Baccarat is a table game played in casinos worldwide. It is usually found tucked away in high-limit gaming areas, but its simplicity and elegance make it a popular choice for all kinds of players. From sticky-floor California card rooms to tuxedo-laden Monaco casino halls, baccarat is one of the most popular casino games available. Whether you play it in a Las Vegas casino or online, it’s important to understand the rules and strategy of the game so you can get the most out of your experience.

Baccarat can be a fun and rewarding game, but it’s also important to set a budget in advance and stick to it. This will help you avoid getting carried away and losing more money than you intended. Moreover, it will help you focus on having fun rather than stressing over how much you’re spending. The best way to do this is to set a win limit before you start playing and then cash out when you reach it.

Unlike some other casino games, baccarat is relatively simple to learn. The goal of the game is to bet on which hand will be closest to nine points. The game is dealt from a shoe, and the winning hand is determined by adding up the values of all the cards in the hand. Tens, jacks, queens and kings count as zero; aces equal one. If the total of the cards exceeds nine, then the first digit is dropped. For example, a seven and a six would count as five points because the first digit of 15 is dropped.

Before each round, you must place a bet in the betting circle based on who you believe will win. You can bet on the Player, Banker or Tie. The Banker bet offers a lower house edge than the Player bet. If the Banker and the Player hands have the same total, it’s a tie, and bets on the tie are paid out.

In a normal round, two cards are dealt to both the Banker and the Player hands. If the first two cards total 8 or 9 on either hand, then the hand is a “natural,” and all bets placed are paid out. If the first two cards do not total 8 or 9, then further cards may be drawn, according to specific rules.

If neither the Banker nor the Player hand has a natural, then bets on the winner are paid out. If the Banker has a higher value than the Player, then all bets on the banker are paid out. If the Banker has an even greater value than the Player, then bets on the banker are paid in addition to those on the player. If the Player has a higher value than the Banker, then all bets on the player are paid out. The only bets not paid in this case are those on the tie. There are some side bets that you can place in baccarat, and their odds vary by platform and establishment. One such bet is the Banker Pair, which wagers that the banker will receive a pair of matching cards on the deal. This bet pays 11:1 odds.