If you’ve been to a casino anywhere from a sticky-floor California card room to the tuxedo-laden casinos of Monaco, chances are you’ve seen baccarat played. The game is the stuff of James Bond movies, and high rollers risk tens of thousands of dollars a hand. But the rules can be confusing, and the game can be intimidating to new players. Fortunately, if you understand a few basics of the game, you’ll be placing your bets in no time.

Baccarat is a card game where gamblers bet on which of two hands, the Player and Banker, will produce a total closest to nine. The winning hand is the one that has a number ending in 9 when all the pips (the dots on a card that are represented as clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) are added together. The other possible outcome is a tie, which pays off eight to one. The game is played with a fixed set of rules that determine whether a third card is drawn and what the best betting strategy should be.

A player can bet on either the Player, Banker, or Tie. A bet on the Banker predicts that the banker’s hand will have a higher value than the player’s. A bet on the Player predicts that the player’s hand will have a higher value. The Tie bet is an even money bet that pays off eight to one.

The game’s history dates back to the 1400s, when it was played in Italy and France. It disappeared for a few centuries, but reappeared in the casinos that sprang up on the Riviera when public gambling became legal there again in the 19th century. Baccarat is now a staple in casinos across Europe and the Americas.

One of the reasons for its prestige is that it has one of the lowest house edges of any casino game, a little more than one percent on banker and player bets. The game also has a lower volatility than most other casino games, meaning it is less likely to grind away your bankroll than blackjack or craps.

Baccarat is a game that can be won by players who are disciplined. It is important to set a bankroll before playing and to stick to it. In addition, avoid using a betting system like the Martingale, which is based on increasing your bet size after each loss to try and recover your losses. This method can lead to short-term gains, but can also cause you to lose a lot of money in the long run. Instead, bet wisely and never bet more than you can afford to lose. This way, you can win more often and walk away with a good chunk of your money intact. This is a great strategy for any casino game, not just baccarat.