Free Baccarat Game: How to Play, Rules & Odds
Play free 8-deck Punto Banco baccarat or switch to commission-free EZ Baccarat with Dragon 7 and Panda 8 side bets, a $1,000 bankroll, and live Bead Plate and Big Road scorecards. No signup, no download.
Tap a betting area on the felt ($25 on Banker selected) and press Deal.
Bead Plate
Solid beads: B Banker · P Player · T TieBig Road
Streaks step down a column; ties add a green slashShoe & session stats (Hands: 0 · Shoe: 416 / 416)
- Total wagered
- $0
- Banker wins
- 0
- Player wins
- 0
- Ties
- 0
- Dragon 7s
- 0
- Panda 8s
- 0
How to Play Baccarat
In Punto Banco—the standard baccarat game dealt across North American and Macau pits—you make only one decision: where to place your chips before the deal. Once betting closes, the shoe deals two cards to Player and two cards to Banker, and every third card follows a mandatory house rulebook.
- Card values: Aces count as 1, cards 2 through 9 count at face value, and 10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings count as 0.
- Hand totals (modulo 10): Only the last digit of the sum counts. A 7 and an 8 total 15, which is a 5. The highest possible hand is 9.
- Naturals (8 or 9): If either two-card hand totals 8 or 9, it is a Natural (34.30% of hands). Both sides stand immediately and the higher total wins.
Baccarat Rules: The Third-Card Tableau
When neither side holds a Natural 8 or 9, Player acts first: Player draws a third card on an initial total of 0 through 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
Banker acts second. If Player stood on 6 or 7, Banker uses the same rule (draws on 0–5, stands on 6–7). If Player drew a third card, Banker draws or stands according to the value of Player's third card:
| Banker 2-Card Total | If Player Stood | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Draw | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | Always draws unless Player has a natural 8 or 9 |
| 1 | Draw | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | Always draws unless Player has a natural 8 or 9 |
| 2 | Draw | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | Always draws unless Player has a natural 8 or 9 |
| 3 | Draw | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | D | Draws when Player's third card is 0–7 or 9; stands when Player draws 8 |
| 4 | Draw | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S | Draws when Player's third card is 2–7; stands on 0, 1, 8, 9 |
| 5 | Draw | S | S | S | S | D | D | D | D | S | S | Draws when Player's third card is 4–7; stands on 0–3, 8, 9 |
| 6 | Stand | S | S | S | S | S | S | D | D | S | S | Draws when Player's third card is 6 or 7; stands if Player stood or drew 0–5, 8, 9 |
| 7 | Stand | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | Always stands |
What the Numbers Mean: Standard vs. EZ Baccarat
Because Banker acts after seeing Player's third card, Banker wins 45.86% of all 8-deck hands, Player wins 44.62%, and 9.52% tie. Standard tables balance that edge with a 5% commission on Banker wins (1.06% house edge); EZ Baccarat drops the commission and makes a Banker three-card 7 a push (1.02% house edge). Compare every bet on our Baccarat Odds & House Edge Table or test scorecard progressions in the Baccarat Streak Simulator.
| Bet | Table | Payout | Win Prob. | Push Prob. | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banker (EZ Baccarat) | EZ Baccarat (No Comm.) | 1 to 1 (3-card 7 pushes) | 43.61% | 11.77% | 1.02% |
| Banker (Standard) | Standard (5% Comm.) | 0.95 to 1 (19 to 20) | 45.86% | 9.52% | 1.06% |
| Player | Both | 1 to 1 | 44.62% | 9.52% | 1.24% |
| Tie (9 to 1 pay table) | Both | 9 to 1 | 9.52% | 0.00% | 4.84% |
| Dragon 7 Side Bet | EZ Baccarat (No Comm.) | 40 to 1 | 2.25% | 0.00% | 7.61% |
| Panda 8 Side Bet | EZ Baccarat (No Comm.) | 25 to 1 | 3.45% | 0.00% | 10.19% |
| Player Pair / Banker Pair | Both | 11 to 1 | 7.47% | 0.00% | 10.36% |
| Tie (8 to 1 standard pay table) | Both | 8 to 1 | 9.52% | 0.00% | 14.36% |
Sources & further reading
- Why the Scorecard Can't Tell You What Comes Next
- Where the 5% Commission Comes From, and What EZ Baccarat Changes
- Ethier, S. N. (2010). The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling (Chapter 19: Baccarat, pp. 597–634). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-78783-9
- Thorp, E. O., & Walden, W. E. (1966). A favorable side bet in Nevada baccarat. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 61(314), 313–328. doi:10.1080/01621459.1966.10480867
- Croson, R., & Sundali, J. (2005). The gambler's fallacy and the hot hand: Empirical data from casinos. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 30(3), 195–209. doi:10.1007/s11166-005-1153-2
- Shackleford, M. Baccarat & EZ Baccarat. Wizard of Odds. wizardofodds.com/games/baccarat/basics/
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best bet in baccarat?
- Banker is the lowest-edge bet on the felt: 1.06% on a standard 5% commission table and 1.02% on an EZ Baccarat table where a three-card Banker 7 pushes. Player is close behind at 1.24%.
- When does Player or Banker draw a third card in baccarat?
- If either hand totals 8 or 9 on the first two cards (a Natural), both hands stand immediately. Otherwise Player draws on 0–5 and stands on 6–7. If Player stands, Banker draws on 0–5 and stands on 6–7; if Player draws a third card, Banker follows the fixed third-card tableau for totals 0–6 and always stands on 7.
- How does EZ Baccarat work without the 5% commission?
- Instead of charging a 5% commission on every winning Banker hand, EZ Baccarat pays 1 to 1 on Banker wins except when Banker wins with a three-card total of 7 (probability 2.25%), which pushes. That single rule trims the Banker house edge from 1.06% to 1.02%.
- Are the Dragon 7, Panda 8, Pair, or Tie bets worth playing?
- Not if your goal is keeping the house edge low. In an 8-deck shoe, Tie at 8:1 has a 14.36% house edge (4.84% at 9:1), Player/Banker Pair at 11:1 has a 10.36% edge, Dragon 7 (40:1) has a 7.61% edge, and Panda 8 (25:1) has a 10.19% edge.
- Does tracking streaks on the Bead Plate or Big Road improve your odds?
- No. The Bead Plate and Big Road only show hands already in the discard tray. Testing 10,000 shoes in our streak simulator confirms that following streaks, betting against streaks, and flat betting all lose the exact house edge of the bets placed.