How to Win at Baccarat

Baccarat is a popular casino game that’s available at land-based casinos and online. The game can be a bit confusing for new players, but it’s actually fairly simple to master. The main goal of baccarat is to correctly predict which hand will have a total closest to nine. Once this is determined, the winner will be declared and paid out to those who placed wagers. In order to be a successful baccarat player, you must understand how the game works and how to place your bets.

The game begins with the dealer shuffling six fresh decks of cards. Then, the cards are washed in beautiful swirls across the table and grouped together. Once the cards are ready to be dealt, the shoe is flipped over and the baccarat ritual begins.

During the game, two cards are dealt to the player hand and one card to the banker hand. The value of each hand is determined by adding the values of the individual cards and removing the tens digit from the result. For example, a seven and a six add up to 13, but the final value of this hand is three (the rightmost digit). In general, higher-value cards (tens, queens, and kings) are worth zero while lower-value cards (sevens and 6) are worth one. The hand with the most points wins.

Once the player and banker hands are determined, a third card is drawn if necessary. If either the player or banker hand has a total of 8 or 9, this is called a “natural,” and no additional cards are drawn. If neither hand has a natural, the round is over and all bets are paid out.

Another popular baccarat strategy is the Labouchere betting system, which creates a sequence of bets and adjusts them based on wins and losses until it reaches a target profit. Using this method, you start with an initial bet and increase it by one unit after every win and decrease it by a unit after a loss. This strategy helps you manage risks and keep your winning streaks in control.

There are also a number of side bets in baccarat, and it’s important to know when they are appropriate. For instance, a Tie bet pays eight-to-1, but an expert gambler once noted that this is one of the worst bets in the casino and should be avoided at all costs. Keeping this in mind, it’s best to stick with the player and banker bets, which pay 1:1. The rule sheet on the baccarat table should make this easy to remember, especially when playing at an online casino.