drawn. The hand closer to nine wins the round.

Baccarat tables display scoreboards, often called roads, that record the result of every recent round in grids of coloured marks. Many players read patterns into them and bet on streaks continuing or breaking. Each round is dealt from a shoe that does not remember the last one, so the boards describe the past and predict nothing. They are useful for following a table, and harmless as long as no betting plan rests on them.

Further questions

How does the banker decide whether to draw?

If the player stood, banker draws on five or less; otherwise banker always draws on two or less, stands on seven, and between three and six follows a printed table.

What is each card worth in baccarat?

Twos through nines keep their face value, aces are worth one, and tens along with picture cards score nothing, so a seven and an eight make five.

What happens to player and banker bets on a tie?

A tie usually pays eight to one on the tie box, and at most tables bets on player or banker are handed back rather than lost.

When does the player hand take a third card?

The player hand draws on any total from zero to five and stands on six or seven, a rule that stays the same at every table.

Can baccarat scoreboards predict the next result?

No: the roads only record past rounds in coloured marks, and since the shoe has no memory of earlier hands they forecast nothing.

Why is a fee charged on winning banker bets?

The banker hand wins slightly more often than the player hand, so a winning banker bet pays even money minus a small commission.