The main attraction of Baccarat Banque is that it gives players an opportunity to play the bank for a while so they get to experience the game from both sides. The usual setup will see anywhere between 7 and 14 players. For the games with more players, two tables are used and the player side is dealt two hands, one for each table.

Like in Chemmy, the play will begin by the banker setting their bet and the players matching it. If one particular player wants to challenge the banker, they can do so by matching the entire bet on their own. Should they win, they will become the banker for the remainder of the shoe.

When it comes to determining the winner, rules of Baccarat Banque are the same like in any baccarat variation, i.e. the best possible hand is the one with the total of 9.

When cards are dealt, if either side has the Natural (an 8 or a 9), they will announce it immediately and the best hand wins. If this isn’t the case, the player representing the players’ side (usually the one making the largest bet) will have an option to take one more card.

This is where Baccarat Banque differs from other variations as the player can actually choose whether to take a card or stand no matter what their total is (provided it’s not a Natural). That said, the best strategy is to stick with the rules of other variations like Chemmy, i.e. take a card when the total is 4 or lower, stand on 6 or 7, and with the total of 5 it’s fine to go either way.

The banker has more options when deciding on whether to take the card or not. There is usually a table listing all of these options for less experienced players but you’ll probably learn them as you play the game more.

Baccarat Banque With Two Player Hands

Sometimes Baccarat Banque will be played with two player hands. In this scenario, the banker will still get only one hand and will try to beat both sides. Of course, this isn’t always possible and sometimes some strategizing is required.

In this scenario, the player acting as the bank will usually use their right to draw the cards with the goal of beating whichever side has posted the bigger bet. The banker has the full freedom of choice to make the decision about drawing the third card as long as they’re within the rules of the game.

Baccarat Banque is a great variation of the game for everyone looking to see how it plays from the other side of the table. It adds a completely new element and makes it quite a bit different from usual baccarat variations played against the casino.

It is also a more involved variation whichever side you play from as there is more control over what you do. You can choose to stand or pass on the third card as both the player and the banker and playing against two player hands when acting as the bank adds even more strategic elements.

This isn’t to say that Baccarat Banque is particularly hard or demanding as strategies are quite simple and easy to learn but it’s still different from more popular baccarat versions. On top of it all, it is played with more people at the table so there is also an interesting social element to the game which is important to some players.

With Baccarat Banque being slightly different from most variations, there are some good tips and tricks to adhere to when playing:

• Make sure to memorize what totals you should be standing and drawing with when on the player side as this is very important to improve your chance of beating the bank.
• You can challenge the banker at any point and it is perfectly fine to do and within the rules and the etiquette of the game.
• When playing the banker and facing two hands, focus on beating the one with the larger wager and make your draw decisions based on that.

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