Understanding Baccarat Charts

Baccarat seems like a very simplistic game as its objective is very clear – bet on either Player or Banker and hope your hand is the winning one. However, if you go the whole nine yards and dive deep into the intricacies woven in by both experience and superstitious players, you will see there’s much more to it. Some players will try to predict their outcome based on previous results, while others will employ betting systems – both logic and superstition are equally influencing the game. In this article, we will explain the basic rules for drawing cards and how to use score boards, but before we begin, let’s have a look at the basics – card values and hands.

Baccarat is a card game that is typically played with eight decks. As our charts highlighted, standard odds and payouts are calculated on the assumption that cards are dealt from a shoe that holds eight decks. However, you will also find online baccarat games that are played with six decks and even a single deck. Now study the chart below and see what baccarat is at its most abstract level. Notice four generalized sequences of runs are differentiated. According to the pattern of patterns, there are about 18 sequences of runs in the average shoe, look and see that the occurrence of each of these “four vivid ritual bonfires” is about 4 and 1/2 times. The primary step in teaching yourself how to play baccarat is understanding how a round is played. In a round (or “hand”) of baccarat, the player and the banker each receive two cards and adds them together for a total point value. Remember, if the total is two digits, you use only the second one.

Baccarat Card Values

A fun fact you need to know about Baccarat besides that the “t” is silent – yes, it’s pronounced [bakaʀa] – is also the fact that the word means “zero” or “nothing”. This piece of trivia is all you need to go “Ahh!” when you learn that Tens, Jacks, Queens, and Kings have zero value in Baccarat. Ace counts as one and all other cards count as their face value 2 – 9. Total hand values cannot exceed 9, so ten is subtracted if the hand totals more than 9. If the hand is, say 4 – 9 – 5 the total would be 8 or 18 minus 10. Two 10s is a zero. A total of 8 or 9 is called a natural.

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Player’s Hand

The Player’s hand is always the first one to be acted upon. It’s dealt two cards initially. They are turned over by the dealer and if the total is between zero and five, a third card is dealt. If the total is between six and nine, the Player stands, which means that no cards are dealt. A “natural” is a hand of eight or nine and it’s automatically a winner against any Banker hands except 8 or 9. If the Player has a total of 8 and the Banker – 9, the Banker wins and vice versa. The house edge on Player hand is 1.24 percent and the payout is 1:1.

Banker’s Hand

The Banker’s hand is also dealt two cards and if the total is 7, 8, or 9 no additional cards will be dealt. If, however, the two-card total is between zero and three, and a three if the Player’s total is 8. Depending on the Player’s total, the Banker may still hit some 4, 5, or 6 totals. Lucky for you, you don’t need to memorize all of those as the dealers have already done it for you and will do all the hitting. And also, because you can use our handy Baccarat drawing guide that you can download for your perusal. The Banker is considered to have a slight advantage over the Player because it’s dealt second and some experts advise betting on it as they believe it will win slightly over 50 percent of the time. It does have a lower house edge – 1.06 percent and although it pays 1:1, there’s a 5 percent commission on Banker bets.

Rules for Drawing Additional Cards

In certain instances, additional cards will be drawn to either the Player or the Banker hand. These complicated rules certainly add to the sense of mystery that still surrounds the game. Which tends to give it the cachet of a more sophisticated game than it really is.

If either the player or the banker has a total of an 8 or a 9 they both stand. There is no exceptions and this rule overrides all other rules. And here are the other instances:

• If the player has total of 6 or 7, the player stands.
• If the player stands, the banker hits on a total of 5 or less.
• If the player has total of 5 or less, the player automatically hits and the banker gives the player a third card.

If the player gets the third card then the banker draws a third card according to the following rules:

• Banker has total of 0, 1, 2: Banker always draws a third card.
• Banker has total of 3: Banker draws if Player’s Third Card is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-0 (not 8)
• Banker has total of 4: Banker draws if Player’s Third Card is 2-3-4-5-6-7
• Banker has total of 5: Banker draws if Player’s Third Card is 4-5-6-7
• Banker has total of 6: Banker draws if Player’s Third Card is of 6-7
• Banker has total of 7: Banker always stands.

You don’t really need to understand why these rules are as they are, and why they need to be so complicated, as this is simply how the game is played and that is that. To be fair, if the winner of the game was determined solely on the first two cards dealt then it would be more like a game of hi-lo than anything else.

Pattern Spotting

Based on the gambler’s fallacy, some players believe that the sequence of results in past hands can offer some clue as to what the outcome of the hands to come will be. In order to keep track of how many Player, Banker, and Tie hands have passed, they use scoreboards to map out previous results – a practice known as pattern spotting and casinos are perfectly fine with it. Land-based gambling halls will offer a sheet and pencil, while online, developers display the results automatically in a grid. They do this because they’re aware of the fact that these patterns and chart tracing will have no effect on the game whatsoever. This is not a winning strategy because previous outcomes don’t correlate with the next hands dealt in any way. Still, if you’re interested in finding out about those, here’s a breakdown of the most popular patterns.

Bead Plate

Other English names for it are “cube road”, “dice road”, “marker road”, “bead plate road” and even “baby pig road”. On the “bead plate” players can keep track of Player, Banker, and Tie wins and mark them with differently colored cubes:

• Blue= Player win
• Red= Banker win
• Green= Tie win

Tracing begins at the upper left hand corner all the way to the bottom row. Then, it continues over one column to the right, back to the top row.

Big Road

The “Big Road” pattern details the sequence of Player and Banker wins, ties are marked with a green line through the previous Player or Banker wins. Player pairs are designated with a blue dot in the lower right corner while Banker pairs with a red dot in the upper left corner of the hand it occurred in.

Marking this pattern starts again at the upper left, with Player wins marked in blue, and Banker wins in red. However, a new column is started every time there’s a change in Player and Banker winning. Since the grid is only six rows deep, if there are more than six consecutive wins, scoring moves to the right, which creates the so-called “dragon tail.” This is the main road and all other roads are derived from it.

Big Eye Boy

The “Big Eye Boy” is not that straightforward and could be perceived as serving the purpose of keeping statistics of how repetitive the shoe is. Red marks indicate repetition, while blue means the shoe is chaotic. Keep in mind that in this pattern, unlike in the previous two, blue and red do not relate to Player and Banker wins.

The “Big Eye Boy” table begins with an entry of the hand after the first entry in the second column of the Big Road. This provides no information based on which you can tell whether a pattern is developing or not. Every entry in the Big Eye Boy table, as well as the next two tables, will refer to a specific entry in the Big Road. It may get confusing following this sequence, but to put it as simply as possible – take a look at the last entry of the Big Road. Next, move one cell to the left and then up. If the move up does not result in a change, mark red, if it does, mark blue.

Small Road

Using the Small Road is very similar to using the Big Eye Boy, however, it skips the column to the left of the current column in the Big Road. It starts with the hand after the first hand in the third column of the big road, which means it will wait until the entry after the first entry in the third column of the Big Road. Red circles mean that the first and third columns to the left of the new column in Big Road are the same in depth. A blue circle means they’re not.

The way you move in the small road is – again considering the latest entry in the Big Road – move two cells to the left and then – up. Mark red if the move up does not result in a change, and in blue if it does.

Cockroach Pig

The Cockroach is the third road derived from the Big Road and it skips two columns to the left of the current column in the Big Road. Otherwise, it works exactly the same as the Small Road. The Cockroach Pig will wait until the entry after the first entry in the fourth column of the Big Road. Here, you will compare the first and fourth columns to the left of the new column in the Big Road. Again – a red circle will mean they are the same in depth while a blue one will mean they’re different. In order to mark the Cockroach pattern, again look at the the latest entry in the Big Road and move three cells to the left. Then, move up. Again, if there’s no change as a result of the move up, mark red. Mark blue if there’s a change.

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When choosing an online baccarat casino, we advise that you look up the info section of RNG baccarat games – it should contain all details that are essential to your gameplay such as RTP, rules, payouts, and functions. We’ve chosen to feature a baccarat game developed by NetEnt as they have some of the most detailed explanations on how to play baccarat, third-card draw rules, payout tables, as well as all functions of each game. This release some of the highest return-to-player rates at

• Banker: 98.94%
• Player: 98.76%
• Tie: 85.64%

To avoid any confusion, the game features a chart for third card rules, scoring, and payout schedule with examples. All the features and controls are also explained in detail, so you will have no trouble playing regardless of your experience with the game. A history of previous bets stays open so you can keep track of previous results if you’re marking them down for patterns.

Is It Worth Using Pattern Spotting?

Learning the intricacies of these patterns can be an arduous task. Generally, what you need to know about these charts is that red circles represent Banker wins and blue circles – Player wins. Green is for Ties. The Big Road is the main road and all other ones consider its latest entry. Luckily, these days casinos will spare you the struggle and offer digital displays of the roads, detailing all the wins, and providing more information without error as they are directly connected to automatic card reading shoes. Normally, each road is six symbols in height and in electronic displays, Big Eye Boy, the Small Road and the Cockroach Road use symbols of half a cell’s height and width, which means that three rows of cells can fit six symbols vertically.

However you choose to use these patterns, whether scoring them yourself or following the electronic display, keep in mind that they’re entirely based on superstition and the false sense of control part of the gambling psychology, so they won’t decrease the house edge and won’t give you an advantage or guarantee you more or bigger winnings. If you want to get an authentic Macau Baccarat feeling, then you can use these, as well as other rituals such as the squeeze or blowing on cards to banish bad luck with the same effect.

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The rules of the game are somewhat complicated, but you can, and should, be easily able get to know them with just a little bit of study.

In the online version of the game, you can play without knowing the rules at all. So too in the version you will find in real world casinos, so long as you are playing the more popular version and not the high roller version, which has slightly different drawing rules.

We are really more interested in the rules that apply to the game that you will play online. This version is more properly called Punto Banco, or mini-Baccarat, to differentiate it from the original game, which can still be found in some casinos, mainly in Europe and Asia.

While there are no decisions for the player to make in this version – the software will deal the hands according to the rules – and all you really have to do is to place your bet and click the ‘deal’ button, it will really help with both your understanding of the game and your enjoyment, if you know what is happening and why it is happening.

As I said above, the rules are a bit complicated, but I will try to simplify them here.

There are two sets of rules; the rules of the game, whereby the winner is determined, and the drawing rules, whereby two cards are dealt to both the player hand and the banker hand, and then it is determined if and when a third card should be dealt to either hand.

Let’s look at the first set of rules first.

The Rules of Baccarat

These are quite straight forward. The player will make a bet on either the Player hand, the Banker hand, or the Tie. The dealer (also known as a croupier) will then deal two cards to these hands in succession. These are dealt face up. The totals of each hand are then calculated by the dealer, and if a third card should be dealt to either hand, then the dealer will do so.

How To Read Baccarat Charts

No more than three cards can be deal to either hand. The hand that totals nearest to nine will win. If both hands have the same total, then the Tie bet is a winner, and bets on any other hands are refunded.

There are online variations – software based – whereby you the player actually plays the the Player hand, and the cards are dealt face down, with you the player having to turn them up. But that is only a cosmetic alteration in the game play, added for entertainment purposes, and it in no way influences the outcome of the game.

The Drawing Rules of Baccarat

Understanding Baccarat Charts Chart

The manner in which it is determined whether a third card will be dealt is more complicated.

First, remember that the value of the cards is as follows; cards from Ace to Nine are valued at their pip count. So an ace is worth one point, a seven is worth seven points and so on. Face cards – Jack, Queen, King – and tens are all valued at zero. For some example hand valuations see here.

For example, a two card hand that contains a six and a 10 totals 6. If the total of the hand value goes over ten, you subtract ten. So, a hand that contains a 7 and a 9 becomes 6. (7 plus 9 uquals 16 minus 10 equals 6).

Once you understand that, then the rules for drawing a third card will make much more sense to you.

If either the Player hand or the Banker is dealt a total of 8 or 9 in the first two cards (known as a “natural”), then the game is over, and the winning hand is determined on just those cards.

If no hand is dealt a natural 8 or 9, then the following applies;

How To See Baccarat Chart

1. If the player hand has a total of from zero to five, then a third card is dealt to that hand.
2. If the player hand has a total of six or seven, then no third card is dealt.

The Banker hand is the last hand to be acted on. That means that the rules to determine if the Player hand should get a third card are consulted first, and then the decision for the Banker hand is made. This does give a slight edge to the Banker hand.

Firstly, if the Player hand has not been dealt a third card, then the above rule applies to the Banker hand; that is, a total of up to and including five will be dealt a third card, a total of six uo to and including none will not be dealt a third card.

In the case where a third card was dealt to the Player hand, then the following table applies;

1. If the Player hand drew a 2 or a 3, the Banker draws with 0–4 and stands with 5–7.
2. If the Player drew a 4 or a 5, the Banker draws with 0–5 and stands with 6–7.
3. If the Player drew a 6 or a 7, the Banker draws with 0–6 and stands with 7.
4. If the Player drew an 8, Banker draws with 0–2 and stands with 3–7.
5. If the Player drew an ace, a 9, a 10, or a face-card, the Banker draws with 0–3 and stands with 4–7.

You don’t really need to understand why these rules are as they are, and why they need to be so complicated, as this is simply how the game is played and that is that. To be fair, if the winner of the game was determined solely on the first two cards dealt then it would be more like a game of hi-lo than anything else.

These complicated rules certainly add to the sense of mystery that still surrounds the game. Which tends to give it the cachet of a more sophisticated game than it really is.