Punto Banco is a form of baccarat that is played between two hands. The player and the banker’s hands are compared and the highest total wins. The objective of Punto Banco is to have either the player hand or the banker hand obtain a total of nine or as close as possible to nine.
A game of Punto Banco is usually played with eight decks of cards. To begin playing, each hand is dealt two cards. With Punto Banco played at mobile casinos, the cards are randomly generated. The rules of Punto Banco dictate that if the first two cards dealt to each hand have a total of eight or nine, then the hands are declared ‘natural’ and no more cards are drawn. When the first two dealt cards are not an 8 or 9, the player hand can either receive a third card, or stand, if the banker has a 0-7 total.
The dealer will then decide whether the banker will receive a third card or not, depending on the total of the player’s hand. As long as the player has taken a third card, the banker will draw a third card if their total is 0-5 and stand otherwise. In certain circumstances, the banker will draw a third card, even if the player has not taken a third card.