Baccarat is a game of chance played at the casino table. It is a popular gambling game with a relatively low house edge and a high popularity in Asia, where it has been adapted for use at smaller tables.

The rules of baccarat are simple to understand, and they can be a lot of fun to play. A player chooses whether to bet on the Banker or the Player hand and then sits back while the dealer deals the cards. The objective of the game is to get closer to nine than the opposite hand. If the total of the cards is less than nine, the first digit is dropped.

Traditionally, the games of baccarat have been played on full-size tables and have a dealer positioned in the middle of the table. However, a more compact version of the game known as Mini-Baccarat is now widely available in casinos. This is the same game as the larger versions, with the main difference being that at the Mini-Baccarat table the dealer does not deal out the cards herself, but gives them to the players instead.

One of the major advantages of playing a Mini-Baccarat is that it allows you to play on a smaller, easier to manage table. This is a great option for players who want to try out the game but are not ready for a big commitment yet.

To begin the game, the dealer deals the cards from a shoe. Each player is given two cards for their Player Hand and a single card for their Banker Hand. The player who made the largest wager on the Player Hand looks at the cards and then tosses them to the Caller. The Caller then places them on the layout labeled PLAYERS.

Each player is allowed to look at their Player Hand and Banker Hand cards, but they must not touch them. The Caller then announces the total of the hand (e.g., if the Player Hand is 6, the Caller will show a 6).

Then the dealer drops all the burned cards into a discard bowl. After the cards have been discarded, the next hand is dealt to the punter who followed the dealer in rotation. If the punter loses, the hand is played by the next punter on their side of the table in rotation.

If the punter wins, they will receive a commission of 5% on winning Banker Hand bets and even money on Player Hand bets. If they lose, the winning bets from the other punters will be refunded by the casino.

There are three possible outcomes in a baccarat game: the Player or Banker hands win, or the tie. Winning Player or Banker bets pay even money, while a winning Tie bet pays eight to one. The House Edge on these bets is generally around 1.2 percent. In addition to these bets, a few other options are offered at the Baccarat table. The most common are: