The object of baccarat is to get a hand of two or three cards with a points value of nine. The perfect hand is one that totals nine in the first two cards. Eight with two cards is the next best hand, these care called "natural" eights or nines. If any player or the bank has a natural eight or nine no one can take a third card. In a tie, bets are called off.
Aces count as one, picture cards as ten and the others their face value. If your hand total is in double figures, the first figure is ignored. So a hand totalling 18 would count as eight.
Gambling on Baccarat: The banker deals three hands of two cards each, face down. These hands are for two players and his own hand. Other players at the table can bet on either hand or both to beat the banker's hand. If a player says "banco" they are betting the total value of the bank's funds and all other bets are withdrawn.
If either player has a count less than eight or nine, he may stand (saying "non") or get one more card face up (saying "carte"). The player must stand on six or seven and must draw on four or less.
