The card game baccarat is one of the most popular games to play in casino environments. It offers a relatively low house edge and a simple game structure that can be easily learned by novice players. It also allows players to place a variety of side bets that can increase their payouts. Although these side bets can make the game more complex, they also provide players with more ways to win money. In this article, we will look at the various baccarat betting options and how they affect the game’s house edge.

The game of baccarat is played with six or eight decks of cards. The objective of the game is to correctly guess which hand will have a total closest to 9. The player and banker hands are each dealt two cards, and the winner is determined by who has the higher score. Players can also bet on a tie, which pays 8:1. Baccarat is a popular choice for online casinos and land-based casinos, with many variations of the game offering different rules and betting options.

There are several baccarat strategies that can help players maximize their winnings and minimize losses, particularly during losing streaks. These systems typically fall into two categories: betting systems and pattern systems. Betting systems prioritize maximizing wins while minimizing losses, while pattern systems focus on anticipating the order of the cards in the baccarat shoe.

A common baccarat strategy involves flat betting and following the zigzag or streak patterns. This strategy is easy to implement, but players should remember to maintain a loss threshold and not chase their losses. Another option is to use the Martingale betting system, which is often employed in roulette.

In addition to the standard bets on banker, player, and tie, baccarat offers a number of side bets with larger payouts. These bets can be placed either during a regular round of baccarat or in the Lightning version of the game. Lightning baccarat features faster action than the traditional version of the game and is available at many online casinos.

The main differences between this version of baccarat and the standard Punto Banco game are that the banker role is passed to the player on the banker’s left after each deal, and there is no limit to the number of consecutive hands that can be played by a player. In addition, a 20% Lightning Fee is applied to all bets on the banker. These fees can be quite significant for large wins, so it is important to understand them before you play the game. Despite these differences, the basic rules remain the same.