Baccarat is a casino card game that many players believe is the least intimidating of all of the table games at casinos. It offers a low house edge and has a relatively simple gameplay that can be picked up in just a few rounds. Additionally, it is featured in several James Bond movies, which can help attract new players to the game.

Baccarat can be played with six, seven, or eight standard decks of cards shuffled together and dealt by the dealer. The goal of the game is to predict which hand will win the round. The winning hand is the one closest to a total of nine. Cards are ranked by their value, with 10 having the highest value, 9 the lowest, and a tie being neutral. When the hand is finished, the winner is determined and the losing bets are collected.

Before the game begins, all bets must be placed. After this, the dealer will deal two cards to both the Player and Banker hands. The values of the cards are calculated by adding up the number of each digit and subtracting 10. Only the rightmost digit is taken into account.

After the Player and Banker hands are dealt, the player and banker must decide whether to take a third card. If the player and banker both take a third card, a push occurs and a new round of betting begins. If neither the player nor the banker takes a third card, the game is over and the winning bets are paid out. The banker’s commission is then tracked in the “commission box” by the dealer and collected for each winning Banker hand.

Players can also make side bets in baccarat. These wagers can offer high payouts but often have low odds of landing and a high house edge. As a result, players should carefully review the payouts and house edge of each bet before making it.

While there are some variations to the rules of baccarat, most games play similarly. The game’s basic rules are as follows:

Generally, the Player and Banker hands are dealt a maximum of three cards each. The winning hand is the one closest to 9. Cards are valued by their face value except for 10s, which count as zero. Aces count as 1. During the game, the dealer will collect lost bets and pay winning ones. Then, the dealer will take a 5% commission on winning Banker bets and record it in the commission box.

Baccarat is played in a private room, usually separated from the main casino floor. Unlike other games, players’ bets do not affect the other tables or the dealer and each round is completed in just seconds. Some casinos even offer no-commission versions of the game, which are even faster. Players can choose between betting on the Player, Banker, or a Tie. The best strategy for playing baccarat is to stick with the basics. It is a fun, exciting game, but it is important to set limits for yourself in advance. This will keep you from spending more than you can afford to lose.