Jili9 Baccarat Card Game Rules — The Third-Card Draw
Baccarat rules deal two cards each to Player and Banker, check for a natural, then hand every remaining decision to a fixed third-card table.
Key facts and contents
- Step 1
- Deal two cards each to Player and Banker
- Step 2
- Check both hands for a natural
- Step 3
- Apply Player's fixed third-card rule
- Step 4
- Read Banker's third card off the drawing table
Baccarat card game rules run on one fixed script: two cards each to Player and Banker, a check for a natural, and then a third-card table that decides everything left. Once the two hands are dealt, nobody at the table makes a choice, since the rules themselves force every draw that follows. This page lays that draw table out in full, plus the commission attached to the Banker bet and why it still holds the lowest house edge on the layout.
Baccarat Card Game Rules for the Deal, Step by Step
- Two cards are dealt to Player and two to Banker, and only the last digit of the total counts — a 7 and a 9 make 16, read as 6.
- Both hands are checked against 8 or 9 before anything else happens.
- If neither hand holds a natural, Player’s total decides whether Player draws a third card.
- Once Player’s action is settled, Banker’s own third-card table decides whether Banker draws, and that table sometimes reads Player’s third card as well as Banker’s own total.
What Counts as a Natural
An 8 or a 9 on the first two cards is a natural, and it ends the hand immediately for both sides — no third card is drawn for either Player or Banker once a natural shows. A natural 9 beats a natural 8, and a tie between two naturals of the same value settles as a push on the Player and Banker bets while paying the Tie bet instead. Ties of any kind land often enough that an 8:1 Tie payout still carries a real house edge, which the payout table further down sets out.
| Two-card total | What happens next |
|---|---|
| 8 or 9 (a natural) | Hand ends immediately — no third card for either side |
| 0 through 7 | The third-card rules below decide what happens next |
When Player’s Hand Draws a Third Card
Skipping the natural check, Player’s own two-card total decides its own third card with no input from anyone at the table. Player draws a third card on any total from 0 to 5, and stands automatically on 6 or 7. That rule is fixed and identical at every table running standard punto banco baccarat rules, whatever the felt looks like around it.
| Player’s two-card total | Action |
|---|---|
| 0 – 5 | Draws a third card |
| 6 – 7 | Stands automatically |
How to Play Baccarat, Start to Finish
For anyone learning how to play baccarat for the first time, the whole sequence is really just three checks run in order: the natural check above, then Player’s own table, then Banker’s table further down. No step in that sequence asks a player to decide anything once the two hands are dealt. That’s the entire skill ceiling of the game — reading the outcome, not choosing it.
The Banker’s Third-Card Table
Once Player’s action is settled, Banker’s third card depends on Banker’s own total and, in several cases, on the exact value of Player’s third card.
| Banker’s total | Draws when Player’s 3rd card is | Stands when Player’s 3rd card is |
|---|---|---|
| 0, 1, 2 | Always draws | Never stands |
| 3 | 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9, or no third card | 8 |
| 4 | 2,3,4,5,6,7 | 0,1,8,9, or no third card |
| 5 | 4,5,6,7 | 0,1,2,3,8,9, or no third card |
| 6 | 6,7 | 0,1,2,3,4,5,8,9, or no third card |
| 7 | Never draws | Always stands |
This table is the entire game. Once the cards are down, nobody at the table decides anything further — Banker’s total and Player’s third card are read off this table, and the draw follows automatically.
Why the Banker Bet Still Carries Commission
Banker wins fractionally more often than Player across a full shoe, roughly 45.9% of hands against Player’s 44.6%, with the remainder settling as ties. Charging a standard 5% commission on Banker wins is how that edge gets pulled back down instead of leaving Banker as the obviously stronger bet. Even with the commission taken out, Banker’s 1.06% house edge still runs below Player’s 1.24%, because the win-rate gap between them is wider than 5% alone would fully erase.
Baccarat Payouts and House Edge
| Bet | Payout | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1:1 minus 5% commission | 1.06% |
| Player | 1:1 | 1.24% |
| Tie | 8:1 | about 14.4% |
These figures assume the standard 8-deck punto banco rule set and an 8:1 tie payout; a different tie payout changes the tie figure specifically, without touching Banker or Player. Dragon Tiger’s rules run a much shorter version of the same idea — one card each instead of a full draw table. The full bet-by-bet house-edge breakdown for baccarat and Dragon Tiger together sits alongside this site’s card games casino overview.
FAQ
Does the player choose whether to draw a third card in baccarat?
No. Player's own two-card total decides it automatically — a draw on 0 to 5, a stand on 6 or 7 — with no choice involved at any table running standard rules.
Why does Banker's third-card rule depend on Player's card?
Because Banker already knows what Player drew before its own third-card decision is made, the standard rules use that information to keep Banker's long-run edge close to Player's rather than letting it run away with the game.
Why does the Banker bet charge commission if it isn't guaranteed to win?
Banker wins slightly more often than Player over a full shoe, around 45.9% of hands against 44.6%, and the 5% commission exists specifically to bring that extra win rate back down toward even.
How often does baccarat end in a tie?
A tie lands often enough that an 8:1 payout still carries roughly a 14.4% house edge on the Tie bet, well above either main bet's edge.