Initially two hands are dealt. One to the baccarat player, one for the banker. The simplicity of baccarat rules is, you can bet on either one or the other, or a tie. If the hand you bet on wins, you get an even money payoff, that's one to one. If you bet 5 and win, you get your 5 back, and another 5. If you bet on a tie, you get an 8 to 1 payoff (bet 5 get 5 plus 40). This is of course because a tie occurs less than once out of every ten hands, making it quite a gamble.

Each hand gets two initial cards. The hand closest to 9 wins. Tens and face cards (except the ace) count as zero. The ace counts as one, and cards 2 through 9 are worth face value. Baccarat rules state that the hand closest to a count of 9 wins. There is no "bust" as in poker, and here is the tricky part. The first digit of a 2 digit total is dropped. This means, if a 6 and a 7 are drawn, the total is 13, but the first digit is dropped, so the count is 3.

If the first two cards achieve a count of 8 or 9 it is called a "natural", and as such wins automatically (excluding the event of a tie of equal valued "naturals").

If neither initial hand is a natural, additional cards are drawn to determine a winner. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. This is of course because there is more of a chance for a banker win.

What's interesting, and what you wont learn from reading any standard baccarat rules pages, is that even after the 5% house commission, there is still an advantage to betting on the house. The margin is slim at 0.19%, but it does exist.

All bets are made before the cards are dealt. In real life baccarat each player gets the chance to deal if they want to, or they have the option of passing to the next player.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our page on baccarat rules.