Editing Baccarat (section)

===''Punto banco''===
''Punto banco'' is nowadays the most played version of baccarat in the United States.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=231}} In ''punto banco'', the [[casino]] banks the game at all times, and commits to playing out both hands according to fixed drawing rules, known as the "tableau" (French: "board"), in contrast to more historic baccarat games where each hand is associated with an individual who makes drawing choices. The player (''punto'') and banker (''banco'') are simply designations for the two hands dealt out in each coup, two outcomes which the bettor can back; the player hand has no particular association with the gambler, nor the banker hand with the house.

''Punto banco'' is dealt from a [[dealing shoe|shoe]] containing 6 or 8 decks of cards shuffled together; a [[cut-card]] is placed in front of the seventh from last card, and the drawing of the cut-card indicates the last coup of the shoe. The dealer [[Burn card|burns]] the first card face up and then based on its respective numerical value, with aces worth 1 and face cards worth 10, the dealer burns that many cards face down. For each coup, two cards are dealt face up to each hand, starting from "player" and alternating between the hands. The [[croupier]] may call the total (e.g., "five player, three banker"). If either the player or banker or both achieve a total of 8 or 9 at this stage, the coup is finished and the result is announced: a player win, a banker win, or tie. If neither hand has eight or nine, the drawing rules are applied to determine whether the player should receive a third card. Then, based on the value of any card drawn to the player, the drawing rules are applied to determine whether the banker should receive a third card. The coup is then finished, the outcome is announced, and winning bets are paid out.

''Punto banco'' is a pure game of chance and therefore it is not possible for a gambler's bets to be rationally motivated.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=230}}

====Tableau of drawing rules====
If neither the player nor the banker is dealt a total of 8 or 9 in the first two cards (known as a "[[natural (gambling)|natural]]"), the tableau is consulted, first for the player's rules, then the banker's.

; Player's rule
: If the player has an initial total of 5 or less, they draw a third card. If the player has an initial total of 6 or 7, they stand.

; Banker's rule
: If the player stood pat (i.e. has only two cards), the banker regards only their own hand and acts according to the same rule as the player, i.e. the banker draws a third card with hands 5 or less and stands with 6 or 7.
: If the player drew a third card, the banker acts according to the following more complex rules:
* If the banker total is 2 or less, they draw a third card regardless of what the player's third card is.
* If the banker total is 3, they draw a third card unless the player's third card is an 8.
* If the banker total is 4, they draw a third card if the player's third card is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.
* If the banker total is 5, they draw a third card if the player's third card is 4, 5, 6, or 7.
* If the banker total is 6, they draw a third card if the player's third card is a 6 or 7.
* If the banker total is 7, they stand.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tableau for ''punto banco''
! rowspan="2" |banker
total
! colspan="10" |player's third card
|-
!0
!1
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9
|-
!0–2
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|-
!3
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|S
|H
|-
!4
|S
|S
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|H
|S
|S
|-
!5
|S
|S
|S
|S
|H
|H
|H
|H
|S
|S
|-
!6
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|H
|H
|S
|S
|-
!7
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|S
|}

The croupier will deal the cards according to the tableau and the croupier will announce the winning hand, either the player or the banker. Losing bets will be collected and the winning bets will be paid according to the rules of the house. Usually, 1-to-1 [[even money]] will be paid on player bets and 19-to-20 on banker bets (even money with "5% commission to the house on the win").

Should both the player and banker have the same value at the end of the deal the croupier shall announce "égalité — tie bets win." All tie bets will be paid at 8-to-1 odds and all bets on player or banker remain in place and active for the next game (the customer may or may not be able to retract these bets depending on casino rules).

====Casino provision====
{{Globalize|section|date=August 2018}}
In the U.S., the full-scale version of ''punto banco'' is usually played at large tables in roped off areas or private rooms separated from the main gaming floor. The game is frequented by [[high roller]]s, who may wager tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single hand. Minimum bets are relatively high, often starting at $100 and going as high as $500. Posted maximum bets are often arranged to suit a player.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baccarat - Wizard of Odds|url=https://wizardofodds.com/games/baccarat/basics/|website=wizardofodds.com|access-date=20 November 2017|language=en-us|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031430/https://wizardofodds.com/games/baccarat/basics/|url-status=live}}</ref> The table is staffed by a croupier, who directs the play of the game, and two dealers who calculate tax and collect and pay bets. Six or eight decks of cards are used, normally shuffled only by the croupier and dealers. The [[Shoe (cards)|shoe]] is held by one of the players, who deals the cards on the instructions of the croupier according to the tableau. On a player win, the shoe moves either to the highest winning bettor, or to the next person in clockwise order around the table, depending on the casino's conventions. The shoe may be refused or the croupier may be requested to deal.

====Odds and strategy====
''Punto banco'' has both some of the lowest [[house edge]]s among casino table games, and some of the highest. The player bet has, relative to most casino bets, a low house edge of 1.24%, and the banker bet (accounting for the 5% commission on the win) is even lower, at 1.06%. In contrast, the tie bet, which pays 8-to-1, has a high house edge of 14.4%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wizardofodds.com/baccarat |title=Baccarat |date=1 March 2011 |publisher=Wizard of Odds Consulting |access-date=24 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110607015724/http://wizardofodds.com/baccarat| archive-date=7 June 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> Most casinos in the United Kingdom pay the tie at 9-to-1, resulting in a house edge of approximately 4.85%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/rules%20of%20core%20casino%20games%20in%20great%20britain%20-%20june%202011.pdf|title=Rules of core casino games in Great Britain|date=June 2011|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220065947/http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/rules%20of%20core%20casino%20games%20in%20great%20britain%20-%20june%202011.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ House edge for ''punto banco'' (with 8-deck shoe)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/rules%20of%20core%20casino%20games%20in%20great%20britain%20-%20june%202011.pdf|title=Rules of core casino games in Great Britain|date=June 2011|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220065947/http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/rules%20of%20core%20casino%20games%20in%20great%20britain%20-%20june%202011.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|If bank/''banco'' wins
|1.06%
|- 
|If player/''punto'' wins
|1.24%
|-
|If ties (8-to-1 payout)
|14.4%
|-
|If ties (9-to-1 payout)
|4.85%
|}

[[Card counting]] can be employed to reduce the house edge by about 0.05%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wizardofodds.com/games/baccarat/card-counting/|title=Card Counting in Baccarat|date=1 August 2020|last=Shackleford|first=Michael|publisher=Wizard of Odds|accessdate=6 April 2024}}</ref> If paired with a technique known as [[edge sorting]], baccarat players can obtain a significant edge versus the casino.

====Variations====
Mini-baccarat is a version of ''punto banco'' played on a small table with smaller minimums/maximums. It is popular with more casual players, particularly those from Asia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Scarne|first1=John|title=Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling|date=1986|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0671630638|edition=Fully rev., expanded, updated}}</ref><ref name="gami_Bacc">{{Cite web| title = Baccarat or Baccawreck?| author = The Analyst| work = Gaming Today| date = 2016-03-01| accessdate = 2016-03-12| url = https://www.gamingtoday.com/articles/article/58942-Baccarat_or_Baccawreck#.VuSijOIrLak| archive-date = 24 December 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181224023954/https://www.gamingtoday.com/articles/article/58942-Baccarat_or_Baccawreck#.VuSijOIrLak| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="casi_TheJ">{{Cite web| title = The Joys of Mini-Baccarat| author = Henry Tamburin| work = Casino Center| accessdate = 2016-03-12| url = http://www.casinocenter.com/the-joys-of-mini-baccarat/| archive-date = 6 November 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103736/https://www.casinocenter.com/the-joys-of-mini-baccarat/| url-status = live}}</ref>

A mini-baccarat variation where even money is paid on winning banker bets (rather than 95%), except when the banker wins with 6, which pay only 50% of the bet, goes under various names including ''Super 6'' and ''Punto 2000''. The house edge on a banker bet under Super 6 is 1.46% compared with regular commission baccarat at 1.058%. This is equivalent to increasing the commission by 17.45% to 5.87%. The banker wins with a 6 about five times every eight-deck shoe. As well as its increased house edge, the Super 6 variation is used by casinos for its speed, since it partially does away with the time-consuming process of calculating and collecting commission on winning banker bets except for winning with a 6.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

In a similar variation called ''EZ-baccarat'', even money is paid on both winning banker or player bets, except when the banker wins with a total of 7 after the third card is drawn, which results in a push on banker bets. The game has two additional options, the ''Dragon 7'', a specific bet of a winning three-card 7 on the banker side, which pays 40-to-1 instead of pushing, and ''Panda 8'', a bet of a winning three-card 8 on the player side, which pays 25-to-1.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Zach |title=What is EZ Baccarat? |url=https://ezbaccarat.com/what-is-ez-baccarat/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=EZ Baccarat |language=en-US}}</ref>