Simple rule
If the Player hand totals five or less on the first two cards, draw a third. If it totals six or seven, stand. If it totals eight or nine, it's a natural and the hand is already over.
How a hand actually plays out
Baccarat looks complicated from the outside and is fairly simple once you sit down. Two hands get dealt. One has a higher total. You pick which one (or call a tie) before any card hits the felt. The dealer does the rest. Below is everything we wish someone had explained to us the first time.
If you only read one section
- i
Pick a side
Tap Player, Banker, or Tie. One bet per round, that's the rule everywhere. Tap a different one before you deal and it swaps over.
- ii
Set your stake
Use the minus and plus buttons. Ten points is the floor, five hundred the ceiling. Nothing here is real money. You start with a thousand and that number tops up if you ever empty the till.
- iii
Hit Deal
Two cards to Player, two to Banker, dealt one at a time. If the totals call for it, a third card joins. Then totals are compared, last digit only.
- iv
See the result
The higher total wins. Payouts post to your balance, the round count ticks up, and a coloured pip lands in the history strip. Hit New Round whenever you're ready.
Card values
The maths is kinder than poker
Every card carries a point value. You don't add suits, you don't track sequences, you don't care about colour except for telling hearts apart from diamonds at a glance. The total of a hand is just the sum of its cards, except you throw away the tens digit. So a seven and an eight (fifteen) become a five. A king and a queen (zero plus zero) become zero. Nine is the best possible total, zero is the worst, and most hands land somewhere in the middle.
If a hand totals eight or nine on the first two cards, that's a natural. The round freezes. No third card. Whoever has the higher natural wins, and if both sides go natural, the higher one takes it.
Worth what they say
- AOne point
- 2Two points
- 3Three points
- 4Four points
- 5Five points
- 6Six points
- 7Seven points
- 8Eight points
- 9Nine points
Worth nothing
- 10Zero
- JZero
- QZero
- KZero
Why Banker sometimes just stops
After the first four cards land, the rules check both hands. Sometimes a third card joins. Sometimes neither hand draws. You don't decide any of this, the dealer does, and at the table the script runs automatically. It feels arbitrary the first few times. It isn't. Here's the script.
The fiddly one
If Player stood, Banker plays the same simple rule (draw on five or under, stand on six or seven). If Player took a third card, Banker's decision depends on Banker's own total and on what Player's third card was. The table below is the whole truth.
Banker's draw chart (when Player took a third)
| Banker total | Player's 3rd card | Banker action |
|---|---|---|
| 0, 1, 2 | Anything | Draws |
| 3 | Anything except 8 | Draws |
| 3 | 8 | Stands |
| 4 | 2 through 7 | Draws |
| 4 | 0, 1, 8, 9 | Stands |
| 5 | 4 through 7 | Draws |
| 5 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 | Stands |
| 6 | 6 or 7 | Draws |
| 6 | Anything else | Stands |
| 7 | Anything | Stands |
Memorise it if you like. Most regulars don't. The table runs the script for you and the result is the same either way.
What the win actually pays
Three bets, three payouts. We pay even money on Player and Banker (no commission on Banker, since there's no money to commission), and we pay eight to one on Tie. A losing bet costs you the stake. A Tie returns your stake intact if you'd backed Player or Banker, since neither side technically won.
Bet 50, Player wins the hand, you collect 100 (your stake plus 50 in winnings). Losing costs you the 50.
Same maths. In casinos there's a five percent commission on Banker wins. We don't take one. There's nothing to take.
Bet 50, both hands finish on the same total, you collect 450. Ties are uncommon. They're worth the wait, when they happen.
Earning points
How the balance grows or shrinks
Points are the only currency here. You start with a thousand of them. Win, your balance climbs. Lose, it dips. The number is yours to watch. It doesn't connect to anything off-site, doesn't get logged anywhere meaningful, and can't be turned into anything but more rounds at the table.
If your balance ever drops below ten points (the smallest valid stake), the next New Round resets you back to a thousand. We'd rather you keep playing than stare at a useless number. Think of it as the lights flickering back on after a power cut.
Recent rounds appear in a little strip on the right of the table. Blue pip means Player won, red means Banker, green means Tie. Hover over a pip and you'll see the exact scores from that round.
A few quiet requests from us
Take your time
Nothing is timed. The dealer waits as long as you need to set a stake or pick a side. If a hand needs thinking about, think about it.
Walk away when bored
Close the tab. Don't hunt for a streak. The table is here whenever you come back. No one's tracking how often you visit.
Keep it grown-up
The age gate isn't decorative. If you're under eighteen this isn't for you. Same if you're somewhere local rules say it isn't.
Have a glass of water
Late nights at a candlelit card table, even a make-believe one, deserve a glass of water at some point. We're not your mother. Just a thought.
That's the lot. Sit down whenever.
The shoe's full, the candle's lit, and the dealer doesn't sleep.
Take a seat