The coup
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Cheat sheet
- Natural: 8 or 9 on either side, nobody draws
- Player: draws on 0 to 5, stands on 6 or 7
- Banker 0 to 2: always draws
- Banker 3: draws unless the Player's third card is 8
- Banker 4: draws on 2 to 7
- Banker 5: draws on 4 to 7
- Banker 6: draws on 6 or 7
- Banker 7: stands
- Player stood: Banker draws on 0 to 5
Keys: D to draw, S to stand, P, B or T for the winner, 1 to 4 for totals, Enter for the next hand. These are the standard punto banco rules. Practice only: your score stays in this browser.
- Maths reviewed by Josh Miller
- Tested by Diana Westfield
This baccarat trainer is free and deals the cards for you, then pauses whenever the croupier would have to make a call. Player on 5, draw or stand? Banker on 4 and the Player just drew a 9, what now? You answer, and if you’ve got it wrong the bit of the rulebook that settles it pops up right there.
You never actually make these calls in a casino, of course. The croupier does it all by the book once the bets are down. But we know people who’ve played baccarat for years and still couldn’t tell you why the Banker took a card on 6, and following the game properly is a lot more fun than just waiting for someone to push chips your way.
Baccarat trainer: one coup at a time
Two cards each for Player and Banker. First you decide whether the Player takes a third card. Then, with that card on the table, whether the Banker draws. Then who wins. Keys D and S answer draw or stand, P, B and T call the winner, and Enter deals the next coup.
Switch the menu to “Banker third card” to skip straight to the hard part, or to “Hand totals” if you’re still getting used to tens counting as nothing. Nine plus six is 15, which in baccarat is a 5.
The baccarat third card rule
The Player side is easy: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7, and nobody draws if either side has a natural 8 or 9. Banker is the awkward one, since its decision hangs on the Player’s third card. Banker has 5 and the Player has just pulled a 3? Most people would say draw. Wrong, a Banker 5 only draws against a 4, 5, 6 or 7, so it stays put.
There is logic in it, even if it doesn’t feel that way. The Banker draws more when the Player’s third card suggests a weak hand and holds back when it suggests a strong one, and that small advantage is why Banker bets carry a 5% commission. Even with the commission, Banker is the slightly better bet at about 1.06% against 1.24% for Player.
Baccarat practice before you play
An hour of baccarat practice here and you’ll be calling the draws before the croupier does. When you want to see how the bets behave over a long shoe, the CasinoCalcs baccarat simulator plays thousands of hands, and the baccarat calculator has the odds and house edge for every bet, ties included. Dealers can practise the 19 to 20 Banker payout in the dealer payout trainer. More games are on the casino game trainers page.
Knowing the maths doesn’t remove the house edge. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.