Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games in the world. It may look complicated and intimidating at first glance but it’s actually very easy to learn and a lot of fun to play. Unlike blackjack or roulette, baccarat is very simple and doesn’t require any complex strategies. Moreover, it doesn’t take too long to complete a hand of the game.
In baccarat, players bet on either the Banker’s hand, the Player’s hand or a tie. When all the bets are placed, the dealer hands out two cards to each of the three hands. The goal is to get a hand that totals 9 points as close to possible. Aces count as 1 while 10s and face cards count as zero. The winning bet pays 1:1 minus commission and the losing bets lose 5% of their total wager.
There are several different types of baccarat and some of them have slightly different rules. Some of them have more than two decks while others only use eight. Some of them also allow the players to touch the cards while others don’t. In general, the higher the number of decks in play, the lower the House Edge will be for the Banker’s and Player’s bets, while the Tie bet has a much higher House Edge.
Another difference is the way in which the Banker’s and Player’s hand are dealt. In most baccarat games, the cards are dealt according to a set of fixed rules. In some older games, however, such as Chemin de Fer and Baccarat a deux tableaux, the decisions are left up to the player, meaning that the first two cards of each hand are hidden from the other players.
Online baccarat is available at a number of casino websites and offers all the same basic rules as the offline version. Most casinos will have a special section for the game and there are usually several versions of the game offered. Some of them will have a special ‘EZ Baccarat’ option which is a simplified game where the Banker bet pays 1:1 minus commission and the player bets are pushes (no win or loss). There are also some versions that offer side bets, which pay more than the Banker and Player bets but less than the Tie bet.