Baccarat is a table game played with several decks of cards, kept in a 'shoe'.

Cards are dealt out to the player and the dealer (or 'Banker'), with the goal being to create a hand which has a points total closest to 9, without exceeding it.

Players at the table simply place a bet on the Player, the Banker or the hands ending in a Tie.

The dealer then deals two cards to each side and the winner is the side closest to a total of 9. In some circumstances play may advance to a third card, but never beyond.

Counting The Points

Several basic rules determine how to count the score on the cards, so it pays to be up to speed on these rules before starting to play baccarat online for real money.

Picture cards count as zero, and if the total is over 10 then the left-hand digit is dropped. For example, 18 becomes 8 (the 1 is dropped), 16 becomes 6, and so on. Hands worth both 8 and 9 are called "naturals", with 9 beating 8. If the Player hand or the Banker hand has a natural 8 or 9 and the opposing hand has a lower point value, the natural hand wins.

When Is A Third Card Dealt?

Baccarat rules state that there are certain cases where a third card is dealt.

Let's consider the Player's hand first. If the total of his cards is 5 or less, another card is dealt to him. For the Banker, there are rules too. If his total is 2 he draws another card, no matter what the Player's third card is. If his total is 3, the Banker draws a third card unless the Player's third card is an 8. If he has 4, the Banker draws unless the Player's third card is a 0, 1, 8 or 9. If the Banker has 5, he draws if the Player's third card is 4, 5, 6 or 7. If the Banker has 6, he draws a third card if the Player's third card is 6 or 7. Finally, if the Banker's total is 7, he stands.

It's worth writing these rules down, or making mental notes on them – they will be clearly shown on your screen, but it's still worth remembering them so you can follow the online baccarat action much more clearly.

Previous results will also be shown on the online casino's screen, so if you're superstitious or into betting systems, these may help you decide how to play the next hand.

Baccarat Betting And Payouts

Betting real money in baccarat gives you three options: you can bet on the Player, the Banker or a Tie. If you bet on the Player and win, you will receive a 1/1 (even money) payout, so a $10 bet would pay back $20 ($10 plus your original $10 stake).

A winning bet on the Banker also pays out even money, but you must pay a 5% commission back to the casino, collected at the end of play. The commission exists because the Banker has a statistical edge over the Player.

Betting on the Tie – although not recommended pays out 8/1. However, this is the least likely of all outcomes.

Side Bets In Baccarat Online

If the regular real money betting action in baccarat online seems a little skinny, the good news is that many casinos offer an array of side bets to spice things up a bit.

Just click on the relevant button on-screen to place your extra bets. Players can bet on Player Pair, Banker Pair, Perfect Pair, Either Pair, or Big and Small.

The Player Pair and Banker Pair side bets win if the first two cards dealt to the Player and Banker form a pair, e.g. the Banker gets the King of Diamonds, and the Player gets the King of Hearts. The Either Pair wins if the first two cards on either the Banker's or the Player's hand (or both) make a pair. The Perfect Pair, meanwhile, wins if the first two Player's or Banker's cards form a pair of the same suit. The Big wins if the total of the cards dealt to Player and Banker make 5 or 6, while The Small pays out if the total between Players and Banker is 4.

There will be a paytable in your real money online casino with the payout odds of each of these side bets. Side bets are a fun way of keeping the action interesting while you play baccarat online and remember, you don't even have to bet on the main game, you can play purely by betting on side action.

OK, so we've covered the baccarat basics for you. What about the different variants of the game you may find at top online casinos in 2020?

Mini Baccarat

Mini baccarat is a smaller version of the popular casino card game, where players can play for smaller stakes and at a smaller table. This makes it perfect for new players or those unfamiliar with the rules.

You can even play mini baccarat live with a real-life dealer calling the shots as in a conventional casino. This is great if you want to learn the ropes and ask plenty of questions while you do it!

Live Dealer Baccarat

The beauty of online casinos in 2020 is that you're not restricted to just playing against a computer dealer.

The live game allows you to play against a real-life croupier sitting in a real-life casino environment, dealing real-life cards for all to see.

In live baccarat online a human croupier, you can see them via the casino's webcam, will deal out the hands and prompt the betting in real-time. This way, when you're dealt either a Player, Banker, or Tie hand, you'll be able to see exactly what's going on and exactly whom you are competing against.

And if you're new to the game, don't worry – you can simply type a question into the chatbox and it will be read by the croupier and answered right away. But don't stop at newbie questions, you can flirt, indulge in some banter, and enjoy your game just as if you were playing in person at a brick 'n' mortar casino.

Live dealer baccarat not only allows you to interact with a real-life croupier, it also means that fans who aren't 100 percent comfortable with computer RNGs can see the cards actually being dealt. Those RNGs are independently audited, of course – and all our top sites will have fair software – but the “human element” is something many players prefer.