A baccarat round is brief, but it has a definite sequence. Confusion often comes from watching cards revealed slowly, or from a screen displaying the scoreboard before the viewer has worked out the hand totals. This walkthrough covers standard punto banco without treating a round as a betting strategy.
Stage 1: Betting opens and then closes
Before any initial cards are exposed, the interface or table accepts eligible wagers under its published limits. Common main outcomes are Player, Banker and Tie. The dealer or digital system then closes betting for that round. Late wager changes are not part of the normal completed-round process. Exactly how chips are accepted, timed or settled varies with the venue and rules.
Stage 2: Two cards go to each hand
One set belongs to the Player hand and the other to the Banker hand. Each card from ace through nine has its number value; tens and face cards are zero. The hand score is the last digit of the sum. Example: Player cards nine and four total 13, yielding three; Banker cards five and two yield seven.
Stage 3: Check for a natural eight or nine
If either original two-card hand scores eight or nine, the drawing phase stops. This is a natural. Both hands are compared as they stand. For example, if Player starts with nine and Banker starts with seven, no third card is dealt, and the Player hand wins. A natural is about when the hand stops, not a promise about the bettor's return.
Stage 4: Apply the third-card chart if there is no natural
When no natural exists, the Player hand draws on totals zero to five and stands on six or seven. Banker may draw according to its own total and, where Player draws, the value of that Player third card. The dealer does not improvise. For the full Banker decision table, consult the third-card rules reference.
Using the first example (Player three, Banker seven), Player takes a third card; Banker with seven stands. If the Player's card is three, Player's new score is six and Banker seven wins. If that card instead has value eight, Player's new score is one. Both routes are automatic.
Stage 5: Compare scores and settle
After all required cards, whichever hand has the higher score wins the comparison. Equal scores mean a tie. Under conventional commission baccarat, Player and Banker wagers push on a tie; a winning Banker wager ordinarily pays 0.95 net profit per unit staked, with its stake returned. A Tie wager is governed by its separate displayed payout. The Banker settlement ledger illustrates gross returns versus net winnings.
Stage 6: Record the result and reset
The resulting outcome may appear on a road or bead plate before the next round begins. Those charts record history; they do not dictate the next outcome. A cancelled or voided hand should follow the game's dispute and voiding rules rather than being treated as a normal win or tie. Each new round requires a new closed-betting state.
Source: Wizard of Odds, standard baccarat rules and payout conditions. This article describes procedure, not a suggestion to play or to increase wagering.