Punto Banco Rules
Punto banco is enjoyed with eight decks of cards in a dealing shoe. Cards below ten are worth their printed number and with 10, J, Q, K are zero, and A is 1. Bets are placed on the ‘bank’, the ‘player’, or for a tie (these are not actual people; they just represent the 2 hands that are dealt).
Two hands of 2 cards are then dealt to the ‘bank’ and ‘player’. The total for each hand is the sum total of the cards, however the 1st digit is discarded. For example, a hand of 5 and 6 has a score of one (5 plus 6 equals 11; drop the first ‘one’).
A additional card will be dealt using the rules below:
- If the gambler or bank achieves a total of eight or 9, the two players stay.
- If the player has five or lower, she hits. Players stays otherwise.
- If the player stays, the banker hits on five or less. If the player takes a card, a chart is used to see if the bank stays or takes a card.
Punto Banco Odds
The bigger of the 2 totals wins. Winning bets on the house payout 19:20 (equal cash minus a 5% commission. The Rake is kept track of and paid off once you quit the table so ensure you still have money around before you quit). Winning bets on the gambler pays out at one to one. Winning bets for a tie usually pays out at 8:1 but occasionally nine to one. (This is a bad wager as ties happen less than 1 in every ten hands. Be cautious of wagering on a tie. However odds are astonishingly better for 9:1 versus eight to one)
Wagered on correctly baccarat provides pretty decent odds, aside from the tie wager of course.
Baccarat Strategy
As with all games Baccarat has a few established misunderstandings. One of which is the same as a misunderstanding in roulette. The past isn’t a prophecy of events yet to happen. Recording past results at a table is a poor use of paper and an affront to the tree that was cut down for our stationary desires.
The most common and definitely the most favorable method is the 1-3-2-6 method. This plan is used to build up earnings and minimizing risk.
Begin by wagering one unit. If you win, add another to the two on the game table for a sum total of 3 units on the second bet. If you succeed you will hold six on the table, remove four so you are left with 2 on the 3rd round. If you come away with a win on the third wager, deposit two to the four on the table for a sum total of six on the 4th bet.
If you lose on the first round, you take a hit of 1. A win on the first bet followed by a hit on the 2nd creates a loss of 2. Success on the first two with a loss on the 3rd provides you with a profit of two. And success on the first 3 with a hit on the fourth means you break even. Winning all 4 rounds leaves you with 12, a gain of 10. This means you can lose the 2nd bet 5 times for every successful run of 4 rounds and still balance the books.