After the first four cards, the dealer checks for a natural — a two-card 8 or 9 in either hand. If there is one, nobody draws. Otherwise the Player hand is settled first, by its own total, and then the Banker hand, by its total and the Player's third card. The two charts below are the whole rulebook; hover or tap any cell to have it spelled out.
Player
Banker
Watch the rules in actionAt the table, the bar under the cards names the rule behind every draw. This link opens it at a slower dealing speed.
Play baccaratPractice drill
Test yourself. You'll see the first four cards of a coup; say whether the hand in question draws or stands. If the Player draws, its third card is dealt and the question moves to the Banker. On a keyboard, use D and S.
How to read the charts
The Player chart needs only the Player's two-card total: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7, and an 8 or 9 is a natural. The Banker chart has a row for each Banker total and a column for each possible Player third card. The first column, Stood, is for coups where the Player didn't draw — then the Banker follows the same 0–5 rule as the Player.
Two details catch people out. First, a natural in either hand stops both: a Player 2 facing a Banker natural 8 doesn't get a third card. Second, the Player's third card is read by its baccarat value, so a king counts as 0 in the Banker chart, not 10.
Remembering the Banker rule
- 0, 1 or 2: the Banker always draws.
- 3: draws unless the Player's third card is an 8.
- 4: draws against 2 through 7.
- 5: draws against 4 through 7.
- 6: draws against 6 or 7 — and only if the Player drew at all.
- 7: always stands.
From 4 upwards the pattern is a window that always ends at 7 and starts two higher with each Banker total: 2–7, then 4–7, then 6–7.
Why the Banker rule looks the way it does
The Player's rule ignores the other hand completely. The Banker's doesn't: the Player's third card is a clue to what the Player now holds, and the tableau uses that clue. It is essentially how a careful banker played in older games such as Chemin de fer, where the banker had a choice, written down as fixed rules.
That extra information is the whole reason Banker wins more coups than Player — about 45.9% against 44.6% — and why winning Banker bets pay a commission. The odds page has the full numbers.
Other kinds of baccarat
The rules on this page are Punto Banco's, used in casinos from Las Vegas to Macau, and also in mini baccarat (a smaller table with lower limits where the dealer turns every card) and midi baccarat. On a big high-limit table the players often handle and squeeze the cards themselves, but the drawing rules are exactly the same.
Older games give players a real choice. In Chemin de fer the bank passes around the table and a player holding 5 may choose to draw or stand, while the banker has some freedom too; Baccarat banque works in a similar way with a permanent bank. Punto Banco removed every decision, which is why the tableau can be printed as a chart.
Is there any strategy?
Only in what you bet. The drawing rules play both hands, so the one decision left is where to put your chips — and the answer is that Banker has the lowest house edge, Player is close behind, and Tie and the pair bets cost far more. See baccarat odds and house edge for every bet compared.