Baccarat is a popular card game played in casinos around the world. Whether in sticky-floor California card rooms or the tuxedo-laden casino pits of Monaco, players wager on which hand (Player, Banker or Tie) will come closest to nine points. A croupier deals two cards to each player and the banker, adding them together to create a total. The hand that comes closer to nine wins. A ten or face card counts as zero, while an ace count as one point. In addition to the Player and Banker bets, players can also place Super Six and Pair Bets.

Until recently, most baccarat games were dealt from a shoe containing up to eight decks of cards that were shuffled and re-used until they appeared worn or marked. This was a time-consuming process. Occasionally, a customer would blame his or her cards for a losing outcome and bend or twist them in a way that made it difficult to tell the value of the card based on its spot configuration. When this happened, the baccarat supervisor would usually reprimand the customer and insist on immediately replacing the cards.

However, this labor-intensive procedure is a thing of the past, thanks to pre-shuffled playing cards that are available for use on baccarat tables. These pre-shuffled cards can be used in the game to speed up dealing and reduce the risk of a biased shoe. The cards are inspected, both backs and faces, by both the floor supervisor and the dealer before being scrambled or washed together. Then, the cards are inserted into a shuffling machine or manually shuffled for use in the game.

This change in dealing has also led to a shift in betting patterns. In the past, a large portion of the baccarat industry was comprised of high-rollers who placed big bets and wanted to win. The current generation of players, however, are more interested in lower bets with a better chance of winning. This shift in betting has changed the game a great deal, says Zender.

The current baccarat rules are relatively simple. There are seven to 14 seats for players and a table where the croupier stands. The croupier deals the cards and each player places their bets. The goal of the baccarat hand is to bet on which hand will have a final digit closest to 9. All cards are worth their face value, except aces. Picture cards are worth zero, while numbered cards are valued according to their number. The digit nine is the most desirable, but players can also bet on a tie or a non-winner.

Baccarat is the biggest casino game in the world, generating more money than blackjack, roulette and all other table games combined. The baccarat market is especially strong in Macau, where the game has become a staple of high-end gambling and is played by celebrities and other wealthy patrons in tuxedos and designer suits. The game has been around for more than 700 years, and many believe it spun off from pai gow, an ancient Chinese tile game brought to Italy by Marco Polo in the 15th century.