Baccarat (918Kiss): how punto banco works, bet by bet

If you have played blackjack, baccarat will feel familiar, and it is actually simpler. The version in the 918Kiss (SCR888) app is the one you will find in most online casinos: punto banco, sometimes called North American baccarat. Related games such as chemin de fer ("chemmy") and baccarat banque rarely appear online.

Card values in baccarat

The aim is a hand total as close to 9 as possible.

• Ace counts as 1.
• 2 to 9 count at face value.
• 10, Jack, Queen and King count as 0.

Only the last digit of the total matters. A 7 and an 8 make 15, which counts as 5. No hand can go bust.

The three bets on the 918Kiss table

Before the deal, you place a chip on one of three areas:

• Player: you back the Player hand to finish closer to 9. Usually pays 1:1.
• Banker: you back the Banker hand. Usually pays 1:1 minus a 5% commission, because the Banker hand wins slightly more often.
• Tie: you bet that both hands finish level. Usually pays 8:1, but it lands far less often than the other two.

"Player" and "Banker" are just names for the two hands. You are not playing against anyone at the table.

How the deal plays out

Each hand gets two cards. If either hand totals 8 or 9, that is a "natural" and the round ends there.

Otherwise, the Player hand draws a third card on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. The Banker hand then draws or stands according to a fixed table that depends on its own total and the Player's third card. The game handles all of this automatically, so you never make a drawing decision.

Playing baccarat sensibly

Rounds are quick, which makes it easy to lose track of how much you have staked. Decide your budget first, keep each bet a small slice of it, and treat the Tie as a long shot. Results tables showing past hands don't predict the next one.

When you are ready, play baccarat in 918Kiss. For the rest of the lobby, see the 918Kiss platform overview.