Atlassino Academy · Baccarat · Lesson 2 of 7
The baccarat chart: when the Banker draws
Once the Player hand has drawn a third card, the Banker hand’s draw comes off a chart of six rows. Here is the chart, row by row, and how to read the chart before the dealer acts.
The Player hand has just drawn a five as its third card, and the Banker hand holds an ace and a two. Does the dealer give the Banker hand a third card?
PLAYER
BANKER
The short answer
Yes, the Banker hand draws. An ace and a two make 3, and a Banker hand on 3 draws against every Player third card except an 8. That comes off a chart of six rows the dealer follows on every hand; nobody at the table chooses, the dealer included. You do not need to learn the chart to play: it is here so a third card never surprises you.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Players at my table used to watch the Banker hand’s third card as if I had picked that card myself. I never picked a card. Once the Player hand has drawn, the Banker hand’s third card comes off a chart of six rows, and the chart is the same on every hand of the shoe.
The Banker hand’s two rules, and how the Player hand picks one
What the Player hand did with its first two cards decides which rule the Banker hand plays. The Player hand’s own rule is short, and lesson 6.1 teaches it: on 0 to 5 the Player hand draws a third card, and on 6 or 7 the Player hand stands.
- A natural on either handNeither hand drawsAn 8 or 9 on the first two cards ends the deal. Lesson 6.1.
- The Player hand stands on 6 or 7The Banker hand plays the Player hand’s ruleDraw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7. Lesson 6.1.
- The Player hand draws on 0 to 5The Banker hand reads the chartThe Banker hand’s own two cards against the Player hand’s third card.
When the Player hand stood, the Banker hand copies the Player hand’s rule. Everything below is the third branch: the Player hand has drawn, and the Banker hand reads the chart.
On 0, 1 or 2 the Banker hand draws, and on 7 the Banker hand stands
Two rows of the chart do not look at the Player hand’s third card at all. A Banker hand on 0, 1 or 2 takes a third card whatever the Player hand drew, and a Banker hand on 7 stands whatever the Player hand drew.
No row of the chart looks at which hand is ahead: the Banker hand on 0 still draws, and on 7 still stands.
On 3, 4, 5 and 6 the Player hand’s third card decides
On 3, 4, 5 and 6 the Banker hand reads one more thing: what the Player hand’s third card counts. Each of those four rows draws on a list of third cards of its own.
Row 3 draws on every third card except an 8. In rows 4, 5 and 6 the list of third cards always ends at 7 and starts two higher each time: at 2, then at 4, then at 6. From row 4 to row 6, each row draws on two fewer third cards than the row before.
The Player hand’s third card counts the way every baccarat card counts: a ten or a picture card counts 0, an ace counts 1, and every other card counts the number printed on it. So a king as the Player hand’s third card sits in the 0 column of the chart.
The same king in both pairs. Row 3 draws on a 0 and row 4 does not, because row 4 starts at 2.
The whole chart in six rows
Printed out, the chart is six rows long, and those six rows are all a dealer needs once the Player hand has drawn.
All six rows are on the lesson card below. The natural, the Player hand’s rule and the chart together decide every third card of every deal.
The dealer reads the chart and decides nothing
Under the rules for B.C. casinos, a hand must draw or cannot draw, and on 3 to 6 the Player hand’s third card decides for the Banker hand. Nothing is left to the dealer.
What you choose at a baccarat table is the bet; the rules play both hands out.
If a third card ever surprises you at the table, ask the dealer to take you through the third-card rules.
- Four cardsThe Player hand gets the ace and the three, the Banker hand the ace and the two: 4 against 3.
- A natural?NoNeither hand is on 8 or 9, so the drawing rules take over.
- The Player handOn 4 the Player hand draws. The five brings the Player hand to 9.
- The Banker handOn 3, against a Player third card that counts 5, the chart says draw. The four brings the Banker hand to 7.
- SettledCloser to nineThe Player hand ends on 9 and the Banker hand on 7: the Player hand is closer to nine.
The hand from the question we opened with, played out to the end.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Decide before you sit down how much money and how much time the evening gets, and stop when either one runs out. Putting more down to get a loss back only buys more hands, and every one of those hands is dealt by the same rules.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.
The lesson on one card
That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it or keep it on your phone, and ask the dealer before you use it at the table.
| The Banker hand’s first two cards | What the Banker hand does |
|---|---|
| 0, 1 or 2 | Draws, whatever the Player hand’s third card is |
| 3 | Draws, unless the Player hand’s third card is an 8 |
| 4 | Draws when the Player hand’s third card counts 2 to 7 |
| 5 | Draws when the Player hand’s third card counts 4 to 7 |
| 6 | Draws when the Player hand’s third card counts 6 or 7 |
| 7 | Stands, whatever the Player hand’s third card is |
The Player hand stood? Then the Banker hand plays the Player hand’s rule: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7.
Ask the dealer before using a printed card.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province
Practice: call the Banker hand’s third card
Every hand in the practice run stops at one moment: the Player hand has drawn its third card, and the dealer is about to give the Banker hand a third card or not. You say which, before the card comes out. Some hands have the Banker hand behind and some ahead, some have a picture card or an ace as the Player hand’s third card, and a few have the Player hand on 8 or 9 after three cards.
Nothing is bet here. Each hand is a set of cards chosen to show one row of the chart or one trap in reading the chart, and the answer comes from playing the hand out by the same drawing rules as the rest of the lesson. Counting a hand, the Player hand’s rule and the case where the Player hand stood are practised in lesson 6.1.
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PLAYER
BANKER
The Player hand has drawn its third card. What does the Banker hand do next?
- The Banker hand draws a third card Drawing on 0 to 5 is the Player hand’s rule, and the Banker hand plays that rule only when the Player hand stood. Here the Player hand drew, so the chart decides, and on 3 the chart says stand against an eight.
- The Banker hand stands The Banker hand is on 3, and on 3 the Banker hand stands against one Player third card only: an 8, the card on the felt here.
- It depends on how much is bet on each hand No bet on the table changes a drawing rule. The dealer deals the Banker hand the card the chart calls for, whoever has bet what and however much.
Banker on 3 draws unless Player’s third card is an 8. The Player hand drew, so the Banker hand reads the chart, and on 3 to 6 the chart reads the Player hand’s third card.
PLAYER
BANKER
The Player hand has drawn its third card. What does the Banker hand do next?
- The Banker hand draws a third card The Banker hand is on 6, and on 6 the Banker hand draws when the Player hand’s third card counts 6 or 7. The Player hand’s third card here, a six, counts 6.
- The Banker hand stands Standing on 6 or 7 is the Player hand’s rule, and the Banker hand plays that rule only when the Player hand stood. Here the Player hand drew, and on 6 the chart draws against a third card that counts 6 or 7. Being ahead of the Player hand changes nothing: no row of the chart looks at which hand is ahead.
- It depends on how much is bet on each hand No bet on the table changes a drawing rule. The dealer deals the Banker hand the card the chart calls for, whoever has bet what and however much.
Banker on 6 draws when Player’s third card is 6 or 7. The Player hand drew, so the Banker hand reads the chart, and on 3 to 6 the chart reads the Player hand’s third card.
Every hand in the practice run is worked out the same way: the Banker hand’s first two cards and the Player hand’s third card are put through the chart, and the answer comes out of that, not out of anybody’s memory.
How the practice run works
Where the hands come from. Every hand is dealt in the order Player, Banker, Player, Banker, and then the Player hand’s third card, and the answer to every question is worked out when the page is built, by the same baccarat engine that plays a hand out card by card. The wrong answers are named mistakes: the Player hand’s rule played for a Banker hand whose Player hand drew, a Banker hand drawing to catch up or standing to keep a lead, a picture card read as ten, the 8 that stops a Banker hand on 3 carried into rows 0, 1 and 2, a three-card 8 or 9 taken for a natural, and a third card that depends on the bets.
One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one hand of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to. In a lesson with more than one level, the next level begins by itself when the squares of one level are full; this lesson has one level, so when its squares are full the summary of the run begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a hand you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.
Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Back to the question we opened with. Yes: an ace and a two make 3, and a Banker hand on 3 draws against every Player third card except an 8, so after the Player hand’s five the dealer gives the Banker hand a third card.
Where baccarat is played, and further reading
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page
Further reading
- How to play baccarat · BCLCB.C.’s plain-words page: who deals at a mini table, how the commission is taken, and the no-commission and squeeze tables.
- Game rules: Baccarat and EZ Baccarat · Loto-QuébecQuébec’s rules for both games on three pages, with the whole drawing chart written out as text.
- Baccarat: how to play · OLG PlaySmartThe table, the deal and the commission box, in plain words.
- Baccarat · GameSense by AGLCAlberta’s page with the Banker drawing table and what happens when the Player hand stands.
- Baccarat strategies · OLG PlaySmartWhy your only choice is the bet, and why streaks and past hands give no edge.
How it’s worked out
Rules, numbers, sources and hosts
Where this happens. Every table on this page is a live baccarat table with a dealer running the game. Electronic baccarat keeps its own screen, and tables where players handle the cards are lesson 6.6.
Where the rows come from. All six rows of the chart are printed word for word in the rule book for Quebec and in two guides from Ontario. Those two Ontario guides print the rows for hands where the Player hand drew and nothing for hands where the Player hand stood, so this page does not treat them as the whole of the Banker hand’s rules; the case where the Player hand stood comes from the other rule books, and it is lesson 6.1. A guide from Alberta prints five rows, from 0, 1 or 2 down to 6, and stops before the row for 7; the row for 7 on this page comes from the other documents, not from that guide. The rules for B.C. casinos put the two edge rows into words, draw on 2 or less and stand on 7 or more, and say that on 3 to 6 the Player hand’s third card decides. Those rules also print the chart as a grid, and this page does not use that grid: in the text copy we could read, its rows do not line up with their labels. The rules for B.C. casinos are a set of rules for a province’s casinos rather than a report of what any one room does.
Numbers. Every box of the grid, every row of the printed chart and every answer in the practice run comes from the drawing function our baccarat engine uses to play a hand out, and our checks compare that function with the rows printed in the Quebec, Ontario and Alberta documents, box by box. Every total is counted from the cards by the same engine. Nothing here is typed in by hand.
What is deliberately absent. How each card counts, the natural, the Player hand’s rule and the Banker hand’s rule when the Player hand stood are lesson 6.1, and this page repeats them only as a reminder. What each bet pays, who deals the cards at other tables, how many decks are in the shoe and how fast the game goes are lesson 6.3; the commission and the no-commission tables are lesson 6.4; side bets are lesson 6.5; the squeeze is lesson 6.6; the scoreboard and its roads are lesson 6.7. This page works out no payout and no price.
Sources. Every rule of the chart and every claim about the chart on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it. The natural, repeated here only as a reminder, carries its own button in lesson 6.1.
Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. Baccarat is played against the house. Knowing the chart, with the Player hand’s rule from lesson 6.1, lets you follow the Banker hand’s third card on every hand and check what the dealer does; nothing on this page changes which hand finishes closer to nine, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.
The row for 5
If the Player hand takes a third card, these rules apply on the Banker hand.
If the Banker's first two cards total The Banker takes a third card if the Play's third card is
0, 1 or 2 any card
3 Not an 8
4 2 through 7
5 4 through 7
6 6 or 7
GameSense by AGLC · Baccarat · read
The row for 3
0 - 1 - 2 • Banker draws unless Player shows a natural 8 or 9
3 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9
Bank stands when Player’s third card is 8
4 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
5 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
6 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 6 - 7
7 • Stands
0 – 1 – 2 : Bank draws unless Player shows a natural 8 or 9.
3 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 or 9.
Bank stands when Player’s third card is 8.
4 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7.
5 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 4 – 5 – 6 – 7.
6 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 6 – 7.
7 : Stands.
The chart in six rows
When the player’s hand is made up of three cards and the banker’s hand totals:
Banker’s hand is dealt a 3rd card if the value of the 3rd card in the player’s hand is:
0, 1 or 2……………………………………….... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
3…………………………………………….….... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9
4…………………………………………….….... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7
5…………………………………………….….... 4, 5, 6 or 7
6…………………………………………….….... 6 or 7
7…………………………………………………. stays
The Banker hand when the Player hand stands
If the Player hand does not require a third card, the Banker hand will stand on 6 or more, and draws on 5 or less.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 9.1 to 9.4
When the player’s hand is made up of two cards and totals 6 or 7 and the banker’s hand totals:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5………………………………… a 3rd card is dealt
6 or 7……………………………………………. stays
If the Player hand stood on two cards (i.e., it has a total of 6 or 7), the Banker hand follows the same rules as the Player hand in determining whether it will receive a third card. The Banker receives a card if its total is 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
GameSense by AGLC · Baccarat · read
If the Player hand stood on two cards (i.e., it has a total of 6 or 7), the Banker hand follows the same rules as the Player hand in determining whether it will receive a third card.
What each card counts
Any card from 2 to 9 inclusive shall be counted at face value.
Ten, Jack, Queen or King shall have a value of 0.
An Ace shall have a value of 1.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 2.1 to 2.3
The king, queen, jack and 10 have a value of 0, the ace has a value of 1, and the other cards are counted at face value. The value of a hand is the last digit of the sum of the cards.
Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings are counted as zero, an Ace counts as one, and all the other cards count as their face value.
Picture cards and Tens are each worth zero points.
After the total points reach 10, simply drop the first digit and that’s the score of the hand.
The Player hand’s rule
The Player hand:
Cannot draw a third card if the value of the initial two cards is 6 or more and;
Must draw a third card if the value of the initial two cards is 5 or less.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 9.1 to 9.4
Distribution Chart
When the player’s hand is made up of two cards and totals:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5………………………………… a 3rd card is dealt
6 or 7……………………………………………. stays
If the first two cards of the Player hand total 0 to 5, the Player hand gets a third card. If the Player total is 6 or 7, it does not get a third card.
GameSense by AGLC · Baccarat · read
0-1-2-3-4-5 • Player draws a card
6 - 7 • Player stands
8 - 9 • Natural, neither hand draws a third card
The Player’s hand always stands on point totals of 6 or 7 as well.
On any total from 0 to 5, the Player draws a third card – unless the Banker has 8 or 9. In that case, the Banker wins, and there are no further cards drawn.
The Banker hand when the Player hand stands
If the Player hand does not require a third card, the Banker hand will stand on 6 or more, and draws on 5 or less.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 9.1 to 9.4
When the player’s hand is made up of two cards and totals 6 or 7 and the banker’s hand totals:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5………………………………… a 3rd card is dealt
6 or 7……………………………………………. stays
If the Player hand stood on two cards (i.e., it has a total of 6 or 7), the Banker hand follows the same rules as the Player hand in determining whether it will receive a third card. The Banker receives a card if its total is 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
GameSense by AGLC · Baccarat · read
If the Player hand stood on two cards (i.e., it has a total of 6 or 7), the Banker hand follows the same rules as the Player hand in determining whether it will receive a third card.
The rows for 0 to 2 and for 7
0 - 1 - 2 • Banker draws unless Player shows a natural 8 or 9
3 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9
Bank stands when Player’s third card is 8
4 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
5 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
6 • Bank draws if Player’s third card is 6 - 7
7 • Stands
0 – 1 – 2 : Bank draws unless Player shows a natural 8 or 9.
3 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 or 9.
Bank stands when Player’s third card is 8.
4 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7.
5 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 4 – 5 – 6 – 7.
6 : Bank draws if Player’s third card is 6 – 7.
7 : Stands.
The rows for 3 to 6
If the Player hand takes a third card, these rules apply on the Banker hand.
If the Banker's first two cards total The Banker takes a third card if the Play's third card is
0, 1 or 2 any card
3 Not an 8
4 2 through 7
5 4 through 7
6 6 or 7
GameSense by AGLC · Baccarat · read
What each card counts
Any card from 2 to 9 inclusive shall be counted at face value.
Ten, Jack, Queen or King shall have a value of 0.
An Ace shall have a value of 1.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 2.1 to 2.3
The king, queen, jack and 10 have a value of 0, the ace has a value of 1, and the other cards are counted at face value. The value of a hand is the last digit of the sum of the cards.
Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings are counted as zero, an Ace counts as one, and all the other cards count as their face value.
Picture cards and Tens are each worth zero points.
After the total points reach 10, simply drop the first digit and that’s the score of the hand.
The chart in six rows
When the player’s hand is made up of three cards and the banker’s hand totals:
Banker’s hand is dealt a 3rd card if the value of the 3rd card in the player’s hand is:
0, 1 or 2……………………………………….... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
3…………………………………………….….... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9
4…………………………………………….….... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7
5…………………………………………….….... 4, 5, 6 or 7
6…………………………………………….….... 6 or 7
7…………………………………………………. stays
The drawing rules for B.C. casinos
The Player hand:
Cannot draw a third card if the value of the initial two cards is 6 or more and;
Must draw a third card if the value of the initial two cards is 5 or less.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 9.1 to 9.4
The Banker hand:
Cannot draw a third card if the value of the initial two cards is 7 or more and;
Must draw a third card if the value of initial two cards is 2 or less.
When the value of the initial two cards in the Banker hand is 3, 4, 5 or 6, the value of the third card drawn on the Player hand shall determine if a third card is drawn on the Banker hand.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 9.1 to 9.4
Your one choice is the bet
A player’s only decision is to bet on the Banker’s hand, the Player’s hand or a Tie, and there are no real strategies to boost the odds to win.
Baccarat is a game of pure chance, meaning you can’t improve your odds using skill.
Ask the dealer
A third card can be drawn depending on what’s in the Banker’s and Player’s hands. However, this only happens if one of the hands has a total of 5 or less.
PlaySmart Tip: Ask your dealer to learn more about 3rd card rules.
OLG PlaySmart · Get Your Game On — Mini Baccarat (video transcript) · read
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