Baccarat is a card game where you bet on which of two hands, Player or Banker, will finish closest to 9, or on a tie. You make no decisions after betting, because the cards are drawn by fixed rules. The best bet is Banker, with a house edge of about 1.06% after the usual 5% commission. The Tie bet is the worst, at about 14.4%.
Those two numbers are the heart of baccarat. This guide explains how a hand is counted and drawn using New Jersey’s public casino rule, then gives win probabilities and house edges from our own simulation of 300 million hands from an eight-deck shoe.
How do you play baccarat: what is the goal?
You bet on one of three outcomes: Player, Banker or Tie. Two hands are dealt, and the hand whose total is closest to 9 wins. “Player” and “Banker” are only names for the two hands. You are not the Player and the casino is not the Banker, and you can bet on either one.
Card values under N.J.A.C. 13:47-20.20 are simple:
- 2 to 9: face value.
- 10, jack, queen, king: zero.
- Ace: one.
A hand’s total is the last digit of the sum of its cards. A 7 and a 6 make 13, which counts as 3. A hand can never go above 9, so there is no bust.
How does a round of baccarat work?
The dealer deals two cards to each hand, and the rules decide whether either hand receives a third card. You only bet and watch.
- Bet. Place your chips on Player, Banker or Tie.
- Deal. Two cards go to Player and two to Banker.
- Natural check. If either hand totals 8 or 9, that is a natural. No more cards are dealt and the higher total wins.
- Player’s third card. If there is no natural, Player draws a third card on a total of 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
- Banker’s third card. Banker’s decision depends on Banker’s total and on Player’s third card, as in the table below.
- Settle. The higher total wins. Equal totals are a tie.
Casinos must use at least six decks according to the New Jersey rule, and eight is common, so the cards are dealt from a shoe.
When does the banker draw a third card?
Banker follows a fixed table. If Player stood, Banker draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. If Player drew a third card, the table depends on the value of that card.
| Banker’s total | Banker draws if Player’s third card is | Banker stands if Player’s third card is |
|---|---|---|
| 0, 1 or 2 | Any | Never |
| 3 | 0 to 7 or 9 | 8 |
| 4 | 2 to 7 | 0, 1, 8 or 9 |
| 5 | 4 to 7 | 0 to 3, 8 or 9 |
| 6 | 6 or 7 | 0 to 5, 8 or 9 |
| 7 | Never | Any |
The table is why you cannot play baccarat “better.” The dealer follows it every time, so your only choices are what to bet on and how much.
What do baccarat bets pay?
New Jersey’s rule gives the payouts: winning Player bets are paid even money, winning Tie bets are paid 8 to 1, and the dealer collects a five percent commission on all winning Banker bets. The commission exists because Banker wins slightly more often than Player.
| Bet | Pays | Probability of winning |
|---|---|---|
| Player | 1 to 1 | 44.6% |
| Banker | 1 to 1, less 5% commission | 45.9% |
| Tie | 8 to 1 | 9.5% |
Because ties push Player and Banker bets, you neither win nor lose when a tie lands.
What are the odds in baccarat?
Banker is the cheapest bet even after the commission, and Tie is the most expensive. We calculated each edge from the simulated win rates and the New Jersey payouts. The margin of error is well under 0.01 percentage points.
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Banker (5% commission) | about 1.06% |
| Player | about 1.24% |
| Tie (pays 8 to 1) | about 14.4% |
| Banker (4% commission, where offered) | about 0.60% |
Three points matter. Banker beats Player by only 0.18 percentage points, so the choice is close but consistent. The Tie bet loses about $14.40 for every $100 staked on average, more than ten times the cost of Banker. And a lower commission, where offered, cuts the Banker edge nearly in half, so look at the posted rate.
What does a hand look like in practice?
Two worked rounds show how the rules fit together. In the first, Player is dealt a 7 and a king, which is 7, and Banker is dealt a 4 and a 3, which is also 7. Neither hand is a natural, Player stands on 7, and Banker stands on 7. It is a tie, and Tie bets are paid 8 to 1.
In the second, Player holds a 2 and a 3, a total of 5, so Player must draw. The third card is a 6, bringing Player to 1 (the total is 11, so only the last digit counts). Banker holds a 5 and a king, a total of 5. With a Banker 5 and a Player third card of 6, the table says to draw. Banker draws a 2 and ends on 7, which beats Player’s 1. Banker wins, and a winning Banker bet of $100 pays $95 after the commission.
Neither player nor bettor made a decision after the bet. This is why baccarat is quick to learn and why the choice at the start is the only one that matters.
Why does Banker win more often than Player?
Banker wins about 45.9% of hands and Player about 44.6%. The gap comes from the drawing table. Banker acts second, so Banker sees Player’s third card before deciding whether to draw. That small information advantage is built into the rules, and it is the reason the casino charges commission on Banker wins.
The commission does not remove the advantage. After 5% is taken, Banker still has a lower house edge than Player, 1.06% against 1.24%. Where the commission is 4%, the Banker edge falls to about 0.60%. The Tie bet sits apart from both: a tie lands about 9.5% of the time, but 8 to 1 is well below the fair payout for those odds.
Does a baccarat pattern help you win?
No. Baccarat tables often display score sheets or road maps of past results, and some players follow streaks. The cards are shuffled and each round is dealt from a shoe where earlier results change the odds only by tiny amounts. No betting pattern changes the house edge.
The same goes for betting systems that raise the stake after a loss. Every bet carries its own edge, so a bigger bet loses a bigger expected amount. A system only changes how quickly your money can move, in either direction.
What are the most common baccarat mistakes?
Most mistakes in baccarat are about price, not strategy. The common ones:
- Betting the Tie. It looks like a good payout but costs about 14.4%.
- Forgetting the commission. It is deducted from every winning Banker bet, so a $100 win pays $95.
- Chasing streaks on the road map. The next hand does not remember the last.
- Playing too fast. A table can deal many hands an hour, and the expected loss builds with every bet.
- Ignoring table minimums. Check the minimum bet before you sit, because it sets how fast a session spends money.
What does baccarat really cost to play?
Baccarat costs the house edge times the total amount you bet. A player who bets $50 on Banker for 100 hands wagers $5,000 and expects to lose about $53, because 1.06% of $5,000 is $53. On Player the expected loss is about $62, and on Tie it is about $720.
These are averages. In a real session the result can differ widely, and a bad run can cost much more. Set a limit before you play and stop when you reach it. Our guide to setting a gambling budget and time limit shows how, and the Safer play toolkit lists tools and support. If gambling is causing harm, visit our get help page.
Check that a game is legal and licensed where you live before you play.
Where should you go next?
If you want a game with more decisions, blackjack rewards good play with a lower edge. If you want to see why dice odds are exact, read our craps guide. For a card game with no house, try Texas Hold’em with friends, though money stakes are still real money.