Like many table games at the casino, Baccarat makes an almost exclusive recourse to luck. This may frustrate you, but it's also fairly liberating and comforting to know that there is little to nothing you can do to improve your game play. This means you can readily and easily enjoy yourself, without worrying that your fellow patrons have better done their homework and are therefore in a better position to mitigate their potential losses and earn more than you.
Baccarat makes use of two hands: there is the player hand and the banker hand. Patrons at the table are able to bet on either of these hands. Each hand has its own particular rules governing the drawing of new cards. The best total would be and 9, which is also called a natural. This is automatic win, unless both hands score a natural 9. Now: if your particular hand wins, then you receive an even money payout – that is, a 1:1 return on your original wager.
But if you bet on a tie, you are wagering your money on the chance that both the player and the banker hands will score identical naturals. The chances of this happening are of course quite reduced from merely betting on one or other hand. So it makes sense that the payouts on this type of bet is far more generous. A successful tie victory will give the player a payout of 8:1.
To put into context just how much of a disadvantage you are at by making a tie bet, consider that on the player hand the house has a 1.24% house advantage and on the banker hand the house maintains a 1.06% advantage. The difference between these comparative advantages are enormous: that's around 12.5 to 13%. Consider also that on the craps table (yes, craps), certain bets carry such a high advantage that they are outlawed in some states in the US. Now think of a baccarat tie.
In summary: Baccarat calls for just a few decisions. Ask yourself how much you want to bet, and whether you want to bet on the player and or the banker hand. Avoid tie bets like the plague and stick to those wagers where you have the best advantage of leaving the tables with a profit.