Baccarat is a game of strategy and chance. While the outcome of a baccarat hand depends mostly on chance, a knowledge of basic rules and strategies can alter your chances of winning by reducing the house edge. Whether you’re playing with a large bankroll or simply attempting to win the most money possible, our expert guide will help you master the game and boost your odds of victory.

Baccarat, also known as bccarat or ba:k@raet, is a popular card game played in casinos around the world. In baccarat, players wager on either the Player hand, the Banker hand, or a tie. The game is based on the simple principle that whichever hand has a total value closest to nine wins the coup (round of play). The game is played with six decks of cards, shuffled together and dealt in two hands—the Player hand and the Banker’s hand.

The croupier places the first Player and Banker cards in their respective boxes, then deals more cards to complete the first round. The croupier will then announce the results of the round, either a Player win, a Banker win, or a tie. The croupier will then place the resulting bets on the table.

In baccarat, the simplest way to calculate hand values is by adding the individual cards’ points. Aces are worth one point, while tens and face cards hold zero points. The highest-valued cards in a baccarat hand are the nines, which are worth eight points. The remaining cards are added until the sum reaches a double digit, then that number becomes the hand’s value.

Baccarat has always been a game of prestige and wealth. For example, in the late 1990s, Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer dropped $20 million on a single round of baccarat at Caesars Palace, bringing in the casino’s entire quarterly revenue. Despite this, baccarat is a low-risk game with an extremely small house edge of only 1.06%.

When it comes to baccarat, the game of choice for Asian high rollers, it’s a much more balanced affair. Casinos in Macau, which dethroned Las Vegas as the world’s gambling capital last year, rely on baccarat for 88 percent of their $33.2 billion in annual revenues. Casinos in Singapore also see the game as a staple, with its high-end clientele and high-odds betting.

The game’s popularity in the United States has increased since the 1990s, but is still a smaller part of overall casino revenue than slot machines. In fact, baccarat accounts for only 18 percent of total casino win on the Las Vegas Strip. However, even the smallest bets can add up to significant amounts over time, and smart Players know how to minimize losses while maximizing their bankroll. This is accomplished by using a system of bet-sizing, like the D’Alembert or Paroli betting systems, to balance wins and losses over time. This way, you’ll always be ahead of the game.