It is played with eight complete decks of cards. The cards are shuffled by the dealer or "croupier," and then reshuffled and placed in a special box called the "shoe." The game is played by set rules outlined below. There is no option in the game on drawing or standing. The object of the game is to come as close to the number nine as possible. Face cards and tens, or any combination of cards totaling ten, count as nothing. The ace is counted as one, the deuce is two, etc. The player with the "shoe" is considered the banker. He may place his bet either with the bank or with the players. The words "bank" and "players" are used as terminology for the game.

A player will place a wager on which of two hands (the "Player" or the "Banker") will have a total point closest to 9. Each hand will receive at least two cards but no more than three. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards. The first and third cards dealt from the shoe constitute the "Player's" hand, and the second and forth cards constitute the "Banker's" hand. Face cards and tens count as 0; Aces count as 1, and all other cards count as face value. If required, a third card is dealt to each hand according to specific rules outlined in the chart below. If the point value of the first two cards drawn for either hand is 8 or 9, that is known as a "Natural" and no additional cards will be drawn. The hand with the highest point total closest to nine wins. Winning bets are paid even money. However, a winning "Banker" bet pays a 5% commission which is withheld from winnings after each such bet. If both hands result in identical totals, the "Tie" bet wins, paying 8 to 1. When a "Tie" occurs, all bets on the "Player" and the "Banker" are neither paid nor taken.