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The objective of baccarat is for the players to correctly guess which of three possible propositions will win on the next round: Bank, Player, or Tie. Two cards are dealt to the Bank hand and two cards are dealt to the Player hand. Sometimes a third card is dealt to either or both hands.
Whichever hand is closest to nine is the winner. The game is usually dealt from a six- or eight-deck shoe. All tens, jacks, queens and kings equal zero. The ace equals one. All the other cards equal their face value. Thus a nine equals nine, a two equals two and so forth.
After the Bank and Player hands have received two cards it is possible that either or both might need to draw an extra card. The rules for drawing cards are predetermined and essentially irrelevant since the players do not get to make any decisions. Regardless of whether a card is drawn, at the end of the deal, the hand that totals nine or closest to nine wins.
A winning Player hand is paid off at one to one. Thus, if you bet ten dollars, you win ten dollars. A winning Bank hand is paid off at .95 to one.
This means that if you bet ten dollars, you win $9.50. Another way to look at the Bank wager is to consider it a one-to-one payout minus a five percent commission on winning bets. This commission is collected after the shoe is finished. The Tie hand is paid at eight to one. Thus a winning tie bet of $10 will return $80. If you bet on either Bank or Player and the Tie wins, you do not lose your bet. It is a push.
The Tie bet has a 14.1 percent edge in favor of the casino. The house has a 1.36 percent edge on the Player bet and a 1.17 percent edge on the Bank bet when the bank charges a five percent commission.
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