Atlassino Academy · Baccarat · Lesson 1 of 7
Counting a baccarat hand, and where you bet
A baccarat hand is worth only the last digit of its cards, and the rules, not the players, decide every third card. Here is how to count a hand, where the bet goes and how the deal runs.
One hand at a baccarat table holds a seven and a nine. What is that hand worth?
The short answer
The hand is worth 6: a seven and a nine make 16, and a baccarat hand keeps only the last digit of its cards. Every card counts the number printed on it, except the ten, the jack, the queen and the king, which count 0, and the ace, which counts 1. Nobody at the table chooses anything after the bet: an 8 or a 9 on the first two cards ends the deal; otherwise the Player hand draws a third card on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7, and the Banker hand then follows rules of its own.
A seven and a nine add up to 16, and the hand keeps only the last digit of that sum: 6.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
I dealt baccarat for a long time before I taught it, and what surprises people most is how little the game asks of the person holding the chips. You choose your bet before the cards come out, and from then on the cards and a handful of rules play the hand out to the end.
The only arithmetic at the table is the count, and the count has one twist: a hand is worth only the last digit of its cards. Learn the count and the Player hand’s rule, and you can check every total the dealer calls and follow the Player hand’s rule on every hand.
What each card counts, and why only the last digit stays
Baccarat deals two hands, the Player hand and the Banker hand, and you bet on which of the two hands comes closest to nine, or on the two hands finishing level. Player and Banker are the names of the two hands, not of two people at the table: whichever seat you sit in, you can put your bet on either hand.
To count a hand, add up its cards and keep only the last digit of the sum. A hand can therefore be worth anything from 0 to 9 and never more, however high its cards run, and two picture cards together are worth 0.
| The cards in the hand | The cards added up | What the hand is worth |
|---|---|---|
| A seven and a nine | 16 | 6 |
| Two fives | 10 | 0 |
| A king and an eight | 8 | 8 |
| An ace and a nine | 10 | 0 |
| A six, a seven and a nine | 22 | 2 |
Three betting areas, and when the chips go down
In front of each seat the felt has three betting areas: one for the Player hand, one for the Banker hand and one for a tie. Your chips go into the betting areas; the cards never go there. The cards go into two boxes across the table, one for the Player hand and one for the Banker hand.
Every bet goes down before the first card is dealt. Under the rules for B.C. casinos, play begins with the players placing their bets, and the dealer announces no more bets before dealing a card.
What each of the three bets pays, and what each one costs over an evening, is lesson 6.3.
Four cards, and the natural that ends the hand
The first four cards go out one at a time and alternate between the two hands: the first card to the Player hand, the second card to the Banker hand, the third card to the Player hand and the fourth card to the Banker hand.
- First
cardto the Player hand - Second
cardto the Banker hand - Third
cardto the Player hand - Fourth
cardto the Banker hand
At a mini-baccarat table under the rules for B.C. casinos, those four cards are dealt face down. The dealer then turns the Player hand face up, then the Banker hand, and calls the Player hand’s total first and the Banker hand’s total second. The same rules play the Player hand out first: the Player hand takes its third card, when it takes one, before the Banker hand does.
Before any third card, both two-card totals are checked for a natural. A hand worth 8 or 9 on its first two cards is a natural, and when either hand has a natural, no further card is dealt to either hand.
The Player hand: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7
Without a natural, the Player hand acts first, and its rule is short: on a two-card total of 0 to 5 the Player hand draws a third card, and on 6 or 7 the Player hand stands.
A hand takes at most one card after its first two, so no hand ever holds more than three cards.
A natural is 8 or 9 on the first two cards only, so a three-card 8 is not a natural.
When the Player hand stands, the Banker hand plays the same rule
If the Player hand stood on 6 or 7, the Banker hand follows the Player hand’s rule exactly: the Banker hand draws a third card on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
So when both hands are on 6 or 7 after two cards, neither hand takes another card. The rule never looks at which hand is ahead: a Banker hand on 6 stands even when the Player hand stood on 7.
If the Player hand drew a third card, the Banker hand does not use this rule. The Banker hand then goes by a chart that reads the Player hand’s third card, and that chart is lesson 6.2.
Nobody at the table chooses whether a hand takes a card: once the bets are down, the rules play both hands out. What you choose is the bet itself, and you choose it before the first card is dealt.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Baccarat leaves you nothing to decide once your chips are down, so a feeling about the shoe changes nothing about the next hand. When you catch yourself wanting to chase a streak, take that as the moment for a break, not the moment for a bigger bet.
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 them is settled 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.
| Card | Ace | Two to nine | Ten, jack, queen, king |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counts | 1 | the number on the card | 0 |
Only the last digit counts: a seven and a nine make 16, worth 6.
Natural: 8 or 9 on the first two cards; neither hand draws. Player hand: draws on 0 to 5, stands on 6 or 7.
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: count the hand, follow the deal
Every hand in the practice run starts from the first four cards on the felt. Level 1 asks what a hand is worth, and whether either hand has a natural. Level 2 asks what the Player hand does. Level 3 has the Player hand standing, and asks what the Banker hand does.
Nothing is bet here. Each hand is a set of cards chosen to show one thing, and the answer comes from playing the hand out by the counting rule and the drawing rules above. Some hands in Level 2 have the Player hand drawing, but nothing here asks what the Banker hand does after the Player hand draws: that chart is lesson 6.2.
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Level 1 · Count the hand
PLAYER
BANKER
What is the Player hand worth?
- 16 That is 16, the two cards added up with nothing dropped. A baccarat hand is never worth more than 9, so only the last digit of 16 stays.
- 1 That keeps the first digit of 16, and the first digit is the one that is dropped. The hand is worth the last digit of the sum.
- 6 A seven counts 7 and a nine counts 9: together 16, and the hand keeps only the last digit, 6.
Add the cards in the hand, then keep only the last digit of the sum. A ten, a jack, a queen and a king count 0, an ace counts 1, and every other card counts the number printed on it.
Level 2 · The Player hand
PLAYER
BANKER
What does the Player hand do?
- The Player hand draws a third card The Banker hand is on 8 after two cards, which is a natural, and a natural ends the deal before the Player hand does anything.
- The Player hand stands Standing is what the Player hand does on 6 or 7. Here neither hand acts at all, because the Banker hand has a natural.
- Neither hand takes a card: there is a natural The Banker hand is on 8 after two cards. That is a natural, and a natural stops the deal for both hands, the Player hand included.
A natural ended the hand: no third card.
Level 3 · When the Player stands
PLAYER
BANKER
The Player hand stands. What does the Banker hand do?
- The Banker hand draws a third card The Banker hand is on 6. With the Player hand standing, the Banker hand draws only on 0 to 5, and being behind the Player hand changes nothing.
- The Banker hand stands The Player hand stood, so the Banker hand plays the Player hand’s rule, and on 6 that rule stands, even with the Player hand closer to nine.
- It depends on the Player hand’s third card The Player hand stood on 7, so there is no Player third card to read. The chart that reads the Player hand’s third card is for hands where the Player hand drew, and that chart is lesson 6.2.
Player stood, so Banker follows the same rule: it stands on 6 or 7. The rule looks at the Banker hand’s own two cards, not at which hand is ahead.
Every hand in the practice run is worked out the same way: the four cards on the felt are put through the counting rule and the drawing rules, 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 four cards dealt in the order Player, Banker, Player, Banker, 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 engine counts both hands, checks for a natural, applies the Player hand’s rule and, when the Player hand stood, applies the same rule to the Banker hand. The wrong answers are named mistakes: the sum kept whole, the first digit kept instead of the last, a picture card counted as ten, an ace counted as eleven, a natural taken for one hand only, and the Banker chart read when the Player hand never drew.
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; when the squares of one level are full, the next level 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. A seven and a nine make 16, and a baccarat hand keeps only the last digit of its cards, so the hand is worth 6.
Where baccarat is played, and further reading
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page
Further reading
- Rules of Play for Table Games — Baccarat · BCLCThe full B.C. rules: the deal, the third-card rules for both hands, the commission, Ruyi Baccarat, the squeeze tables and every side-bet pay table.
- 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 in a room you can walk into, with a dealer running the game. Electronic baccarat keeps its own screen, and tables where players handle the cards are lesson 6.6.
Rules. The card values, the order of the deal, the natural and the two drawing rules on this page are printed by the rule books and guides this track reads, and some of them leave a point out. They differ in one place: B.C.’s plain-words page counts the ten and the picture cards as ten, where the rule book for B.C. casinos and the other rule books and guides here count them as 0. A hand keeps only the last digit of its sum, so every hand comes out at the same total either way, and this page counts those cards as the rule books do. The face-down deal, the order the dealer turns the hands and the Player hand going first are the rules published for B.C. casinos: a set of rules for a province’s casinos rather than a report of what any one room does, and a room elsewhere may run the deal differently.
Numbers. Every total on this page is counted from the cards by the same counting function our baccarat engine uses to play a hand out, and our checks recompute each figure from that engine rather than reading it back from this page. The felt is our own plan of one seat, not a copy of any one table’s layout.
What is deliberately absent. This page does not work out what each bet pays or what it costs: that is lessons 6.3 and 6.4, and the commission on the Banker bet is lesson 6.4. The Banker chart for hands where the Player hand drew is lesson 6.2. Who deals the cards at other tables, how many decks are in the shoe and how fast the game goes are lesson 6.3; side bets are lesson 6.5; the squeeze is lesson 6.6; the scoreboard and its roads are lesson 6.7.
Sources. Every rule and every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.
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. Counting a hand and knowing the rules on this page lets you check every total the dealer calls and follow the Player hand’s rule on every hand; nothing on this page changes which hand finishes closer to nine, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.
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.
Card values and the count
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.
No decisions after 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.
A natural
If the Player hand or Banker hand has a count of 8 or 9 on the initial two cards it is called a “natural”, no further cards shall be dealt to either hand.
In all other cases, the hands are played according to the Third Card Rule and Play Tables set out below.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
if the value of one of the two hands (each made up of two cards) equals 8 or 9, the hand is called a “Natural,” no other card is dealt and the game comes to an end.
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.
Bets go down before the deal
Play commences with Players placing their bets.
Announce no more bets;
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
Bets by seated players must be placed on the designated spot before the first card is dealt.
Bets cannot be added, changed or withdrawn after this point.
Place a bet: bets are placed before the cards are dealt.
What you bet on
The object of the game is to bet on the hand that comes closest to nine (9) or to bet on the tie when Banker hand and Player hand obtain the same point.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 1.1 to 1.2
In each game, the player attempts to predict which of the two hands, the player's or the banker's, will come closest to a total of nine points
The last digit of the sum
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 three betting areas
Each player will find three bet boxes, one each for Player, Banker and Tie, above their number on the felt table top.
Choose to bet on the Banker’s hand (1:1 odds), Player’s hand (1:1 odds) or a Tie (8:1 odds).
Bets go down before the deal
Play commences with Players placing their bets.
Announce no more bets;
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
Bets by seated players must be placed on the designated spot before the first card is dealt.
Bets cannot be added, changed or withdrawn after this point.
Place a bet: bets are placed before the cards are dealt.
The order of the deal
Deal four (4) cards face down;
The first card shall be dealt to the Player hand;
The second to the Banker hand;
The third to the Player hand;
The fourth to the Banker hand;
Turn the Player hand and then the Banker hand face up in the appropriate boxes;
Announce the point total of the Player hand followed by the Banker hand;
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
During each deal, the first and third cards dealt from the shoe make up the player’s hand, while the second and fourth cards make up the banker’s hand.
The first and third cards are the Player’s hand and the second and fourth are the Banker’s hand.
First, the dealer slides out a card and places it in the Player box.
The next card is placed in the Banker box. This is repeated so that each box has two cards.
The deal under the rules for B.C. casinos
Deal four (4) cards face down;
The first card shall be dealt to the Player hand;
The second to the Banker hand;
The third to the Player hand;
The fourth to the Banker hand;
Turn the Player hand and then the Banker hand face up in the appropriate boxes;
Announce the point total of the Player hand followed by the Banker hand;
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
The Player hand goes first
The Player hand shall always be played out first.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
A natural
If the Player hand or Banker hand has a count of 8 or 9 on the initial two cards it is called a “natural”, no further cards shall be dealt to either hand.
In all other cases, the hands are played according to the Third Card Rule and Play Tables set out below.
Section 1.0 Mini-Baccarat, 8.2 to 8.6
if the value of one of the two hands (each made up of two cards) equals 8 or 9, the hand is called a “Natural,” no other card is dealt and the game comes to an end.
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.
Three cards at most
Neither hand ever gets more than three cards.
(A maximum of one additional card may be dealt to either hand).
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.
Both hands on 6 or 7
If both the PLAYER and BANKER have a total of 6 or 7 after the first two cards, no additional cards will be drawn.
No decisions after 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.
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