A hand in casino games means two related things: the cards a player or dealer holds, and one complete round of a card game, as in ‘50 hands an hour’. How a hand is scored changes completely between games: blackjack counts towards 21, baccarat keeps only the last digit, and poker ranks combinations.
‘Hand’ means both the cards held and one round of play.
Blackjack hands count to 21, baccarat hands keep the last digit (highest 9), poker hands rank combinations of five cards.
The average cost of a hand is the stake times the house edge: £10 on a 1.06% banker bet is about 10.6p.
Faster games mean more hands per hour and a higher hourly cost at the same edge.
Two meanings
Cards held; one round of play
Best blackjack hand
Ace plus a 10-value card (21)
Best baccarat hand
9
Poker hand size
Best five cards
Evolution Speed Baccarat round
About 27 seconds
The two meanings of hand in casino games
The first meaning is physical: your hand is the cards in front of you. In blackjack you start with two, in baccarat the Player and Banker hands each get two or three, and in most casino poker games your hand is the best five cards available to you. The dealer holds a hand too, and in house-banked games that is the hand you are trying to beat.
The second meaning is a unit of time. ‘We dealt 60 hands’ means 60 rounds. Baccarat players also use the word coup for one round. Both meanings appear throughout our casino glossary, and context usually makes it clear which one is meant.
How a hand is valued in each game
Hand values by game
Game
How a hand scores
Best possible hand
Source of rule
Blackjack
Add card values; aces 1 or 11, picture cards 10
Ace plus a 10-value card on the first two cards
Standard rules
Baccarat
Add card values and keep the last digit; tens and pictures count 0
The average cost of a hand is your stake multiplied by the house edge. The real result of any single hand is a win, loss or push, never the average, but the average tells you how the game is priced.
Baccarat banker bet, £10: 1.06% edge, so about 10.6p per hand.
Baccarat player bet, £10: 1.24% edge, about 12.4p per hand.
Blackjack, £10, six decks with the dealer hitting soft 17 and doubling after splits allowed: a 0.62% edge with basic strategy, so about 6.2p per hand.
Baccarat tie at 8 to 1, £10: 14.36% edge with eight decks, about £1.44 per hand.
Now add speed. Evolution’s Speed Baccarat (opens in a new tab) completes a round in about 27 seconds, against about 48 seconds for its standard table. That is roughly 133 hands an hour against 75 (3,600 seconds divided by each round time).
Banker bet at £10 a hand: cost per hour (shown arithmetic)
Table
Round time
Hands per hour
Average cost per hour
Standard live baccarat
About 48 seconds
75
About £7.95
Speed Baccarat
About 27 seconds
About 133
About £14.10
The edge per hand is identical, yet the faster table costs almost twice as much per hour. Our cost per hour guide applies the same sum to other games.
Hand rules in live and multi-hand games
Some modern games change how hands are shared. In Evolution’s Infinite Blackjack, every player at the table starts with the same two-card hand and then makes their own decisions. Multi-hand blackjack lets one player play several boxes at once, which multiplies the stake per round and so the cost per round.
Under UK rules each hand must be started by you, with no autoplay, and at least five seconds must pass from the start of one round to the next. Those rules cover live and RNG tables alike, as our page on live casino rules explains.
How to read your hand in any card game
Check which game you are in: the same cards score differently in blackjack, baccarat and poker.
Add or rank the cards using that game’s rules, counting aces correctly.
Compare your hand with the dealer’s, or with the pay table if you are playing video poker.
Note the result and the stake, so your running net position stays clear.
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Frequently asked questions
What does hand mean in blackjack?
In blackjack, a hand is the set of cards you hold and also one round of play. Your hand scores by adding card values, with aces worth 1 or 11 and picture cards worth 10, and the aim is to beat the dealer without going over 21. If you split a pair you play two hands, each with its own bet. Our blackjack card values page covers every card.
What is the best hand in blackjack?
The best blackjack hand is an ace plus any 10-value card on your first two cards, which usually pays 3 to 2. Some tables pay only 6 to 5, which adds 1.39% to the house edge, so check before you sit down. A three-card 21 is not a blackjack and pays even money. See what is the best hand in blackjack for more detail.
What is the best hand in baccarat?
The best baccarat hand is 9, because a hand’s value is the last digit of its card total. A two-card 8 or 9 is called a natural and ends the drawing. You do not play the hand yourself; you bet on whether the Player or Banker hand will win, or on a tie. Our baccarat rules explain the drawing rules in full.
How many hands per hour are dealt in live casino games?
It depends on the game: Evolution says its Speed Baccarat takes about 27 seconds a round and standard baccarat about 48 seconds, which works out at roughly 133 and 75 hands an hour. More hands per hour means a higher average cost per hour at the same edge. Our page on speed live casino games compares other fast formats.
Is a hand the same as a round?
Yes, in everyday casino talk a hand and a round mean the same thing in card games. ‘Hand’ is used for blackjack, poker and baccarat, while ‘spin’ is used for roulette and slots. UK rules call each round a game cycle and set a minimum of five seconds for non-slot casino games. See our definition of a game cycle for how the rules measure it.
Can you play more than one hand at a time online?
Yes, some blackjack games let you play several boxes in one round, but UK rules stop casinos offering several separate games at once. Playing three hands at £10 each puts £30 at risk per round and triples the average cost per round. Our guide to bankroll management explains how to size stakes so a budget lasts.
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