Baccarat is a card game where you bet on which of two hands, Player or Banker, will total closer to nine, or on a tie. The rules are short, but the choice of bet and the version of the game you play both affect how each round is paid.
If you are looking for baccarat at MrJones Casino, you probably want to know which versions exist, how the bets are paid and what to check before you join a table. The sections below cover those points in order.
Common baccarat variants
The common variants are Punto Banco, Speed Baccarat, Lightning Baccarat, No Commission Baccarat and Mini Baccarat. Punto Banco is the standard version in most casinos, and its rules decide when a third card is drawn for each hand. Speed Baccarat and Lightning Baccarat keep the same core rules but are played at a faster pace. No Commission Baccarat removes the commission charged on Banker wins, and Mini Baccarat is played on a smaller table.
The main providers of baccarat games are Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Playtech and NetEnt. Versions and providers can differ between casinos, so check the game details before you join.
How baccarat is played
Each round deals two hands of two cards, and a third card may be dealt to either hand under fixed rules. Cards from 2 to 9 count at face value, 10 and picture cards count as zero, and an ace counts as one. Only the last digit of a hand's total counts, so a total of 15 becomes 5.
The hand closest to nine wins. A tie is a draw between Player and Banker. A Player win pays even money, a Banker win usually pays slightly less because of the commission on it in Punto Banco, and a Tie bet pays at higher odds but usually loses more often. Each bet has a fixed house edge set by the rules of the variant you play.
Most tables use several decks of 52 cards, shuffled before play. Betting systems such as Martingale, where you double the stake after each loss, do not change the odds. Each round is independent, so the result of the last hand does not affect the next one.
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RNG baccarat and live dealer tables
RNG baccarat runs on a random number generator. Each round is dealt by software in seconds, with no dealer and no waiting for other players.
Live baccarat is dealt by a real dealer from a physical shoe, and you see the cards on a camera stream. The rules are usually the same as the RNG version, but live tables move at the pace of the dealer and the betting window is set by the table. For live dealer games in general, see our live casino guide.
Practical tips before you play
Learn the three bets before you sit down. Player, Banker and Tie each have their own payout and house edge, and the choice between them matters more than anything else you decide at the table.
Set a budget and a time limit before you start, and choose a stake you can afford to lose. Stop when the budget is gone, and do not raise your bets to chase losses. Results are random, so no earlier hand predicts the next one. The safer gambling page explains the limit tools available.
