How to Play Baccarat: Baccarat Rules Explained

Baccarat is one of the most straightforward casino games that requires minimal skill. It's the perfect game for Canadian players who love fast-paced card games without having to learn plenty of complex rules. Perhaps only Roulette in Canada has as simple rules as Baccarat, which is one of the main reasons why Baccarat remains so popular at Canadian online casinos.

In this guide, we'll go over the major aspects of Baccarat's rules. Starting with card evaluation, the game's objective, and the actions the player and the banker can take. To wrap things up, we'll cover some key terms to help even beginners start playing Baccarat in Canada with confidence.

What is Baccarat?

Baccarat, also known as "Baccara", is a casino card game. The simple gameplay involves comparing cards between the player's hand and the banker's. Each Baccarat "coup" (the term for a round) has three potential outcomes:

• Player (Player's hand is better),
• Banker (Banker's hand is better),
• Tie.

Online Baccarat Rules Explained for Canadians

For this guide, we'll focus on the Punto Banco Baccarat variation, which is the most common version played at Canadian online casinos and often just called standard baccarat.

It's important to remember that Baccarat is a game of chance, so your odds of winning are fundamentally limited by luck. However, there are still smart strategies, like avoiding the tie bet, that can help you play more effectively at Baccarat tables across Canada.

How to Play Baccarat: The Basics

The Baccarat gameplay rules are quite simple. All you need to remember when playing online in Canada is:

• You, as the player, always make a bet on what you think the outcome of the game will be. There are three betting options generally available:

  • Betting on a "Player" win.
  • Betting on a "Banker" win.
  • Betting on a "Tie" between Player and Banker.
• The dealer shuffles the cards and deals two cards face down to both the Player and the Banker.
• If neither hand is a "natural" (an automatic win with an initial score of 8 or 9), the game proceeds based on specific drawing rules.
• The main objective in Baccarat is to have a hand value totalling as close to 9 as possible. This is the highest achievable score.

Statistics for online Baccarat in Canada show that the Banker's hand wins approximately 45.8% of the time, the Player's hand wins about 44.6%, and the remaining 9.6% are Ties.

Card Values in Baccarat

As stated in Baccarat card game rules, cards have point values as follows:

• Ace - 1
• Numbered Cards 2 to 9 - Face Value
• 10, J, Q, K - 0

The hand values in Baccarat are based only on the last digit of the card's value. As an example, if a player is dealt with a 6 and 9, the sum is 15, so the hand value is 5, which is the last digit of the number.

Stands and Draws

Draws (Hit) and Stands are the only possible actions that can be taken in a Baccarat Game. Draw, which is more popular in the Baccarat world as Hit, is when the player wants to be dealt an additional card, making the total count of cards 3.

If the player chooses to stand, it’s an indication that no more cards are required, so the intention is to proceed with the current value of their hand.

The Baccarat card game rules for hitting and standing are different for the banker and the player’s hands.

Rules for Player’s Hand

How the game proceeds is determined by the player’s hand, as the Banker’s actions may vary depending on the player’s decision to stand or draw.

• If the player is dealt with a total of 6 or 7, he stands.
• If the player gets 5 or less, a third card is drawn.

Rules for Banker’s Hand

The rules for Banker’s Hand are more complex, as the action is strongly dependent on how the player played his hand.

If the player stands, the banker follows the same rules as for the player’s hand. But, if the player has drawn a third hard, the banker’s rules become quite harder.

• If the banker's total is 7, he stands all the time,
• If the banker's total is 6, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 6 or 7,
• If the banker's total is 5, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 4,5,6 or 7,
• If the banker's total is 4, he draws if the third card dealt to the player is a 2, 4, 5, 6, or 7.
• If the banker's total is 3, he draws in all cases, except if the player's third card is an 8,
• If the banker's total is 2, he draws all the time.

All these baccarat third card rules will be handled by the dealer, but it’s always good for the player to keep them in mind.

Benefits of Playing Online Baccarat

Baccarat was and will remain one of the most popular online casino games that players can enjoy playing. There are a lot of reasons for that, but let’s take a look at one of the most essential ones.

Advantages

• Rules of baccarat at top online casino sites can be easily learned,
• There are plenty of generous bonus offers related to playing online baccarat,
• The Baccarat online game can be played simply at any online casino,
• Many variations of the baccarat card game can be found in online casinos,
• Baccarat has one of the lowest house edges among table games,
• When playing the baccarat game online, the bettor controls his bankroll,
• Playing online bacarat is completely free.

Disadvantages

• On most online baccarat tables, commissions on winning bets are charged,
• The banker’s rules are quite a lot, so it’s hard to remember,
• Baccarat tables can be rigged if played in not licensed online casinos,
• Baccarat is a game of luck, so it’s hard to influence the outcome of hands,
• The potential payouts of the best bankers' and players' bets are not so great.

Conclusion

Baccarat is the table game with the easiest rules to learn, but also with the lowest house edge. So, it comes as no surprise that the game is that popular nowadays, and more players want to enjoy it. With all these baccarat rules explained, every player can start playing this simple game online immediately.

It’s always good to keep in mind that, no matter whether the rules of baccarat card games are simple, it’s still a chance game, so the chances of winning cannot be increased that much.