Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games around. While most people know the game from the Bond movie “Casino Royale,” it’s also a favorite among Asian high rollers. Despite its reputation for elegance and high stakes, baccarat is easy to play, requires little skill, and offers some of the best payouts in casino gaming. Here are a few things to know about the game before you hit the tables.

Baccarat is a card game played between the player and the banker with a goal of guessing which hand will have the highest total value. The maximum total for a hand is nine, while ten and face cards have zero value. In a game of baccarat, the player and banker each receive two cards. The goal is to place a bet on which hand you think will have a higher total, which wins the round. The croupier will deal the cards after all players have placed their initial bets.

Before you play, make sure you understand the rules of baccarat and have an idea of how much money you want to spend. The game is usually played with eight decks of cards, which are shuffled together and dealt from a dealing shoe. The table is covered with green felt and has numbered areas where you can place your chips on Player, Banker, or Tie bets.

If you’re unsure of the rules, consider playing online baccarat for free before making your first real-money wagers. You can find a variety of sites that offer free versions of the game, including 888 Casino and Bet365. These sites use the same software as reputable real-money casinos, so you can rest assured that your money is safe with either of these websites.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the basic rules, it’s time to start betting. Before the game starts, you’ll need to decide whether you want to bet on the Player Hand, the Banker Hand, or a tie. After placing your bet, the dealer will draw the cards for each hand and announce the results. If the Player Hand has a total closer to 9, you win. Otherwise, the Banker Hand wins.

Depending on the game, some casinos will offer unique side bets on the Player or Banker hand. These bets often have large payouts, but you should always check the odds of winning and house edge before making any side bets. The best baccarat side bets are the ones that pay 9:1 on a winning Banker or Player Pair.

Baccarat is a simple game with an elegant name, but it’s not without its quirks. The rules can be tricky to follow, especially when it comes to third-card rules. For example, the rule states that a player must subtract 10 from their hand if it exceeds 9. This isn’t as easy to remember as just dropping the first number.