This form of Baccarat is not very easy to find in Europe, but it is common in the casinos of Europe, especially in France.

The goal is to form, in two or three cards, a combination that counts as close to 9 as possible. Face cards and 10s count 10 or zero, aces count 1, and other cards their pip value. Tens are disregarded in the total, thus, a 5 and a 6, totaling 11, counts as 1. The main diference between the Punto Banco Baccarat & Chemin de fer baccarat is the role of the banker. The banker in the American version of the game is the Casino, but here the role of the banker is rotated amongst the players. The only role of the casino in this game is to provide location and equipments for this game.

If a player has a count of 8 or 9 in his first two cards, he has a "natural," and shows his hand immediately. If only the dealer has a natural, the dealer wins all the bets. If only the opponent has a natural, the dealer pays all the bets. A natural 9 beats a natural 8. Two naturals of the same number are a stand-off. When this happens, cards are tossed in, all bets are withdrawn, and players place their bets for the next deal (called a "coup").

The player holding the cards is the "banker". Unlike standard Baccarat rules, he is the only one allowed to bet on the bank, and he can only bet on the bank. Players in Chemin de Fer can only make Player bets. Notice that in Chemin de Fer the casinos do not interfere with the game, the croupier is managing the conduct of the game but otherwise he does not inte rvene. The banker is responsible for the amount he wins or loses. It is up to the banker to accept or decline wagers from the players, also he is responsible to distribute the winnings or to claim the pot in case he wins.

The banker deals only cards to himself & to the player, face down.

Card Drawing Rules :

If neither the dealer nor his opponent has a natural, the opponent, according to the chart, may receive a third card, which is dealt face up. The dealer, also according to the chart, may draw a third card face up.

But in Some Variations, the dealer and any player who bancos are allowed to use their own judgment as to whether or not to draw a third card, regardless of mathematical advisability.

When both players have stood or withdrawn, all cards are shown. If the dealer is nearer 9 than his opponent, he collects all the bets. If his opponent is nearer 9, the dealer pays all the bets. If the dealer and his opponent have the same total, all bets are a stand-off and are withdrawn.

The banker is not permitted to withdraw any part of his winnings, which go to increase the amount in the bank. Should he at any given moment, desire to retire, he says, "I pass the deal." In such case each of the other players, in rotation, has the option of taking it, but he must start the bank with the same amount at which it stood when the last banker retired. Should no one present care to risk that high a figure, the deal passes to the player next on the right hand of the retiring banker, who is in such case at liberty to start the bank with such amount as he thinks fit, the late banker now being regarded as last in order of rotation, though the respective priorities are not otherwise affected.