Lesson 2 of 3
The third-card rule
This is the part of baccarat that looks like a secret code. It is really two short rules, one for each hand, and a table you will soon be able to read without thinking.
2.1 First, check for naturals
Before anyone draws, the dealer looks at both two-card totals. If either hand has 8 or 9, the coup is over and nobody takes a third card. Everything below applies only when neither hand has a natural.
2.2 The Player rule
The Player hand always acts first, and its rule depends on nothing but its own total.
| Player's two-card total | Player |
|---|---|
| 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | draws |
| 6, 7 | stands |
| 8, 9 | natural, nobody draws |
That is all there is to the Player side: five or under draws, six or seven stands.
2.3 Banker, when Player stood
If the Player stood on 6 or 7, the Banker simply uses the same rule the Player did: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7.
2.4 Banker, when Player drew: the tableau
When the Player has taken a third card, the Banker's decision depends on two things: the Banker's own total and the value of that third Player card. Remember that the card's value is what matters, so a ten or a court card counts as 0.
| Banker total | Player stood | Value of the Player's third card | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| 0 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 1 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 2 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 3 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | D |
| 4 | D | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S |
| 5 | D | S | S | S | S | D | D | D | D | S | S |
| 6 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | D | D | S | S |
| 7 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
Read it like a mileage chart. Find the Banker total down the left, then move across to the column for the Player's third card. Written out in words, the same table says:
- Banker 0, 1 or 2: always draws.
- Banker 3: draws, unless the Player's third card is an 8.
- Banker 4: draws if the Player's third card is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
- Banker 5: draws if the Player's third card is 4, 5, 6 or 7.
- Banker 6: draws if the Player's third card is 6 or 7.
- Banker 7: always stands.
2.5 Three worked hands
Hand A
Player had 3, so drew, and the third card was a 6. Banker had 6, and a 6 sits in the Banker's narrow drawing range of 6 or 7, so Banker drew a 2 to reach 8. Player's 9 wins.
Hand B
Player had 5, so drew an 8, for 13, which counts as 3. Banker also had 3, but 3 against a third card of 8 is the one exception on that row, so Banker stood. Three against three: a tie.
Hand C
Player had 7, so stood. With the Player standing, Banker follows the Player rule: it had 5, so it drew, and a 3 took it to 8. Banker wins.
2.6 Ways to remember it
Look at where the drawing range starts on each middle row: Banker 4 draws from 2 upwards, 5 from 4 upwards, 6 from 6 upwards. The starting point climbs by two each time, and each of those ranges stops at 7. Banker 3 is the odd one out: it draws on every third card except an 8.
You will never be asked to apply these rules at a casino table; the dealer does it. But knowing them lets you follow the game and spot the rare mistake. The quickest way to learn them is the third-card drill, which shows a situation and asks you what happens next.