The Game Rules of Punto Banco Baccarat
Punto Banco is a variation of baccarat and just like any baccarat game, it is played in a secluded area of the casino. The baccarat table has similar size as that of a craps table. Present at the baccarat table are three dealers and players of up to 12 to 14 in numbers.
The game of baccarat has two principal betting option - banker (Banco) or player (Punto). The third betting option in baccarat is the tie (Standoff), which is used very seldom. There are some casinos that allow players to deal the cards and there are other casinos that assign a casino dealer to do the card dealing. When playing at online baccarat, a virtual casino dealer will deal the cards automatically.
Every player including the player dealing the cards can make a bet on Punto or Banco or Standoff. It has become customary in baccarat that dealer will make their bet on Banco. Baccarat players have a choice not to deal and the shoe will just be passed on to the next player in line. As long as the bank wins, the shoe remains with the dealing player. Once the Punto wins, the shoe must be passed on to the next player who will deal.
There are two dealt hands in baccarat and players will bet on which of the two hands will win or if there be a tie. The payoff in baccarat is even - one to one - except for the tie (Standoff) that pays eight to one or nine to one. The only difference between the payoff of Banco and Punto is that when the Banco wins, a five percent commission will be withheld from your winning by the casino.
The reason for the commission is that it has been proven already that in a baccarat game with eight-deck cards, the Banco will usually win more - three to four hands - compared to the Punto.
Each playing hand in baccarat consists of two to three cards as the maximum. If one of the hands have a total card value of eight or nine, being the highest, there is a Natural and no more additional card is dealt. If there is no Natural, a third card will be dealt depending on the current total value of each hand. The choice to draw a third card abides strictly by the set rules of baccarat that casinos used.
After the card dealing is done, the casino dealers will announce the result and the baccarat hand with the highest card value wins.
Playing Punto Banco baccarat is as simple as ABC but one must follow the game rules to truly enjoy the game and enhance the odds of winning.