Baccarat has a glamorous history, made especially famous on spy legend James Bond. Here are some need-to-know rules and strategies that will get you started.

1. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS

2. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS
Depending on your age, you may recall that in the first modern-day
iteration of James Bond (we’re talking about the Daniel Craig era of the
films) there is a large part of the movie that centres on poker. It's the
table equivalent of fists and guns, except that Bond and his nemesis are
stationed at the poker table, armed with fancy suits and fast comebacks.
But did you know that in the original novel, Casino Royale, by Ian
Fleming, Bond doesn’t face off with the central antagonist in a poker
game. Rather, Fleming chose Baccarat to stage this grand interaction.

3. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS
It's perplexing that the film's producers weren't faithful to Fleming's
vision, because Baccarat can be an immensely exciting game that's
closely associated with high class, high bankrolls, and high-stakes.
Fleming seemed to like Baccarat so much that it became Bond’s game of
choice in a number of later novels, including On Her Majesty's Secret
Service, For Your Eyes Only, and in the film Goldeneye.
We're going to share with you a few pointers about baccarat that will
help you live glamorously and a little bit dangerously.

4. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS
One game, two hands
Baccarat makes use of two hands: the punto or player hand, and the
banco or banker hand. It's important to realize that these are just two
names for two different hands. They are not representative of the
person making the bet. In other words, a player could wager on either
the player hand or the banker hand. The bank and is not the house, and
the casino's edge is built into the operation of both of these hands
working together.

5. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS
The player hand is always played first. Should the player score a total of
8 or 9 then he is said to have scored a natural and gets no more cards. If
however the player hand as a two-card total of between zero and five
inclusive, then he draws the card unless the banker hand hits a natural.
Banker hands tend to be a little more complex than the player
equivalent. The banker must stand on a 7, 8, 9, But he must draw on a 0,
1, 2. However, things aren't so simple because the rules governing
whether or not the banker must draw a third or more cards derive
directly from the player hand’s totals.

6. BACCARAT
ESSENTIALS
The banker must hit until three cards unless the player's third card is an
8. He must hit to four cards unless the players third card is a 1, 8, 9 or
10. The banker must hit five cards if the player hand’s third hit is a fall, 5,
6 or 7. Finally, the banker hand must hit to six cards if the player hand’s
third card is a 6 or 7.
As you can see, the banker hand can get a little tricky, but it's essential
that you understand the systems and procedures of how baccarat works
so that you know exactly what to expect at any moment in the game.