The casino game Punto Banco is like this dope version of baccarat that’s been rocking the casino scene for, like, ages in the USA, UK, and Australia. And nowadays, it’s a total hit in the online live dealer gaming world. It made its debut in the US back in the ’50s, and trust me, it changed the whole gambling game!
This game is still hella popular today, you can find it in those exclusive VIP casino lounges, and it’s like a cornerstone in the US gambling scene, you feel me? Loads of online baccarat games go by the name Punto Banco and they totally copy its style, which, by the way, is kinda simple.
Playing Punto Banco online is pretty much the same deal as playing it at a land-based casino. The dealer does all the card stuff – shuffling, cutting, dealing, the whole shebang. So, there’s not really any excitement you’d be missing out on. But wait for it, online Punto Banco can still be super lit, especially if you’re playing at a live casino. You get that social vibe with camera views of the table and the dealer in real-time HD streaming.
Best Casinos to Play Punto Banco in United States
Expert Advice
Skip bonuses if you want to play Live games because it’s usually excluded from qualifying for wagering requirements.
How Punto Banco is played?
In regular baccarat, the house is the dealer, but in this other game called chemin de fer, or chemmy, the dealer role moves from player to player. Now, in Punto Banco, it seems like the dealer role passes from player to player, but it’s actually held by the house.
Now, in the casino scene, they mix three or six decks of 52 cards together, and they deal from this box thing called a “shoe.” Players try to get a total of nine, or as close as possible, with two or three cards. Cards like kings, queens, jacks, and 10s are worth nada, but all the others are worth their face value. You add up the cards in your hand, but only the last digit really matters. So, if you got an 8 and a 7, your total ain’t 15, it’s 5. If your hand has a 7 and a face card, you win ’cause you’re closer to a 9.
The banker deals two cards to the players and two to themselves from the shoe. If anyone has an 8 or 9, which is like a “natural,” they flip their cards and win right away. Unless the banker has the same, then it’s a tie, and they gotta deal again. If you’ve got 6 or 7, you gotta stand; less than 5, you ask for another card, and it’s face-up. With exactly 5, you can choose either (but in most US casinos, you gotta draw). The banker has to draw if their total is less than 3, stand if it’s more than 6, and they can do whatever if it’s 3 with a player’s third card being a 9 or 5 with a player’s third card being a 4. If none of that, they follow the best odds.
Betting Choices
So, the goal is to guess which hand wins: Punto, Banco, or a tie. You place your bets on “Punto”, “Tie”, or “Banco” squares.
Each player takes a turn with the shoe and deals two hands following the dealer’s lead – one for Punto and one for Banco. The player with the highest Punto bet gets those cards, and the dealer reveals the total. Then, the Banco player shows their cards, and the dealer announces the sum too.
The game might end there if someone gets an 8 or 9, or maybe they gotta draw another card for Punto, Banco, or both. It depends on the table rules.
How Cards are scored in Punto Banco?
You can drop bets on “Punto” (Player), “Banker,” or “Egalité” (Tie), and if Egalité wins, your Punto and Banco bets chill, you don’t lose ’em.
Face cards and tens are a big fat zero.
An ace is a one.
2 to 9 are their face value.
In Punto Banco, you only have two or three cards at most, and tens don’t count. You’re all about the single digits here. The max is 9 points, anything over 10 gets knocked down by 10.
As for the wins:
Punto: You get your bet back.
Banco: You snag 95% of your bet (which is like 19 to 20).
Egalité: Pays out 8 times your bet.
Keep it real with a max of 9 points, anything over gets hit with a 10 point deduction. The highest hand takes the cake.