Baccarat has become a major player in casino games, thanks to its exotic trappings. But the game is actually one of the simplest casino games to play. The object is to bet on either the Player or Banker hand and hope it totals closest to 9. Cards are ranked according to their values: 10 and picture cards have a value of 0, cards numbered from 1 to 9 have their face value, and aces count as one. The hand with the final digit closest to nine wins, but in case of a tie, the bets are paid out as well (usually at odds of 8:1), although this may vary depending on casino and variant.

The croupier (dealer) deals the cards from a shoe or dealing box. Eight 52-card packs are shuffled together and dealt one card at a time from the box. Each round starts with all players placing their bets on the Player, Banker or Tie. Once the players have placed their bets, a second card is drawn for each hand and the winning bet is determined by the final score.

When a hand has an initial total of 8 or 9, it is considered a natural and no further cards are drawn. This is a great advantage over other casino table games such as blackjack, where the player can only draw if their first two cards are a 2 or higher.

In a standard game, the Player and Banker hands are each dealt two cards face up by the dealer. In both online and in-person baccarat, the Banker spot represents a virtual player against whom the real players compete. The Player spot indicates the player’s hand, which will receive its two cards next.

After both the Player and Banker hands have received their cards, the croupier announces the winner. If you correctly bet on a winning Player hand, you’ll get a payout of 1 to 1. However, the house applies a 5% commission on all winning Banker bets.

The game has also featured in a number of famous movies, such as Rush Hour 3, where main characters James Carter and Genevieve find themselves in a baccarat casino in Paris while attempting to solve a heist. However, don’t let the movie scene or glamour fool you – this is an exciting game but not the easiest to win at. To maximize your chances of success, be sure to know how much you want to spend in advance and treat it as a night out instead of a way to win big money. It’s a simple enough rule to follow, but it can save you from making a bad mistake. Good luck!