Baccarat Rules Explained: Third-Card Rule, Payouts & Commission

Emily Carter

Casino Expert & Analyst · 2026-10-17

Most players learn baccarat by watching a few hands and copying the person with the biggest stack. That works until a dealer burns a third card on a Banker 6 and you have no idea why, or a No-Commission table pays you half on a winning Banker bet. This guide is the rulebook: how every hand is scored, exactly when each side draws, how the payouts and commission are calculated, and what the side bets really cost you. If you want a broader overview of variants and where to play, start with our complete guide to online baccarat in Singapore or the online baccarat hub. This page goes deeper on the mechanics.

How to Play Baccarat in 60 Seconds

1. Place one bet before the deal Choose Player, Banker or Tie. Side bets such as Player Pair or Banker Pair are optional extras.
2. Two cards each The dealer gives two cards to the Player hand and two to the Banker hand, alternating Player first.
3. Check for a natural If either hand totals 8 or 9, both hands stand and the round is settled.
4. Apply the drawing rules Otherwise the Player hand acts first under a fixed rule, then the Banker hand acts based on its own total and the Player's third card.
5. Settle bets The total closer to 9 wins. Banker wins usually pay 0.95 to 1 after commission, Player pays 1 to 1, Tie pays 8 to 1 on most tables.

You never make a decision after the cards come out. "Player" and "Banker" are just the names of the two hands, not you and the house. That is why baccarat is a game of rules, not skill: once your chip is down, the outcome is fixed by the shoe and the drawing chart below.

Card Values and Hand Totals

Aces count as 1, cards 2 to 9 count at face value, and tens and picture cards count as 0. A hand's total is the last digit of the sum, so it always lands between 0 and 9.

A two-card 8 or 9 is called a natural. In an eight-deck shoe, at least one hand shows a natural about 34.3% of the time. A natural 9 beats a natural 8; equal naturals tie. A three-card 9 is still a 9, but it is not a natural, so it never stops the other hand from drawing.

The Player Third-Card Rule

If neither hand has a natural, the Player hand acts first and its rule is simple:

• Total 0–5: Player draws one card.
• Total 6–7: Player stands.

In an eight-deck game the Player hand draws a third card roughly half the time (about 50.3% of all rounds). There is no option to stand on 5 in standard Punto Banco, which is the version dealt at almost every Singapore-facing live table.

The Banker Third-Card Rule: Full Drawing Chart

The Banker rule is where most confusion starts. If the Player stood, Banker follows the same rule as Player: draw on 0–5, stand on 6–7. If the Player drew, Banker's decision depends on its own total and the value of the Player's third card. The chart below shows every case at once (D = Banker draws, S = Banker stands).

Columns 0–9 are the value of the Player's third card, so a 10 or picture card counts as 0. A Banker total of 8 or 9 never appears in the chart because that is a natural and the round ends before anyone draws.

A quick way to remember it:

• Banker 0–2: always draws.
• Banker 3: draws unless the Player's third card is an 8.
• Banker 4: draws if the Player's third card is 2–7.
• Banker 5: draws if the Player's third card is 4–7.
• Banker 6: draws only if the Player's third card is 6 or 7.
• Banker 7: always stands.

Because the Banker acts last and with more information, it wins slightly more often than the Player. That edge is the whole reason the house charges commission on Banker wins.

Worked Hands: Applying the Rules

Hand 1: Banker draws on 6. Player has 4 + K = 4, Banker has 3 + 3 = 6. Player is on 0–5 so draws a 7, making 11, which counts as 1. Banker is on 6 and the Player's third card is a 7, so Banker draws: a 2 gives 8. Banker wins 8 to 1.

Hand 2: Player stands, Banker draws. Player has 7 + Q = 7 and stands. Banker has 2 + 3 = 5. Because the Player did not draw, Banker uses the simple rule and draws on 5: a 9 makes 14, which counts as 4. Player wins 7 to 4.

Hand 3: Banker stands on 3. Player has A + 4 = 5 and draws an 8, making 13, so 3. Banker has 10 + 3 = 3. The Player's third card is an 8, which is the only card that makes Banker stand on 3. The result is a 3–3 tie: Player and Banker bets push, and Tie bets win.

Hand 4: Natural ends it. Player has 5 + 3 = 8, Banker has 9 + K = 9. Both are naturals, nobody draws, and Banker's 9 beats Player's 8.

Payouts and the 5% Commission

Here are the standard payouts with exact eight-deck probabilities and the resulting house edge. The probabilities add up to 100% because every round ends in one of these three results.

On a Player or Banker bet, a tie is a push and your stake comes back. The commission is simple in practice: a winning SGD 100 Banker bet returns your SGD 100 plus SGD 95. Live tables deduct it automatically, so you will never be asked to settle it at the end of the shoe the way some land-based casinos do.

No-Commission Baccarat: Where the 5% Goes

No-Commission (also called Commission-Free or Super 6 style) tables pay Banker wins at 1 to 1, except one case: a Banker win with a total of 6 pays 1 to 2, meaning half your stake. A SGD 100 Banker bet that wins on 6 pays only SGD 50.

Banker wins with a 6 about 5.39% of the time. Losing half the payout on those hands costs more than the 5% commission did, which pushes the Banker edge from 1.06% to about 1.46%. The Player bet is unchanged at 1.24%, which makes Player the cheaper main bet on these tables. Some No-Commission games also offer a "Super 6" or "Lucky 6" side bet on Banker winning with 6; its payout and edge vary by provider, so check the paytable before you use it.

Side Bets and Their House Edge

Side bets are where baccarat quietly gets expensive. Typical eight-deck figures:

Paytables differ between Evolution, Sexy Baccarat, Asia Gaming and other studios, so treat these as typical rather than universal. The point is the scale: a 10–14% edge is roughly ten times what you pay on the main bets.

Squeeze, Speed and Other Live Variants

The rules above do not change across the common live formats. What changes is pace and presentation.

• Squeeze Baccarat: the dealer reveals cards slowly by bending them. Same drawing rules and payouts; it just slows the game down, which is not a bad thing for your bankroll.
• Speed Baccarat: cards are dealt face-up and rounds take around 27 seconds. The edge per hand is unchanged, but you play far more hands per hour, so your expected loss per hour rises.
• Lightning Baccarat: random multipliers on cards, funded by a fee on each bet. Our Lightning Baccarat guide covers the payout maths.
• No-Commission: covered above; Banker 6 pays 1 to 2.

You will find all of these in the lobbies of Evolution, SA Gaming and Dream Gaming at most of the casinos in our live casino guide.

Speed Matters: Expected Loss per Hour

House edge is a percentage of each bet, so the number of hands you play matters as much as the edge itself. At SGD 20 per hand on Banker:

Hands per hour are rough estimates and vary with table traffic. Short-term results swing widely around these figures, in both directions.

Common Baccarat Mistakes

• Thinking a Banker 6 always stands. It draws when the Player's third card is 6 or 7.
• Assuming a three-card 9 is a natural. Only a two-card 8 or 9 ends the round.
• Avoiding Banker because of commission. Even after 5%, Banker is the lowest-edge bet on a standard table.
• Betting Banker on No-Commission without checking the rules. There, Player is the cheaper bet.
• Treating the scoreboard roads as a forecast. Big Road and Bead Plate show history only. Each hand is dealt from the shoe with no memory of the last.
• Doubling after losses. Martingale-style systems do not change the edge, and table maximums stop the progression exactly when you need it.

Bonuses and Baccarat

Most Singapore-facing casinos either exclude baccarat from slot bonuses or count it at a reduced rate toward turnover. At BK8, for example, the 288% welcome offer is for slots only; the live casino welcome is a separate 50% up to SGD 300 with 25x turnover. Read our explainer on turnover requirements before you opt in, because opting in can lock your balance until the turnover is met.

Baccarat is entertainment with a built-in cost. Set a budget, decide on a stop point, and use the tools on our responsible gambling page if the game stops feeling like fun.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the third-card rule in baccarat? +

  If neither hand has a natural 8 or 9, the Player hand draws on 0–5 and stands on 6–7. The Banker then draws on 0–2, draws on 3 unless the Player's third card is 8, draws on 4 against 2–7, on 5 against 4–7, on 6 against 6–7, and always stands on 7. If the Player stood, Banker draws on 0–5.

• Why does the Banker bet pay 0.95 to 1? +

  The Banker hand acts last under the drawing rules, so it wins about 45.86% of rounds versus 44.62% for Player. The 5% commission on Banker wins brings its house edge to about 1.06%, still slightly lower than the Player bet at 1.24%.

• How does No-Commission baccarat work? +

  Banker wins pay 1 to 1 instead of 0.95 to 1, but a Banker win with a total of 6 pays only 1 to 2 (half your stake). That rule raises the Banker house edge to about 1.46%, so on No-Commission tables the Player bet (1.24%) becomes the cheaper option.

• Is the Tie bet ever worth it? +

  At the usual 8 to 1 payout the Tie bet has a house edge of about 14.36%. A few tables pay 9 to 1, which lowers it to about 4.84%, but that is still roughly four times the edge on Banker or Player.

• Do I need to memorise the drawing rules to play online? +

  No. Live dealers and RNG games apply the rules automatically. Knowing them simply helps you follow the hand, spot unusual table rules such as No-Commission, and understand why Banker carries commission.