Baccarat, or baccarat chemin de fer as it is sometimes known, is one of the most popular casino games in the world and can be played online in the US states where it is legal. The game is a form of banking card game that pays out winning wagers if the player hand or banker hand scores a total value closer to nine than the opponent’s. The rules differ slightly depending on whether you are playing the Punto Banco or Chemin de Fer variation of baccarat but the game’s two main bets remain the same.
You place your bets before the cards are dealt and can choose to bet on the Player hand, the Banker’s hand or a Tie. Once the bets are placed, the dealer deals both the Player’s and Banker’s hands of two cards each. The winning hand is the one with a final number value closest to 9. This means that if you are dealt a 8 and a 5, your score will be 8. If you are dealt a 6 and a 7, your score will be 7.
In baccarat, all card values are determined by their pip denomination. The values of the 2 through 9 pip cards count as their face value, while the ace counts as zero. The game is usually played with eight decks of standard 52-cards shuffled together. The game is also sometimes played with a smaller number of decks in the online versions offered in the US casinos.