Spawned by French nobility in the 19th century, classic Baccarat was brought across the Atlantic Ocean with American immigrants in the south. After emerging as a social experience played by aristocrats, classic baccarat has since evolved to be widely played at online casino sites. Although bearing a resemblance to blackjack, classic baccarat is played with different rules that will be outlined below.

Rules & House Edge

In classic baccarat, face cards are valued as 0 and aces are worth 1. Meanwhile, the numeric cards (2-9) are valued based on the number displayed. Participants have the option to bet on the banker, player, or the hand resulting in a tie. Once the bets have been placed the hand can commence and the cards will be dealt. There is a house edge of 1.06% for the banker bet and 1.24% for the player.

Scoring Baccarat Hands

When the banker and player each have two cards, the hands will be scored. For example, adding 9 and A would give you 10. However, no hand can be scored above 9, and this means that the first digit will be dropped. In this example, the score is 0. As another example, 9 and 9 would be 18 but scored as 8 after dropping the first digit. To clarify, the best hands in classic baccarat are 8 and 9.

Drawing a Third Card

In classic baccarat, the player and dealer will not be permitted to ask for a third card if either has a “natural” 8 or 9. If either participant has 6 or 7, then the other will be allowed to ask for a third card if they have 5 points or fewer. At this point, the participant with 6 or 7 will then be allowed to assess the situation and decide if they want to draw a third card. While a tie will push the bet, anyone who has backed the draw will receive a payout.