How to Play Punto Banco?
The game of Punto Banco is very easy to learn. There are three possible outcomes when playing Punto Banco: Punto (player hand) wins, Banco (banker hand) wins, or tie.
Before the game, players have to decide how much money they are willing to bet on each of the three outcomes. When the bets are placed, the dealer will deal two cards to both the Punto and the Banco.
The value of the cards is determined by the face value of the card. For instance, a King card has a value of 10, an Ace has a value of 1, and a Jack and Queen have a value of 0. Once the cards are dealt, the players can see the total of the two cards and the highest value is taken as the winning hand.
If the total of the two cards is 8 or 9, it is a “natural” and the hand with the highest value wins. If the total is between 0 and 5, the player can draw a third card. If the total is 6 or 7, the player has to stand.
The winner of the game is the hand with the total closest to 9. The Punto hand wins if it is closer to 9 than the Banco hand. The Banco hand wins if it is closer to 9 than the Punto hand.