How to Play Baccarat | The Complete Beginner’s Guide for 2023

Are you a beginner to online gambling and want to learn how to play baccarat and win? Then you’re in the right place! This classic casino card game has been around for centuries and continues to be a casino staple in both land-based casinos, as well as online. It’s a game that is easy to learn and simple to play, which makes it a particularly good game for beginners. We will show you step by step how to play baccarat online so you can play confidently and win.  

The Game of Baccarat

As we mentioned already, baccarat is very easy to learn. What makes it especially simple is that there is little to no strategy required so beginners have as much chance of a win as more experienced players. This is the ultimate game of luck and chance because the rules predetermine the moves that are available to the player. The only decision the player really makes is whether to bet on the player, the banker, or a tie. This will become clearer in the next section. 

The benefits of playing baccarat don’t stop there. There are more incentives for learning how to play baccarat game that apply to not only beginner players, but also more experienced players as well. One is that baccarat has some of the best odds in the casino. Furthermore, the house edge is very low, the payouts are good, the win frequency can be high, and the return to player percentage (RTP) is also fairly high. These factors are just some of the reasons why every player should learn and know how to play baccarat card game.  

How to Play Baccarat – Rules

Whether you want to learn how to play baccarat in casino or online, the game is the same. Once you learn the rules of how to play, you can apply it to every baccarat game you play! 

To start off, each round of the game is known as a ‘coup’.  Before a coup begins, the player will place their bet on the player’s hand winning, the banker’s hand winning, or a tie. The payouts for the player hand and the banker hand winning are both 1:1. However, the house edges are different. In a game of baccarat played with six decks, the house edge is 1.24% for the player’s hand winning and 1.06% for the banker’s hand winning. As for a tie, the payout is 8:1 but the house edge is 14.44%.  

Once bets are placed, the coup begins, and the dealer will deal out two cards per hand face up for each player and himself. The totals of each hand are added together with a goal of reaching 9 or the closest to it as possible.  

Different cards hold different values, see below: 

• Face cards and 10’s are counted as zero 
• Aces are counted as one 
• All other cards are counted as their value 

If the total of a hand comes out to 8 or 9, then this is called a ‘natural’ and that hand wins. At this point, the coup is over, and bets are paid out. If both dealer and player have a hand with the same total of 8 or 9, then it is a tie. The coup is over and bets are paid out.  

However, If the total of a hand comes out to ten or above, then it is subtracted by 10 and the difference is the final total. For example, say the player’s hand was dealt a 9 and a 3, which totals to 12. Then 10 is subtracted from that to get a total of 2. In the same round, the dealer’s hand was dealt a 7 and a 3, which totals 10. If 10 is subtracted by 10, then we get a total of 0.  

With these totals, then the predetermined rules come into play that say whether a third card is drawn for the player, dealer, or both. No hand will ever have more than three cards. In a land-based casino, these rules are usually available at the table and the same is true in online casinos.  

Let’s use the example from above. The player’s hand is always consulted first before the dealer. Since the player has a total of 2, let’s consult the rules that will determine whether a third card is drawn or not.  

The rules state that if the player’s hand totals: 

• 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, then a third card is drawn and the values totaled again 
• 6 or 7, then it stands and no additional card is drawn 

For the dealer’s hand, the rules are a bit more complicated. If the player’s hand stood and a third card was not drawn, then the rules are the same for the dealer’s hand: 

• If total is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, then a third card must be drawn and values totaled again 
• If total is 6 or 7, then it stands and no additional card is drawn 

However, if the player did draw third card, then the rules are the following for the dealer’s hand: 

• If the total is 0, 1, or 2, then a third card must be drawn 
• If the total is 3, 4, 5, or 6, then the decision to draw or stand depends on the third card that was drawn for the player’s hand 
• If the total is 7, then it must stand 

Ready to Play

Pretty simple, right? Sure, the rules can get a bit complex when it comes to the dealer’s hand but that’s why the handy chart is made readily available. There are no surprises here and no memorization required for the rules of the game. Players know exactly what to expect and can rest easy knowing that there is a process that baccarat follows. Just place your bets and the rest is a piece of cake. Try out the game, either free demo or real money, and find out for yourself why gamblers love baccarat! 

FAQ: How to Play Online Baccarat?