The hand closest to nine is the winner. The Ace counts as 1, face cards count as 10, and balance as indicated on the card. You can't go bust playing Baccarat, it is played modulo 10 (that means the total must fall between 0 and 9, if you exceed 9 then 10 is subtracted from the total until the result is between 0 and 9). For example if you a dealt a King and a 7 your total is 10 + 7 or 17, you then subtract 10 from the 17 to get a total of 7.

If neither the player nor the dealer has a natural then the following rules are followed. These rules must be followed by both player and dealer (they are actually the best plays for both parties). Note that no decisions have to be made. This explains why Baccarat can be played on par with experienced players even by those who don't know the rules.

The player goes first; these are the player rules:

Value held:	Action Taken:
0 to 5	Always draws a card.
6 or 7	Stands.
8 or 9 (Natural)	Turn over the cards.

After the player the dealer plays: these are the Dealer Rules:

Value held:	Player's draw:	Required action:
0 to 2	Anything	Draws a card.
3	0 to 7 or a 9	Draws a card.
	8	Stands.
4	2 to 7	Draws a card.
	0, 1, 8 or 9	Stands.
5	4 to 7	Draws a card.
	0 to 3 or 8	Stands.
6	6 or 7	Draws a card.
	0 to 5 or 8	Stands.
7	Anything	Stands.

The winning hand is the one closest to nine.

All bets are made before any cards are dealt and anyone at the table can wager on the outcome. The players bet on the player or the dealer to win (even money), or for a tie (tie bets are a bad bet for the player, but pay 8 to 1).