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In the event the player hand stands on two cards, then the bank hand totalling 3, 4, or 5 must draw and 6 must stand.

Based on a mathematical analysis of the game, it has been determined that the bank hand will win 45.8% of the time, player hand 44.6%, and tie 9.6%. If we discount the hands that tie, we discover that the bank hand will win 50.7% of the time and the player hand 49.3%. Since casinos are in business to make money, they compensate for this advantage on the bank hand by charging a 5% commission every time you win a bank hand bet. At the end of play or when the shoe is completed, you are expected to pay the casino the total amount of commission owed.

Even by taking this commission into account, the calculation of the casino's advantage or percent over the player is 1.17% for bank hand, 1.36% for the player hand, and 14.1% for a tie bet. Even though the tie bet pays 9 to 1 the odds are too much in favor of the casino. NEVER BET THE TIE BET. Since the best odds for the player is to bet the bank hand, you should ALWAYS BET ON THE BANK HAND.

Many casinos have mini-bacarrat tables in addition to bacarrat tables. Mini-bacarrat is played in the exact same way as bacarrat. The only differences is that mini-bacarrat can only handle seven players instead of 14.

Online Guide - How to Play Bacarrat

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Bacarrat is a European game that falls in the top ten as far as good odds for players. Bacarrat tables usually seat up to 14 players with each spot clearly marked for wagers. The object of the game is to guess which of two players will win. The two hands are known as the player hand and the banker hand. Cards are dealt to each hand, and the hand whose total is closest to nine is the winner.

Eight decks of cards are used in bacarrat. Tens and face cards count as zero. All other cards count as face value (an ace counts as one). A hand can never exceed nine, so totals over nine are adjusted by subtracting ten.
For example, an 8+9=7 (not 17); 8+5=3; 6+6=2.

At the start of the game, all players are requested to make their bets on either the bank hand or player hand to win. You place your bet in the betting area marked bank or player directly in front of you. A third bet is avialable, known as the tie bet, and here a player bets that the bank and player hand will have the same total. These three bets are the only ones allowed.

In bacarrat, the players must deal the cards. Every player has an opportunity to deal and the shoe containing the cards will rotate counterclockwise around the table. A player may refuse to deal, in which case the shoe is offered to the next player.

To deal the cards in bacarrat, you deal two cards face down in front of the caller (the name of the dealer who controls the pace of the game) and two cards face down under the corner of the shoe (the first card is dealt to the caller, the second under the shoe, third to the caller, and fourth under the shoe, in that order). The two cards in front of the caller represent the player hand and the two cards tucked under the corner of the shoe represent the bank hand.

The caller gives the player hand to the person with the highest wager on the table. This person looks at the cards and announces the total. The caller then asks for the bank hand. The dealer then gives the cards to the caller face up and the caller announces the bank hand total.

A two card total of either 8 or 9 is called a natural. If either the bank or player hand two cards total 8 or 9, the game is over and the hand with the higher total wins. The winner is paid one to one. If neither the player or bank hand totals 8 or 9 on their first two cards, there are specific rules that determine if the hands get another card. These rules do not have to be memorized because the caller is responsible for upholding these rules. Nevertheless, you will know more about what's going on if you know the rules.

Determining Whether or Not a Hand Draws a Third Card
The sole variable which determines whether or not the player hand draws a third card is the total of the two cards the player has. The player hand draws a third card if the total of the first two cards is 0 through 5. Otherwise, the player does not receive a third card. Notice that the bank hand has no bearing on whether or not the player hand draws.

The rules are different and a little more complex in determining whether or not the bank hand draws a third card. The two variables that determine this are the total of the two cards in the bank hand and in some instances, the value of the third card drawn by the player hand. If the bank hand totals 0, 1, or 2, then the bank hand must draw a third card. If the bank hand totals 7, 8, or 9, then the bank hand must stand. If the bank hand totals 3, 4, 5, or 6, then the rules for drawing are as follows: