Live Baccarat Explained

The rules of baccarat are the same whether it is dealt live or digitally. For card values, the third-card rule and odds, read the baccarat rules guide

How a live round works

1. Betting opens. A countdown timer shows how long you have to place bets on screen.
2. Betting closes. Once the timer ends, no further bets are accepted for that round.
3. The dealer deals. Two cards go to the Player hand and two to the Banker hand from a shoe, usually of eight decks.
4. Third cards, if required. The dealer applies the fixed drawing rules. No player decisions are involved.
5. Result and settlement. The hand closer to nine wins, and bets are settled automatically.

Main bets

Many tables also offer side bets such as pairs. Side bets usually carry a higher house edge than the Player or Banker bets.

Common table variants

• No-commission baccarat: Banker wins are paid 1:1 without commission, except in a stated situation (commonly a Banker win with a total of six), which pays less. The table rules describe the exception.
• Speed baccarat: shorter betting windows and faster dealing, so more rounds per hour. More rounds also means more money wagered in the same time.
• Squeeze: cards are revealed slowly for suspense. The result is unchanged; only the presentation differs.

Scorecards and roadmaps

Live baccarat tables often display the results of previous rounds as grids, sometimes called roadmaps (bead plate, big road and derived roads). They are a record of what has happened. Patterns in them do not predict the next result, and following them does not change the house edge.

Live versus digital baccarat