Baccarat is the casino card game of choice for high rollers. It’s played in luxury pits for millionaires and offers a minimum bet of $20. The game itself is easy enough to understand, but the betting strategy required can be complex. A savvy player can maximize his bankroll by learning a simple system called the 1-3-2-6 System, which manages bet sizes and risk of large losses while maximizing potential winnings. In Baccarat, players place wagers on either the banker hand, the player hand, or a tie. Two cards are dealt to each hand, and whichever is closest to nine wins the round. A third card may be drawn if necessary. The game is usually dealt from a six or eight-deck shoe. The cards are ranked according to their values: 9 equals nine, 10 equals zero, and the rest of the cards have their face value, with the exception of the Ace, which equals one. A win on the player hand results in a payout of 1:1, but a bet placed on the banker hand will yield a more generous 9:1 payout. However, the house has a 5% commission on banker bets, which effectively reduces the payout by 1.4%. A third bet, on a tie, pays off eight to one, but the house edge is over 14 percent, and most serious players avoid this wager. Despite the fact that baccarat is a very simple game, many high rollers take the game seriously and try to optimize their bets and bankroll management. To do this, they employ a number of strategies and tricks. For example, a player will often keep score in order to track “trends” and divine patterns. While such a practice is largely superstitious, it can be helpful in increasing the chances of a winning streak. Another popular baccarat strategy involves using a progression of bets to maximize potential winnings and minimize the amount of money lost. The strategy is called the 1-3-2-6 System, and it consists of betting in sequences of multiples of your unit bet. The first bet is $10 (1 unit), followed by $30 (3 units) in the second round if you win. Then, if you continue to win, the next bet is $60 (6 units), and so on. The 1-3-2-6 System is a good way to maximize your profits in baccarat and prevent you from falling into a losing streak. While it is not a guaranteed method to increase your winnings, it can help you stay on top of your bankroll and make more money in the long run. So give it a try and see if it works for you! But remember, baccarat is not for the faint of heart. You can lose a lot of money very quickly. If you’re not prepared to risk your entire bankroll, don’t play the game at all.