With "How to play baccarat side bets?", the key is the order in which cards are drawn. Baccarat looks formal and plays simply: two hands, called player and banker, are dealt, and the bettor backs one of them or a tie. Nobody at the table makes a decision about drawing, because a fixed rule decides whether each hand takes a third card. Knowing the point values and that rule makes every round easy to follow, from the first card to the result.
The main bets are player, banker and tie. A winning player bet pays even money, a winning banker bet pays even money less a fee taken because the banker hand wins slightly more often, and a tie usually pays eight to one. When the round ends in a tie, player and banker bets are returned at most tables. Pair bets and other extras sit beside the main boxes, each with its own payout printed on the layout.
Cards from two to nine count at face value, aces count one, and tens and picture cards count nothing. A hand's total is the last digit of the sum, so a seven and an eight make five. The highest possible total is nine. Two cards totalling eight or nine are a natural, and a natural on either side ends the round at once with no further cards drawn. The hand closer to nine takes the round.
Each box on the layout carries its own minimum, and the table limits show the smallest accepted stake for player, banker, tie and pair bets.
Pair bets and other extras sit beside the main boxes, each paying at the rate printed on the layout for that particular wager.
A tie usually pays eight to one on the tie box, and at most tables bets on player or banker are handed back rather than lost.
If the player stood, banker draws on five or less; otherwise banker always draws on two or less, stands on seven, and between three and six follows a printed table.
The player hand draws on any total from zero to five and stands on six or seven, a rule that stays the same at every table.
The banker hand wins slightly more often than the player hand, so a winning banker bet pays even money minus a small commission.