Baccarat is a simple betting game where you wager on the player hand, the banker hand, or a tie. The hand closest to 9 wins.
Two hands are dealt — "player" and "banker" — each of two cards. You bet on which will be closer to 9, or on a tie.
Aces are 1, 2–9 face value, and 10s plus face cards are 0. Only the last digit of the total counts (a 7 and 6 make 3, not 13).
The player draws a third card on totals of 0–5 and stands on 6–7. The banker's draw depends on its total and the player's third card, per a fixed table.
Banker wins pay 1:1 minus a 5% commission, player wins pay 1:1, and ties pay 8:1 or 9:1.
Statistically the banker bet, which has the lowest house edge at just over 1% after commission.
Only the initial bet — all drawing is automatic by fixed rules, making it purely a game of chance.