Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games in the world. It has a long history dating back to the salons of Europe and Asia but has only recently gained popularity in the United States. This elegant card game is easy to learn and offers some of the best odds in any casino. It is a fun game that is not difficult to master and has been portrayed in many movies, including the James Bond films Casino Royale; Dr. No; Thunderball; On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; For Your Eyes Only; and GoldenEye.

In a game of baccarat, players place bets on either the player or banker hand. Two cards are dealt to each hand, face up and visible to everyone at the table. The hand that totals closest to 9 wins the bet. Players can also bet on a tie. There are five types of bets in baccarat: the Player Bet, the Banker’s Bet, the Tie Bet, the Super Six Bet, and the Pair Bet.

There are seven to 14 seats for players in a baccarat table and a dealer’s area. Each player places their bets in a counterclockwise direction and may add more bets once they have announced that they wish to “go bank.” A single player may bet against the banker, but all players can also join a “coupon” bet, wherein a group of players together place a bet on the same outcome, namely, a banker win.

When the initial bets are placed, the dealer deals two cards to both the Banker’s and the Player’s hands. If the Player’s or Banker’s hand is a total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards, it is a natural win and the game is over. If the initial total is not 8 or 9, the Banker and Player can decide whether to draw a third card or not.

If a third card is drawn, the winning hand is the one with the highest value. A ten or higher is worth ten points. Picture or Face cards are worth 0 points. Numbered cards from 1 to 9 have their face value and the ace is worth one point. When the total reaches double digits, the second digit becomes the value of the hand.

The earliest version of the game of baccarat was based on an Etruscan legend about a virgin who threw a nine-sided dice to determine her fate. If she threw an 8, she would become a priestess, but if she threw a lower value, she would be banished to the sea to die. This story explains how the game of baccarat came to be. It was later introduced to France and became known as chemin de fer. It was from here that the name of baccarat was derived, with the implication of the word baccarat meaning “to draw”. The game was then brought to the United States by the French army and quickly grew in popularity among the nobility and rich.