Punto Banco

One variation of baccarat is known as Punto Banco, or North American baccarat. This version is played in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Australia, and Macau. In this version the game is banked by the casino the entire time. Players have the option of betting either on the banker or on the player and these are simply designations for the two hands that are dealt in the game, not actual players.

The cards are dealt one at a time and face down, first to the player then to the banker. Then, this is repeated. The first deal only has two cards. Then, both of the cards in each hand will be turned over and then added together. The croupier will announce the total for each hand, like “eight to the player and four to the banker” or however the hands turn out. From this point the table of play is used to decide if more cards need to be drawn or not. Depending on the scores of the two hands a single card may be drawn by the player and/or banker or else they may stay. The hand that has the highest total is the hand that wins.

Should either the banker or the player have an initial deal that scores 8 or 9, which is a natural, then there is no need to draw further cards. If that is not the case, then the play will carry out as described below:

If the player has a score of 0-5 then a single card may be drawn by the player. The player will stand if his initial score is 6 or 7.

The banker’s hand determines how the banker plays as does whether or not a card was drawn by the player and if a card was drawn what that card was. For example, if no card was drawn by the player then the banker will stand if he has a score of 6 or 7, but he will draw a card if he scores anywhere from 0-5.

If the player drew a card and that card was a 2 or a 3 then the banker will draw if his score is 0-4, but if his score is 5-7 he will stay. If the player drew a card that was 4 or 5 then the banker will draw if his score is 0-5 and he will stand if his score is 6-7. Should the player draw a 6 or 7 then the banker will only draw if he has a score of 0-6 but he will stand if his score is 7. Should the player draw an 8 then the banker will only draw if his score is 0-2 and if he has a score of 3-7 he will stand. If a face card, 9, 10, or ace was drawn by the player then the banker will draw if he has a score of 0-3 and if he has a 4-7 he will stand.

Obviously, the way the dealer plays depends on many factors and the croupier will always deal the cards based on the tableau so the game is played correctly. Once a winning hand has been reached the croupier will announce it. He will either say “player” or “banker.” The winning bets will be paid out to the winners based on the house rules and the losing bets will be collected.

In general, even money is played to the player, which is 1-1 and the banker is paid 95% with a 5% commission going to the house. Some casinos will pay even money to both players except in the case of the banker winning with a 6. In this case the banker will be paid at 50% or at half of the original bet. In this case, the house edge is 1.46% on the banker. The house edge on the player and the tie is the same as with commission baccarat.

A the end of the hand if the player and banker have the same score then the croupier will proclaim that the hands are a tie. Tie bets are paid at 8 to 1 and the bets on the player and the banker will stay active and in place for the next game. Depending on the casino rules the players may choose to retract their bets or keep them in place. In some instances there is no option other than to keep the bids in play.