Punto Banco

Casino players who are new to punto banco (or more popularly known as baccarat) have shown some interest in the game. Majority of them have second thoughts of trying the game because they do not know the rules.  However, punto banco is as simple as blackjack. It is not hard to learn how to play baccarat at all. The game is also as easy to play as roulette.

Rules of punto banco

In a game of punto banco, two sides try to gain the most number of points. Dealer draws two cards for each side. The two competing sides are the punto (player) and banco (banker). The point is from the second digit of their cards total face value. If a player’s hand has a J and a 5 for example, their point is a 5. The total face value of the card is 15, so 5 is the player’s point.

The complicated part of punto banco is the third card rule. Dealers draw a third card for either the punto or banco side based on a rule they follow. If both side has a score of 8 or 9 for example, the dealer simply announces the result and skip drawing a new card. If the player’s point is 5 or lesser, the dealer needs to draw another card for the side. Should the banker’s points equal to 2 or lower, they draw a third card for the banker.

Player actions in punto banco

There are many more rules or requirements when a dealer needs to get a third card for any of the two sides. Fortunately, punto banco players don’t need to remember all of those. They just need to wager on either the banker or the player. There is also the ‘tie’ bet option where players can wager on both sides having the same amount of points as the other.  The chance of both sides having the same points is low. However, ‘tie’ bets have a high payout in punto banco.

Alternative punto banco

An online baccarat casino may have other variations of punto banco. Almost all of them follow the same rules in drawing the cards and gaining points. The major differences in these games are the additional betting options for bettors. One example is the Super 6 or Punto 2000. This name comes from the Super 6 bet. Players earn this bet if the banker wins with 6 points. Another betting option variant of punto banco is the Dragon 7 where the banker needs to have a total of 7 points from three cards for players to win their bets.

By knowing how the game works, players can confidently make their bets in any kind of punto banco game, and make their own baccarat winning strategy.