Punto Banco is a hugely popular card game that gets players totally hooked. It is a game of chance which is dependent on the cards the player receives. This means that players have just as much chance to win as anyone else, because no skills or form of strategy is necessary. The winning hand will be either the Player’s or the Banker’s. The winning bets depend on the casino, however in most cases, 1-1 (even money) is given for Player’s bets. The house edge is quite low at approximately 1%.

The game is very similar to Baccarat, except that there are not any optional plays, and there are fixed house rules as to how the cards are dealt. There is a shoe (which houses four, six or eight pre-shuffled decks. A card sized piece of plastic, which is usually yellow, is included in the shuffling, and is the sign which shows the shoe’s last coup.

The aim of the game is for players to bet on the winner of the two hands given to the players and the bank. The winner is the one who has 9, or the closest to it. This is calculated when the card values are added together, and the last digit is used as the accepted number.

The different rules for the players and banker mean that if in the beginning, the player has between 0-5 as a total card value, he is eligible to draw another (third) card. If his total is 6 or 7, then he has to stand. If the player only has 2 cards, then the banker has to follow the same rule as the player, and has to regard only his own cards, and the 0-5 and 6 or 7 card rule applies. There are more complicated rules if the player draws a third card.

If at the end of the deal, if the Player and the banker have scored the same value, it is classed as a ‘tie bet’, which is awarded with 8-1 odds. In this instance the bets on both sides stay active for the following game.

If you want a game of Punto Banco come on down to Les Croupiers. We’re happy to serve both first timers and experts.