Players may place a wager on either the bank or the player. Two hands (one for the bank and one for the player), each consisting of two cards, are dealt.

Later, a third card may be required for either hand. A pre-established set of rules, known as the tableau, determines the draw. The winning hand is the one that totals the closest to 9.

Baccarat is played on either a 7 or 9 playing position table. Baccarat can be played with 3, 4, 6 or 8 decks of cards. All cards from 2 to 9 are counted at face value and an Ace is counted as 1. Picture cards (Jack, Queen and King) and tens are counted as zero. When adding card totals together only the right-hand digit will be counted. For example: 6+5=11, counts as 1 in Baccarat.

The game begins with four cards will dealt: the first and third cards will be the Player’s hand and the second and fourth cards will be the Banker’s hand. The dealer announces the initial point totals and should either hand add up to 8 or 9, this hand is called a Natural and no further cards are dealt. If neither hand is a Natural, one additional card may be dealt to each hand in accordance with the Table of Play.

Winning bets on the Player’s hand are always paid even money (1 to 1). Winning bets on the Banker’s hand are paid according to the version of the game being played. Winning bets on a Tie are always paid at odds of 8 to 1.