When we think of the great casinos of the world and we think of casino card games the first thing that springs to mind today is probably poker but that was not always the case; the greatest of casino games in times gone by was Baccarat; renowned for its high stakes and separate rooms in which it was played. Of course in online baccarat you can usually play for as little as €1 or up to several hundred euro per hand and of course free Baccarat is available at most online casinos. The American version of Baccarat is known as Punto Banco but the game rules are the same. There are a couple of variations of the casino game and they are Chemin de Fer or Baccarat Banque. In both these versions of Baccarat the player acts as the dealer and therefore also banker and can win or lose large amounts in very quick time. We have a detailed explanation of online baccarat on our casino games rules page but it really is the simplest of games to play as there are only three possible outcomes; either the bank wins, the player wins or there is a tie. In the Chemin de Fer and Baccarat Banque versions the term player has some meaning but in online baccarat it has no real meaning as the dealer controls both hands and you can place a bet on either hand so they could just as well call them A and B except for the fact that being the second to play and following the strict rules of the baccarat game the bank has an advantage. The online casino game counters this by charging a 5% commission on wins by the bank. This effectively brings the house advantage for both player and bank bets to nearly the same. The tie bet is a much more unlikely outcome and the house edge is much higher. As we explain on our Baccarat game rules page the play of the cards follows strict rules which you do not need to learn so to play baccarat couldn’t be easier. Try free baccarat first; it is a game for gamblers.