The merciless beauty of Punto Banko

Just like roulette, Punto Banko (also known as mini-baccarat) drew in new fans like the flame attracted moth. In many ways a game of chance this sophisticated pastime of high stakes is probably one of the cruelest varieties of the card gambling available. Some may argue that poker and blackjack are all about chance, too, but in those games you get to bluff, rise and withdraw stakes, you see the opponent who will lose as much as you do in case of bad luck. And in Punto Banko you only get to play against a detached dealer representing the casino. In this case when you lose you know what you are losing and you know that with the stakes too high for your wallet you may fall and never rise again finance-wise. But the casino loses nothing – your victory will be covered within half an hour by the losses of the less fortunate players, and if you lose your hard-earned money will do nothing more but grease the gears of the casino mechanism. So it takes a steady mind and hand to play Punto Banko.

Due to the nature of the game it had always attracted people who tried to work out a 100% winning strategy just like some are trying to calculate the odds of the roulette. But unlike the roulette the variants of the winning combinations is way less in Punto Banko. The most popular strategy consists simply of gradual rising of the stakes according to the previous game results. In the beginning of the game the player can put his or her stake on the “player”, “bank” or “tie” sector. The “banker” (card dealer) and the player get two cards each. In certain cases the player, the banker or both can get to draw the third card. According to the statistics, the optimal variant is putting your stake on the “bank” sector because the casino’s profits from the odds of the bank’s victory are 1,06% to the player’s 1,24% (and the “tie”sector gets 7-14%, all depending on the payout rates).

The winner is the playing side (the player or the “bank”) who gets 9 point. The player who got 8 points if the opponent got lower results wins, too. If neither of the sides got 8 or 9 points then additional 3^rd card can be obtained, though this chance is regulated by special rules. If the player received more than 5 points with the first two cards then the drawing of the 3^rd card is denied for him or her. If the banker got from 0 to 4 point the banking side gets to draw the 3^rd card, but the same rules apply for the bank if 5 points had already been obtained. If the bank received 5 point then the 3^rd card is or isn’t drawn depending on the player’s cards. If finally both sides still get an equal number of points, the “tie” is announced and the stakes for the “player” and “bank” are returned to the betting sides.