Baccarat is a popular casino game that originated in France in the early 19th century. It is a game of chance played by the player and the banker, and is often simplified to a game known as Punto Banco.
To play the game, the player makes a bet. The player’s bet can be as high as the player wishes. If the player wins, he or she will receive a doubled amount. But if the player loses, his or her bet is removed from the player’s account.
The player’s hand and the banker’s hand are then compared. If the player has a higher card combination, he or she will have to draw another card. However, if the player has a lower hand, he or she should not draw.
When the player’s hand is zero, he or she must call ‘carte’. The dealer then looks at the two cards the banker has and compares it to the other hands in the game.
In older versions of the game, the player was given the option to choose whether he or she wanted to stand or take a third card. This choice remains in some versions, such as Baccarat a Deux Tableaux. Several implausible legends have circulated about the origin of the game.
The first recorded mention of the game is in an album of games published in 1847 by Charles Van-Tenac. He states that the word ‘baccara’ is derived from a Provencal expression meaning ‘zero’.