Difference between baccarat and punto banco

What is the difference between baccarat and punto banco? The short answer

Think of baccarat as a surname and punto banco as one member of the family. The word baccarat covers several related card games in which two hands are compared and the one closer to 9 wins. Punto banco is the version where the casino acts as the bank on every coup and both hands are played to a fixed drawing table, so no one at the table makes a single decision about the cards.

That's why the difference matters so little in practice for UK players. When you open a baccarat game at a UK-licensed online casino, or sit at a live dealer table streamed from a studio, you're playing punto banco or a direct offshoot of it. The other historic forms, chemin de fer and baccarat banque, let a player hold the bank and allow some choices, and they're now rare outside private games and some continental European casinos.

Wikipedia's baccarat article (opens in a new tab) puts it plainly: in punto banco the casino banks the game at all times, and each hand's moves are forced by the cards dealt. The names punto (player) and banco (banker) are simply labels for the two hands, not for you and the house.

The baccarat family: three games under one name

The table below sets the three main versions side by side. The key columns are who banks and who decides, because those two things are what separate punto banco from the older games.

Wikipedia records baccarat banque as the earliest form, a three-person game described in an 1847 French book of games. Chemin de fer, French for railway, grew out of it in the late 19th century as a faster two-hand game. Punto banco became a house-banked game in Havana in the 1940s and spread from there to casinos worldwide, which is the form British players meet today.

How punto banco works, coup by coup

Because nothing is left to choice, a punto banco round is easy to follow once you know how the cards count. Aces count 1, cards 2 to 9 count their face value, and tens and picture cards count 0. A hand's value is the last digit of its total, so 7 and 8 make 15, which counts as 5. You can read more in our page on how baccarat cards are counted.

1. Place your chips on Player, Banker or Tie before betting closes. Many tables also take side bets.
2. The dealer gives two cards each to the Player hand and the Banker hand, normally from a six- or eight-deck shoe.
3. If either hand has 8 or 9 from two cards, that's a natural and both hands stand.
4. Otherwise the Player hand draws a third card on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
5. The Banker hand then draws or stands according to its total and, if the Player drew, the value of the Player's third card.
6. The hand closer to 9 wins. Banker wins pay 19 to 20 (even money less 5% commission), Player wins pay even money, and Tie pays 8 to 1 or 9 to 1 depending on the table.

The Banker's drawing rules are the only part that looks complicated, and you never need to memorise them because the dealer or software applies them. Our third card rule page sets them out in full if you want to check a hand.

Punto banco odds and house edge

Since the drawing is fixed, punto banco's odds are fixed too. Standard game maths, as published on Wizard of Odds' baccarat basics page (opens in a new tab), gives these figures for the three main bets.

In pounds, a £10 Banker bet costs about 10.6p on average and a £10 Player bet about 12.4p. A £10 Tie bet at 8 to 1 costs about £1.44 per bet, more than thirteen times the Banker figure. When Player and Banker tie, those two bets push, which is why their win percentages add up to less than 100%.

Pace changes the hourly cost. Evolution says its standard live baccarat takes about 48 seconds a round, which is about 75 rounds an hour, so £10 on Banker each round costs roughly £7.95 an hour on average. Its Speed Baccarat takes 27 seconds a round, or about 133 rounds an hour, lifting the same habit to roughly £14 an hour. The baccarat house edge page has more on these figures.

How chemin de fer differs from punto banco

In chemin de fer the casino doesn't bank the game. A player takes the bank by putting up a stake, deals the cards, and the other players bet against that bank. The role can move round the table, which is where the railway name is said to come from: the shoe travels from player to player.

The other big change is choice. Wikipedia notes that the traditional guidance is to always draw on 0 to 4 and always stand on 6 or 7, which leaves room for decisions in between, and the player holding the bank also chooses whether to take a third card. In punto banco those same situations are settled by the fixed table, so there is no skill element at all. Our page on whether baccarat is a game of skill looks at this in more depth.

Because the house isn't on the other side of the bets, a casino running chemin de fer earns its money differently, usually from a charge on the bank's winnings. We don't quote a figure for that, because it varies by venue and isn't something UK-licensed online casinos offer.

Mini-baccarat, live baccarat and other punto banco versions

Much of the confusion comes from the many names attached to punto banco. Mini-baccarat is punto banco on a smaller table with lower limits. Live baccarat is punto banco dealt by a person on camera. Most of the branded games you'll see are punto banco with one rule or payout changed.

• No-commission baccarat: Banker wins pay even money, but a Banker win on 6 pays half. In the most common version the Banker edge rises to 1.46% with eight decks. See no commission baccarat.
• EZ Baccarat: Banker wins pay even money except a three-card Banker 7, which pushes; the Banker edge is 1.02% with eight decks. See EZ Baccarat.
• Speed Baccarat: standard rules with cards dealt face up and shorter rounds.
• Squeeze and Peek games: the same punto banco rules with a different way of revealing cards, and in Peek Baccarat a 20% fee for the option to raise.
• Dragon Tiger: a separate one-card game that borrows baccarat's look but not its rules. See Dragon Tiger.

If you only remember one thing, make it this: any game where you simply back Player, Banker or Tie and the dealer applies a drawing table is punto banco at heart. Our punto banco guide covers the standard game on its own.

Punto banco in the UK: casinos, history and rules

Britain has a long link with the older form. After the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 loosened gaming law, Tim Holland bought the company running Crockfords in London in 1961 and introduced chemin de fer there, according to Wikipedia. Today, UK casino floors and UK-licensed websites offer punto banco, and Wikipedia says most UK casinos pay the Tie at 9 to 1, against the 8 to 1 common elsewhere. Always check the table's payout card or help screen, because that single figure moves the Tie edge from 4.844% to 14.36%.

Online baccarat in Great Britain also follows the Gambling Commission's game design rules. Since 17 January 2025, casino games other than slots must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle, autoplay is banned for all online casino games (a re-bet button isn't autoplay), and you can't play several games at once. The £5 and £2 slot stake limits don't apply to baccarat. More on this is in our live casino rules guide.

Myths about baccarat and punto banco

Where to play punto banco online in the UK

Our partner offers are built around slots, so treat them as separate from any baccarat you play. Casumo gives new customers a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more, with 10x wagering within 7 days and a £5 maximum bet. 10bet matches a first deposit 100% up to £25, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with bonus winnings capped at £1,000. Coral gives 100 free spins at 10p each when you bet £10 on slots, valid for 7 days with no wagering on spin winnings. All are 18+ and terms apply. Baccarat and live tables are often excluded from bonus wagering or count for less, so read the terms and look in the casino's live baccarat lobby for the Tie payout before you play.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.