Bank Hand

The bank hand is the set of cards dealt to the banker side of a baccarat table. Two cards go to each side, and totals are counted with tens and picture cards worth zero; if a total passes nine, only the last digit counts. Whether the bank hand receives a third card is decided by a published drawing table, not by the dealer or by anyone at the table, and it depends both on the bank's own total and on the third card the player side drew. Because those rules leave the bank drawing last, the bank hand wins marginally more often, which is why casinos apply a commission to winning banker bets. No decision by a bettor changes how the bank hand is played.