Baccarat (pronounced bak-raet) is a card game played between the player and the banker. Each hand is dealt a specific number of cards. Points are added to each card, with the hand whose total is closest to nine winning. Cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their face value, while Aces have a value of one point. The game is sometimes called Mini/Midi Baccarat, and it is popular among Asian gamblers.

The game is traditionally a high-stakes casino activity, and the table for it is usually set in a separate alcove from the rest of the gaming floor. The game uses eight 52-card decks that are shuffled together and then dealt by a croupier from a box, called a shoe. The dealer does not play the game, but simply oversees it and collects bets.

When a round of the game is underway, players place bets on which hand they think will win. They may also bet on a tie. Winning bets for the Player or Banker pay out even money, while winning bets on a Tie win a fixed amount.

Baccarat is a glamorous casino game, and it has become a cultural icon for luxury casinos in many parts of the world. It is also the favoured game of James Bond, the fictional British secret agent created by Ian Fleming, and it features in a number of films including the 1953 first-ever film version of Casino Royal, in which Bond plays the game against SMERSH trade union operative Le Chiffre; Thunderball; On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; For Your Eyes Only; and GoldenEye.