Punto Banco is a card game played in casinos and is also available for play at mobile casinos in Haiti. In this game, players are competing against a dealer in a fast-paced game of chance. The dealer will deal two cards each for the 'punto' (player) and the 'banco' (dealer) and will use the 2nd card to complete a hand of 3 cards for each. The players then bet on the result of the deal. There are different rules for betting, depending on the variant.
In the variant of Punto Banco, it is a straightforward game with the only choice for bets being whether the punto or the banco will win the hand. At the start of the dealing process, the player can bet for one side or the other.
The rules of the game are as follows:
- The game begins when the dealer deals two cards each to both the punto and the banco.
- If the punto or the banco has a hand that totals 8 or 9 points, it is called a "natural" and no more cards are dealt.
- If the player's hand is less than five points, it is called a "draw" and the bank will draw another card.
- If the banco has a total of 5 or 6, the player can either stand or draw a card.
- If the banco has less than three points, the player must draw a card.
- The player is paid out if they win the hand, and the banker is paid out if the banker wins the hand.