HOW TO PLAY PUNTO BANCO
Punto Banco, or Baccarat as it’s sometimes called is played and loved in casinos all over the world. Exciting and full of intrigue, it’s simple to learn.
Here’s how to play.
PICK YOUR WINNING HAND
Choose your table and take a seat. You’re betting on the winner of a hand of cards. The winner is the one with a hand closer to the total of 9 points.
You can choose to bet on the Player to win or the Banker. There’s also a third option, which is a Tie – also called Egalite.
If you choose a Tie, you’ll win when both hands have
an equal value and there are no more cards to play.
It’s that simple.
REMEMBER CARD VALUES
Aces are worth 1 point. The other cards keep their own values. But a ten, a Jack, King or Queen is worth 0 points.
Once the cards are dealt, the total of the hand is calculated by adding up the value of the cards. The dealer will announce the total. If it’s over ten, only the second digit is counted as the value of the hand single. So if the player draws a 6 and an 8, the total is 14. But as the ten is discounted only the 4 is recognised
and counted as the total.
DECIDE ON YOUR STRATEGY
Before the game gets going you need to choose Player, Banker or Tie to win. Place your chips on the box next to your choice. There’s no strategy to this really. It’s a gut feeling, or maybe you’ve had a lucky run and want to keep choosing that hand.
It’s up to you and your lucky vibe.
IT’S GAME ON!
Once you’ve placed your bet the dealer will initially deal four cards. The first and third goes to the Player and the second and fourth goes to the Banker. Whether each hand gets a third card from the dealer all depends on the first two – but we’ll get to that in a moment.
The dealer will turn the cards face up and announce the points total of each hand.
THE ‘NATURAL’ WIN
If the first two cards dealt to the Player or the Banker have a total of 8 or 9 it’s a natural win. The game is over and if you’re lucky you can claim your winnings.
THE THIRD-CARD-RULE FOR THE PLAYER
If the Player’s total is 6 or 7, they have to ‘stand’. This means that no new cards are drawn for the Player.
If the Banker’s total is 6 or 7 the Banker stands as well and the game is over. The hand with a total that’s closest to 9 wins and the bets are paid off at even money.
THE THIRD-CARD-RULE FOR THE BANKER
This is where it gets a bit tricky. If the Player’s total is 5 or less, the Player will be dealt a third card.
The card determines whether the Banker can also draw a third card. This is called the Banker’s third-card-rule.
We’ll take you through it but the best bit is that you’ll never have to remember this as the dealer takes care of it all. You can just sit back and enjoy the game.
THE RULE
- If the Player’s third card is 9, ten, face-card or an Ace, the Banker can draw a third card if their total is 3 or less. If it’s 4 to 7 points they must stand.
- If the Player’s third card is 8, the Banker can draw a card only if they have 2 or less. Anything from 3 to 7, they must stand.
- If the Player’s third card is 6 or 7, the Banker can draw if they have 6 points or less, but must stand if they have 7 points.
- If the Player’s third card is 4 or 5, the Banker draws a card if they have 5 or less, but must stand if they have a 6 or a 7.
- Finally, if the Player’s third card is 2 or 3, the Banker can draw a card if they have 4 or less. If they have 5, 6 or 7, they must stand.
LUCKY DRAW?
When all the cards are dealt, the winning hand is the one with the total number of points closest to 9.
There are different pay outs for the Player and the Banker. If the final total is a Tie, then bets are paid out at another rate. If you bet on either of the other two outcomes in a Tie win, you don’t lose your stakes. Feeling lucky? Let’s get playing.