Baccarat Banque

Baccarat Banque is also known as "Baccarat à Deux Tableaux" – Baccarat on Two Tables. As for players the rules are the same as in Baccarat Chemin de Fer, but they differ in case of Banker. Casino always holds the bank. The Banker sits in the middle of an oval table so that he or she splits the table imaginary to the right and the left side. The Banker covers all the bets and he or she plays one hand against the two tables at the same time.

If the game is new to you, you may like to learn about the general rules of baccarat that are common for all three versions of Baccarat. Apart from Baccarat Banque there are: Punto Banco (Nevada Baccarat) and Chemin de Fer.

Playing Table and Start of the Game in Baccarat Banque

A croupier sits opposite the Banker. The players are split to the right and the left side of the table. The fully occupied table counts ten players. Bystanders may participate in the game only if the players do not cover the Banker's bet entirely.

The game of Baccarat Banque starts with the croupier shuffling the cards and then the cards are handed to the players on the right and the left side to be shuffled again. The last person who can shuffle the cards is the Banker, who decides which player is to split the cards with a blank card.

There are three hands dealt – for the right table, the left table and the Banker. When each player places their bet, the Banker deals first three cards: to the Player on the right, then to the Player on the left and finally to him- or herself. After that the next three cards are dealt in the same order.

The two cards dealt for the players on the right are common for all the players sitting at the right table and the cards determine whether they win or lose; each player, of course, wins or loses their individual bet only. The same rule applies to the players on the left and/or the bystanders who were allowed to bet if the bank was not fully covered by the sitting players. The other rules are the same as in Baccarat Chemin de Fer.

The Player represents their table, i.e. holds, draws and shows down the cards, as long as he or she keeps winning. If he or she loses, the next player in the order becomes the new representative.

Solo Play for the Bank

Any of the players may go all-in for the whole bank likewise in other versions of baccarat. The first choice belongs to the player on the right who sits the closest to the Banker, the player on the left is next and then they change in turns in this fashion. If two players from the opposite tables want to go all-in, then each of them plays for a half of the bank.

The Player who goes all-in may play on one side only or he or she can play on both tables with the bank split in halves. If the player loses, he or she has the right to play for the whole bank again so that he or she could get their money back. The player exclaims Banco suivi! or just Suivi! (I continue). If the player loses again, he or she has got the one last go.

The Rule of the Player and the Banker in Baccarat Banque

The players stick to the same rules as in Chemin de Fer, they only make decisions whether to draw the third card or stand if the total value of their cards is 5. The Banker faces more complex task. He or she must choose the table to better play against. He or she usually prefers the table with the higher amount of bets.

There are no rules in place, whether the Banker must draw or stand, unless one table wins out the hand (Natural) while the Banker does not – it this case the Banker must stick to the rules of Chemin de Fer for drawing a third card or standing. It is needless to say that many situations occur, when the Banker cannot play against both tables in optimum way. Therefore the Banker makes his or her decisions based on the amount of bets and he or she tries to defeat the table with the higher total amount of bets.

Similarly as in Chemin de Fer, it is vital for the players not to reveal their style of play when the total value of their cards is 5. The players do not need to bet on their table only, but also on the opposite table or on both tables simultaneously. This last bet wins only if both tables beat the Banker. If one bet wins and the other loses, the bet is suspended. Naturally the players cannot bet on the Banker in Baccarat Banque. A piece of good advice is to bet on the table with a lower amount of bets.

There is a specific situation that cannot occur in Punto Banco (Nevada Baccarat) and Chemin de Fer. If the Banker reaches the total 8 or 9 using three cards against the win out of the Player's hand, then this game is always winning for the Player.