baccarat

Baccarat is a casino card game in which players bet on which of two hands, the Player or Banker, will total closest to nine. The game originated in Italy in the 15th century and was refined in France as chemin de fer and banque. In modern casinos, the most common version is Punto Banco, also called American Baccarat, which typically uses eight decks shuffled together.

The objective is to achieve a hand total as close to nine as possible. Card values are simple: aces count as one, cards 2 through 9 count at their face value, and tens and face cards count zero. If the total exceeds nine, the tens digit is dropped (for example, 7 plus 8 equals 15, counted as 5). A natural occurs when the initial two-card hands total eight or nine, ending the round immediately.

Two hands are dealt: the Player hand and the Banker hand. The hands are dealt according to fixed drawing rules. If either hand has a natural, no further cards are drawn. Otherwise, a third card may be drawn for the Player according to its rules, followed by a card for the Banker based on its own rules and the Player’s third card.

Bets are placed on Player, Banker, or Tie. In Punto Banco, the Banker bet generally has the lowest house edge, especially when a commission is paid on Banker wins (commonly 5%). Player bets have a slightly higher house edge, and Tie bets carry a much higher house edge and are less favored by players. Variants include Chemin de Fer, in which players may act as the Banker, and Baccarat Banque, which centralizes the Banker role in a single player or house bank.

Baccarat is widely offered online and in land-based casinos and is noted for its relatively simple rules and steady house edge with Banker bets.