Baccarat is usually dealt from a shoe of 8 decks, 416 cards. After the shuffle a player cuts, the dealer places a cut card near the end, turns over the first card and burns that many cards. Then each hand goes Player, Banker, Player, Banker, two cards each, with third cards following the fixed rules. When the cut card appears, the shoe ends after about 80 hands.
Here is each step, plus the numbers behind a typical shoe.
How to deal baccarat, step by step
1. Shuffle. The dealer shuffles all 8 decks together, often by hand on the table or with a machine.
2. Cut. A player cuts the cards with a plastic card. The dealer then inserts a second plastic card, the cut card, near the back of the stack. Many tables place it around 14 to 16 cards from the end.
3. Burn. The dealer turns over the first card and shows it. Its value says how many more cards are burned face down: an Ace burns 1, a 7 burns 7, and a 10 or face card burns 10.
4. Deal. Each hand starts with four cards: Player, Banker, Player, Banker. Player's hand is turned over first, then Banker's.
The burn is random too, so it removes cards nobody sees but doesn't favor either side.
When the third card is dealt
If either side has 8 or 9 with two cards, that is a natural and nobody draws. Otherwise Player acts first: with 0 to 5 Player draws, with 6 or 7 Player stands. Then Banker draws or stands according to the chart, which depends on Banker's total and Player's third card. The complete chart is in baccarat third card rules.
Nobody at the table makes these decisions. The dealer follows the rules exactly, which is why everyone faces the same odds.
How many hands are in a baccarat shoe
We dealt 1 million 8-deck shoes with a cut card 16 cards from the end. A shoe averaged 79.9 hands.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Cards in the shoe | 416 |
| Cards burned at the start, on average | about 7.5 |
| Cards used per hand, on average | about 4.9 |
| Hands per shoe, on average | 79.9 |
| Hands where Player draws a third card | about 50% |
A hand uses between 4 and 6 cards, so the shoe length barely moves. If a table puts the cut card earlier, you lose about one hand for every 5 cards. The full distribution of hands and ties per shoe is in baccarat simulation results.
About 80 hands per shoe, with the last 16 cards never played.
Why the cut card matters
When the cut card comes out, the dealer finishes the hand in progress, and house rules decide whether one more hand is dealt. After that the shoe is over and the cards are reshuffled.
The cards behind the cut card are never dealt. That matters for anyone thinking about the remaining cards: the deeper a table deals, the more the shoe can drift. With the cut card near the end, the last few hands are dealt from a smaller, more uneven set of cards. Our post on how remaining cards change baccarat odds shows how much that drift moves different bets.
The cut card decides how deep the shoe goes, and depth is where remaining-card effects grow.
At the start of a fresh shoe every bet has a negative expected value. Only the cards left in the shoe can change that, and only briefly. Betting systems can't.
Follow a shoe hand by hand
Baccarator follows the same process from the other side. After each hand you enter the cards and tap Calculate, and it recalculates the odds and expected value for Banker, Player, Tie, pairs and side bets from the cards still in the shoe. If a bet briefly turns positive, it shows a Kelly sizing suggestion; that only appears when expected value is positive, it is a long-run average, and the next hand can still lose. Positive moments are rare and short. You can choose 6 or 8 decks and practice with virtual chips, with no real money involved.
How baccarat is dealt FAQ
How do you deal baccarat?
Shuffle 8 decks, have a player cut, insert the cut card, burn cards based on the first card's value, then deal Player, Banker, Player, Banker. Third cards follow the fixed drawing chart.
How many cards are dealt in baccarat?
Each side gets two cards, and either side may get a third, so a hand uses 4 to 6 cards. A full 8-deck shoe has 416 cards.
How many hands are in a baccarat shoe?
About 80 with 8 decks and a cut card 16 cards from the end. In our simulation the average was 79.9.
Baccarator is a math tool for education. No real-money gambling. 21+ only.
