Baccarat Cheat Sheet — Rules Chart and Strategy Card on One Page
This is a baccarat cheat sheet: everything a beginner needs at the table, reduced to tables you can print or keep open on your phone. It covers the rules chart, the house edge of each bet, what a normal shoe looks like so streaks do not surprise you, and a short list of things not to do. Each section links to the full explanation if you want the reasoning. All numbers are exact calculations for an 8-deck shoe made by Baccarat Terminal; none of them are estimates.
1. Card values (one line)
| Card | A | 2–9 | 10, J, Q, K | Total over 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counts as | 1 | face value | 0 | drop the tens digit (15 → 5) |
Highest possible total is 9. Two-card 8 or 9 is a natural and ends the round.
2. Baccarat rules chart for beginners
You never decide whether to draw — the dealer applies this. But reading it lets you follow every hand:
| Step | Condition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Either hand 8 or 9 | Both stand. Compare. |
| 2 | Player 0–5 / 6–7 | Player draws / stands |
| 3 | Player stood | Banker draws on 0–5, stands on 6–7 |
| 4 | Player drew | Banker uses the line below for its total |
| Banker total | Draws when Player's 3rd card is |
|---|---|
| 0, 1, 2 | anything |
| 3 | anything except 8 |
| 4 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 5 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 6 | 6, 7 |
| 7 | never |
Memory trick: the Banker's "draw window" shrinks by two cards each step from 4 to 6 — 2–7, then 4–7, then 6–7. Full rules with examples: baccarat rules. How often each case happens: third card rules.
3. Baccarat strategy cheat sheet: the bets ranked
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Loss per $100 wagered | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banker (5% commission) | 0.95 to 1 | 1.06% | $1.06 | Best main bet |
| Banker at a 4% commission table | 0.96 to 1 | 0.60% | $0.60 | Better if you find it |
| EZ Banker (3-card 7 pushes) | 1 to 1 | 1.02% | $1.02 | Fine |
| Player | 1 to 1 | 1.24% | $1.24 | Fine |
| No-commission Banker (6 pays half) | 1 to 1 | 1.46% | $1.46 | Slightly worse |
| Dragon Bonus on Player | up to 30 to 1 | 2.65% | $2.65 | Costly |
| Tie at 9 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 4.84% | $4.84 | Costly |
| Dragon 7 (EZ) | 40 to 1 | 7.61% | $7.61 | Avoid |
| Dragon Bonus on Banker | up to 30 to 1 | 9.37% | $9.37 | Avoid |
| Panda 8 (EZ) | 25 to 1 | 10.19% | $10.19 | Avoid |
| Player / Banker Pair | 11 to 1 | 10.36% | $10.36 | Avoid |
| Either Pair | 5 to 1 | 13.71% | $13.71 | Avoid |
| Tie at 8 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 14.36% | $14.36 | Worst common bet |
The whole of baccarat strategy fits in one sentence: bet Banker or Player, skip the rest. Why Banker edges Player: banker vs player. Side bet details: side bets.
4. What a normal shoe looks like
Most bad decisions at a baccarat table come from treating normal randomness as a signal. Keep these figures in mind (8 decks, about 80 hands per shoe):
| In one shoe… | Normal value |
|---|---|
| Banker / Player / Tie per hand | 45.86% / 44.62% / 9.52% |
| Ties | about 7.6, usually 3 to 13 |
| Naturals | about 27 |
| Big Road columns | about 36 |
| A streak of 5 or more on one side | 92.1% of shoes |
| A streak of 7 or more | 42.4% of shoes |
| A streak of 10 or more | 6.1% of shoes |
| Banker's share of decisions (95% range) | 39% to 62% |
A seven-hand streak is close to a coin flip per shoe, and a single shoe where Banker wins only 40% is entirely normal. Neither tells you anything about the next hand: in our 8.5 million recorded hands, a Banker streak continued 50.5–50.9% of the time whatever its length — the same as Banker's ordinary 50.7% share.
5. Money per hour (flat $10 bets)
| Table speed | Hands per hour | Average loss on Banker | Typical swing (95%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 60 | $6.35 | ±$141 |
| Busy standard | 80 | $8.46 | ±$163 |
| Speed baccarat | 120 | $12.69 | ±$199 |
The swing is fifteen to twenty times the average loss. That is why one evening proves nothing — winning or losing sessions are mostly the swing, not skill.
6. Do and don't
- Do decide your total budget and stopping time before you sit down, and keep them.
- Do read the rule sign: 5% commission, no-commission, EZ and 8 to 1 vs 9 to 1 Tie change the numbers above.
- Do prefer slower tables if your goal is time at the table rather than action.
- Don't chase losses with Martingale-style doubling — a 7-loss run (127 units down) shows up in about 1 cycle in 141, and the edge never changes. Calculation: Martingale.
- Don't treat roads, patterns or "hot tables" as predictions. Across 136,825 real shoes, 84 tested strategies all lost 1.0–1.3% per hand.
- Don't buy a "winning system". No system can guarantee profit in a game where every bet has a negative expectation.
7. Glossary in ten words
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Punto / Banco | Player / Banker |
| Natural | Two-card 8 or 9 |
| Shoe | The box of 6 or 8 decks |
| Commission | 5% taken from Banker wins |
| Push | Stake returned, no win or loss |
| Big Road | Main scoreboard of streaks |
| Bead Plate | Scoreboard of every hand in order |
| Squeeze | Slowly revealing a card |
| Burn | Cards discarded at the start of a shoe |
| Cut card | Plastic card marking the last hand |
More terms: baccarat glossary. To keep your own record in the scoreboard format above, the free Baccarat Scoreboard app works offline; to watch live tables, open the baccarat tracker.
Cheat sheet FAQ
What is the best bet on a baccarat cheat sheet? Banker at 1.06% house edge, or 0.60% if you find a 4% commission table. Player at 1.24% is a close second.
Do I need to memorise the third-card chart? No. The dealer applies it automatically. It is useful only for following the game and spotting dealing mistakes.
Can I use a cheat sheet at a casino table? Many casinos allow strategy cards and scorecards; some do not. Ask the dealer or floor supervisor if unsure.
Is there a baccarat strategy chart like blackjack's? No. Blackjack charts tell you how to play each hand; baccarat has no decisions once the bet is placed, so the only "chart" is which bet to choose — section 3.
Figures: exact enumeration of an 8-deck shoe and Baccarat Terminal's recorded shoes (September 2026). 18+. Information only — not a gambling service and not betting advice.