The Game

Baccarat is an exciting casino game that can be played for real money in both online and land-based casinos. It is a game of chance and skill, so it can be played by anyone with a little luck.

How to Play

Before you begin to play a game of baccarat, it is important to understand the rules and strategy. The goal of the game is to get closer to nine than the opposite hand without going over. To do this, you will be dealt two cards. The first card of your hand is placed face down and the second is drawn from a shoe that holds eight 52-card packs.

The shoe is passed from player to player, counter-clockwise, each time a player hand wins. This encourages everyone at the table to take an active role in dealing with the cards.

Players place bets on either the Banker or the Player hand. The croupier (dealer) then deals the cards from the shoe, one at a time, face down.

In baccarat, the highest hand is nine and the lowest is 0. Tens, jacks, queens and kings count as 0; an ace counts as 1; all other cards are worth their pip value.

Tips for Beginners

There are many ways to learn the rules of baccarat, but a good place to start is to play a free version of the game to practice your skills. This can be done for both new and experienced baccarat players, and is a great way to build your confidence until you are ready to start playing for real money.

When a player’s first two cards total a digit of 0 or less, they are called “stands.” If the total is 6 or 7, the player must draw a third card, and if it is 8 or 9, they can hit and earn the win. If the player does not draw a third card and neither hand produces a natural, then further cards are drawn to determine a winner.

A Tie

In the event of a tie, the house pays out 8-to-1 on each bet. In order to avoid the house taking advantage of this, it is important to follow a betting system.

The Strategy

A basic baccarat strategy is to always bet two units from your bankroll when you start a game. This will help you stretch your bankroll across multiple baccarat games and reduce your chances of making huge bets on losing streaks.

Using the 1-3-2-6 Strategy

The 1-3-2-6 strategy is a popular strategy for reducing the house edge in baccarat. It is a reinvention of the old 1236 strategy that allows players to bet more than two units per round, and prevents them from making too large a bet on losing streaks.

This strategy is useful for those who have a limited amount of money to spend on baccarat, as it reduces the amount that a player can lose. Nevertheless, it is important to monitor your outlay and keep track of winning streaks.