The game of Baccarat is an elegant and sophisticated casino card game that has been portrayed in many James Bond movies. The game may appear intimidating to new players, but it’s actually one of the easiest and most enjoyable games in a casino. It also offers some of the highest payouts of any casino game and has one of the lowest house edges.

The objective of the game is to correctly guess which hand will win: Banker, Player or Tie. The game is played from a standard six or eight-deck shoe. Two cards are dealt to the Banker and Player hands, and sometimes a third card is drawn. Whichever hand has a total closest to nine wins the round.

Before the cards are dealt, each player must place a bet on either the Player hand, the Banker hand or a tie. Each bet has different odds, so you must choose carefully which bet to place. If you bet on the Player hand, you can expect a return of about 1:1. However, the casino will charge a 5% commission on winnings from Banker bets, giving the house an edge of 1.24%.

After all the bets have been placed, the dealer will deal two cards to each box. The first card will be a Player card, and the second card will be a Banker card. Once both hands have been compared, the dealer will decide if either of them should draw a third card. Usually, a third card will be drawn if either of the first two hands has a total of 8 or 9.

Baccarat is a simple game to play, but it’s important to understand how the rules work before you try your luck. The house and banker’s edge will reduce the amount of money you can win, so you should only bet what you can afford to lose.

In addition to the Banker and Player bets, Baccarat has a Super Six Bet and a Pair Bet that can increase your chances of winning. A Super Six Bet pays out 12x the initial bet if the Banker’s hand has six points or more. The Pair Bet, on the other hand, pays out 11x if the Banker’s and the Player’s hands have matching cards. However, this bet is only available at some online casinos. You can find out more about these betting options in our Baccarat Guide. The guide will also help you find the best online Baccarat casinos in the US. You can also find out where to play the game in land-based casinos and whether there are any perks for players like free cocktails and comps.