The player's rule
Simple and fixed: draw a third card on a two-card total of 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7. A total of 8 or 9 is a natural and ends the hand.
The banker's rule
The banker acts after the player, and the rule uses what the player drew. If the player stood, the banker simply draws on 0 to 5. If the player drew, this table applies:
| Banker's two-card total | Banker draws when the player's third card is |
|---|---|
| 0 | any card |
| 1 | any card |
| 2 | any card |
| 3 | any card except 8 |
| 4 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 5 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 6 | 6, 7 |
| 7 | never (stands) |
The row for a banker total of 3 is the interesting one: the banker draws on any player third card except an 8. An 8 is the card most likely to have ruined the player's hand rather than improved it, so the banker declines to risk a decent position.
Why this asymmetry is the whole game
The player commits first, on no information. The banker responds with information. That is worth 1.2350 percentage points of win rate: the banker wins 45.8597% of hands against the player's 44.6247%.
It is also why the banker bet carries a commission. Our commission page shows that without one, the bet would hand the player a 1.24% advantage.
What follows for the player
There is no strategy in baccarat, and that is not a criticism. Since neither hand makes a choice, no system, pattern or scoreboard reading can change the outcome. The only decision available is which bet to make, and the answer is always banker.
The scoreboards casinos provide, tracking runs of banker and player wins, are decoration. Each hand is dealt from a shoe that does not remember the last one.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the player choose whether to draw in baccarat?
- No. Both hands follow fixed public rules and neither the player nor the dealer makes any decision.
- When does the banker draw?
- On 0 to 5 if the player stood. If the player drew, the banker follows a rule table based on the player's third card.
- Why does the banker stand on 3 against a player 8?
- Because an 8 is the card most likely to have damaged the player's hand rather than improved it, so the banker keeps a reasonable total.
- Do baccarat systems work?
- No. There are no decisions and each hand is independent, so no pattern or progression changes the expected result.
Every figure on this page is computed by walking the complete baccarat game tree for a real eight-deck shoe, drawing without replacement so the shoe depletes correctly, in exact rational arithmetic. Because baccarat has no player decisions, this is an exact answer rather than an approximation. The results are checked against published values before publication. Commission and side-bet payouts vary between tables, so read the felt.