How to Play Baccarat Online: A Beginner’s Guide
Baccarat - you’ve seen it played in movie scenes before but you probably could never put a name to it! Well, once you’re done reading this easy guide, you’ll know everything there is to know about how to play baccarat! Just leave it up to us and our beginner’s guide to baccarat online to bring you up to speed about this popular live casino option!
What are the Baccarat Rules?
Pronounced as BA - KUH - RAA, this live casino game is simpler than it’s typically made out to be. At the beginning of each round, the players must place their bets. You will most commonly bet on these outcomes:
The player(s) have a better hand
The banker has a better hand
Tie
These terms can be misleading to any beginner who’s still coming to terms with how baccarat works. It’s important to understand that players are not betting against each other. Instead, there are three outcomes which everyone can place their bets on.
Once the betting time closes, the dealer draws four cards (two for the player’s hand and two for the banker’s). Some interesting rules apply now. If the player’s hand has a value up to 5, the dealer draws a third card.
The value of this card is then used to decide whether the dealer should also draw another card for the banker.
If, on the other hand, the player’s hand has a value of 6 or 7, no further cards are drawn. The rule of thumb is that the dealer will not draw more than three cards.
Did you know: The earliest form of baccarat is known as ‘Chemin De Fer’. Appropriately named after the French word for ‘railroad’, Chemin De Fer is a very high-paced game in which the players take turns playing the ‘Banker’. In this game, the dealer sets out a stake at the beginning of each round. The player who matches the stake or bets the highest stake at the table, receives two cards. If their hand exceeds 9, the dealer pays everyone at the table, while if it is lower than 8, the dealer collects all the wagers. Live Baccarat is more commonly based on a variant by the name of Punto Banco or Mini-Baccarat. This version of the game is far more straightforward to play and goes by the name ‘Baccarat’ online.
Baccarat Third Card Rules
While there’s no need for you to memorize the baccarat third card rules, it might be helpful to get an idea of when the third card is dealt so that you can get a better understanding of how baccarat works.
As we’ve mentioned before, the player gets a third card whenever the hand value is short of 6. Once the third card has been added to the Player’s Hand value, the dealer can go on to determine whether the Banker’s Hand also needs a third card. The baccarat chart is the best way to visualize this:
The dealer first looks for the value of the third card in the top row of the chart. Next, he will look for the value of the banker’s hand in the left column. Tracing their finger horizontally from the left column and vertically from the top row, the dealer should land on a box labelled as: D or S. Each abbreviation represents the following move:
- D - Draw
- S - Stand
If the chart says to Draw, then the dealer draws a third card for the Banker’s Hand. If, on the other hand, it says to Stand - no further cards are dealt and the dealer moves on to settle any bets.
What Are the Baccarat Card Values?
Played with anywhere from six to eight decks of cards, every card in baccarat holds a different value. This is something well worth getting familiar with when learning how to play baccarat as it will help you understand the game better.
Just like your typical card game, baccarat is played with multiple shuffled decks of 52 cards containing:
- 13 Clubs
- 13 Diamonds
- 13 Hearts
- 13 Spades
Each suit has an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Jack, and cards ranked 2 to 10. Once the four initial cards have been dealt, the value of the Player’s Hand and Banker’s Hand is calculated as found below:
- Ace - 1 point
- King, Queen, Jack, and 10 - 0 points
- 2 - 9 - the corresponding number of points
Understanding Hand Value in Baccarat
Looking at the above chart, you may have noticed that in baccarat it is possible to have a hand value of 0. This may easily occur if a hand only includes 10s, Jacks, Queens, or Kings. More commonly, though, this happens because a hand has a higher value than 9.
As a matter of fact, in baccarat, when a hand value exceeds 9, the first digit is dropped. Therefore, if a hand is made up of a Jack (0), a Nine of Spades (9), and Ace (1) - the hand value adds up to 10 but because of the rule we just explained, the first digit is dropped and the hand is worth 0.
Did you know: In this game, a hand value of 0 is considered to be a ‘baccarat’. Unlike in blackjack, where the game is named after the highest hand in the game, baccarat is named after its weakest hand.
How to Win in Baccarat?
The key to how to win in baccarat is to bet on the hand you believe will get closest to 9. Hand values of 8 and 9 are considered to be a natural in baccarat. This means they automatically win the round. That is unless paired against each other. In this case, a 9 always beats an 8.
Although you’re betting for the same outcome, it’s important to know that the Player’s Hand and the Banker’s Hand have a slightly different payout. While both bets pay even money (1:1), the commission can be different. Apart from betting on the Player’s Hand and the Banker’s Hand, you may also choose to bet on the possibility of a Tie. This bet pays 8:1 and is won when the Player’s Hand and Banker’s Hand are equal in value.
Did you know: Although most baccarat tables charge the player a commission on the Banker’s Hand, No Commission Baccarat pays both hands even money, with one exception. If the Banker wins with a 6, then it pays 0.5:1.
Baccarat Chips
You probably don’t need to know how to play baccarat in order to understand that chips are used to represent your bet at the table. Once the betting window opens, your chips will appear at the bottom of your screen. Each chip is purposefully given a different colour in order to represent a unique bet value. While memorizing these colours may help you place your bets more quickly, it is good to know that chip values may vary from one provider to another. Therefore, it is recommended that you verify the value of each chip before placing your bets.
Why Play Baccarat Online?
Part of the allure of an online casino is that you can play your favourite games from the comfort of your home. But there’s more to this than meets the eye! Playing online can bring a whole new dimension to your most beloved games. Take live baccarat, for example. Connecting you with a top-class troupe of live dealers, our baccarat tables also offer incredible features and extra bets, which you would never be able to find at a land-based casino!
Scorecards (Aka. Roadmaps)
If you’re a person who likes to play strategically, the scorecards at the bottom of our baccarat tables may come in handy. These scorecards represent the outcomes and trends recorded from previous rounds of the game. These are colour-coded for easier recognition:
- Blue Circle - Win from the Player’s Hand
- Red Circle - Win from the Banker’s Hand
- Green Circle - Win from Tie
You may notice two different types of scorecards on your screen. The scorecard on the left more commonly shows what is known as the Bead Road. In the Bead Road, the earliest win is listed on the top left corner. Every new result is listed in the following slot of the same column. Once a column reaches its end, the next score is recorded at the top of the adjacent column.
On the right-hand side, you’ll see the Big Road. Unlike the former scorecard, the Big Road lists winning streaks. Therefore, each column represents a consecutive win from a particular bet. Again, this should be read from the top left corner, downwards.
Chat Feature
We always pride ourselves on hosting a nurturing and fun environment at our live tables. For this reason, we encourage you to use our chat feature to socialize with fellow players as well as our friendly dealers. Simply click the speech bubble on your screen to spark a conversation!
Play Baccarat At LeoVegas Live Casino
This baccarat guide isn’t all work and no play! If you’ve read everything through and through, you should now have a good grasp of how to play baccarat. When you feel ready, join one of our baccarat tables and start to practice!
If this is your first time playing baccarat, we recommend you play Punto Banco to get a better idea of how the game is structured without the added pressure of time restrictions. Then, when you’re ready to jump head-first into the exhilarating world of live casino, make sure to check out Live Baccarat Lobby to be spoilt for choice by our lavish offering!