Baccarat is called Punto Banco in many casinos in North America, South America and Europe. "Punto" means "Player", while "Banco" means "Bank", in reference to the two principal bets of the game. Punto Baccarat is played with three casino dealers and upto 12 or 14 players. There are two principal bets to make - banker or player.

# If the total of your two cards is 0-5 you must draw another card.
# If your total is 6-7 you must stand, punto banco rules doesn`t allow you to draw another card.
# If your total is 9 you win (less the dealer has a total of 9 as well). A total of eight dictates the same according to punto banco rules.
# The winner of punto banco is the one with the highest hand total.
# The banker`s rules of hitting and standing are a little more complicated, that is due to preserve the house edge, which is quite low in internet punto banco tables.
# When the Banks total is 0-2 he must take a third card.
# When the banks total in punto banco is 3 he must take another card less the player`s total is eight.
# When the banks total is 4 he must hit less the player`s third card is - 8-10 or 1.
# When the banks total is 5 he must hit if the player`s third card is 4-7, otherwise he stands.
# If the banker`s total is 6 then he must only hit when the player`s third card is 6-7.
# When the banker`s hand`s total is 7 he always stands.

The croupier will deal the cards according to the tableau and the croupier will announce the winning hand - either `Player` or `Banker`. Losing bets will be collected and the winning bets will be paid according to the rules of the house. Usually even money or 1-1 will be paid to the player and 95% to the `Banker`, 5% commission to the house. (Commission Baccarat) Some casinos pay even money or 1-1 to both `Player` and `Banker` except when the `Banker` wins with a total of 6. Then the `Banker` will be paid 50% or half the original bet.

Calculation of Baccarat Odds
Because of this, in any calculation of Baccarat house edge, the Tie bet can be effectively disregarded. Were it not for the vigorish (commission), the probability of winning on Banker would be over 1 in 2 ie better than a coin toss. Even allowing for the vigorish, the house edge on the Banker bet is just over 1%.

The Player bet has a slightly higher house edge, usually around 1.25%. But there is no vigorish, so nothing is deducted from your winnings.

Even so, with such a low house edge, the Banker bet is the safest Punto Banco bet in the long run.

Some Baccarat players find that betting on the Banker seems somehow unnatural, as though they`re betting against themself. This probably comes from playing Blackjack, where the player is always trying to beat the Banker.

Remember, in Punto Banco or Baccarat, the winner is the one who predicts the winning hand, not the one who plays it.

Punto Banco Strategy

When you are winning, the bets progress as follows:

Bet 1 is 1 unit, Bet 2 is 3 units, Bet 3 is 2 units and Bet 4 is 4 units.

Whenever you lose, you revert back to Bet 1.

If your first bet loses, your loss is 1 unit.
If the second loses, your loss is 2.05 units.
If the third loses, you make a profit of 1.8 units (with the vigorish).
If the fourth loses, you make a profit of 1.7 units.

If the fourth wins, your overall profit is 9.5 units.

The advantage of this Punto Banco system is that you risk 2.05 units with a chance of making 9.5 profit. In other words, you can have four losing sequences and get your money back with one winning run.