Learn baccarat before you take the shoe.

Every coup deals two hands, Player and Banker. Neither one is you and neither one is the house: they're the two sides you can bet on. Your chips go on Player, Banker or Tie before the deal, and that's the last decision you make until the next coup.

Aces count 1, twos through nines count their face value, and tens and picture cards count 0. A hand's total is the last digit of its sum, so a 7 and an 8 make 5, not 15. The hand closer to 9 wins.

• Player pays 1 to 1. $20 on Player that wins pays $20.
• Banker pays 1 to 1 less 5% commission. $20 on Banker that wins pays $19.
• Tie usually pays 8 to 1. When the coup ties, Player and Banker bets push.

Nobody at a Punto Banco table chooses whether to draw, you included. The dealer applies fixed rules. Knowing them lets you follow the coup as it's dealt and read the result before the caller says it.

• Naturals first. A two-card 8 or 9 on either side is a natural. Nobody draws, and the coup is over.
• Player's rule. Player draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
• Banker when Player stands. The same rule: draw on 0 to 5, stand on 6 or 7.
• Banker when Player draws. Banker reads its own total against Player's third card. Banker 0, 1 or 2 always draws. Banker 3 draws unless the card is an 8. Banker 4 draws on 2 to 7. Banker 5 draws on 4 to 7. Banker 6 draws only on 6 or 7. Banker 7 always stands.

From a full eight-deck shoe, Banker wins 45.86% of coups, Player 44.62%, and 9.52% tie. Banker's drawing rules give it that small lead, and the commission exists to take it back.

• Banker, 1.06%. The house edge after the 5% commission.
• Player, 1.24%. No commission, and barely more expensive.
• Tie, 14.36%. At 8 to 1. A table paying 9 to 1 cuts it to 4.84%, still more than four times Banker's edge.
• Side bets, costly. Player Pair and Banker Pair carry 10.36% each. The cheapest side bet the app covers, Dragon Bonus on Player, is 2.65%; the same bet on Banker is 9.37%.

The cost adds up with action. $25 a coup for 100 coups is $2,500 bet: on Banker that costs about $26.45 on average, on Tie about $358.99.

At a commission table, 5% of a $25 Banker win is $1.25, so it pays $23.75. Bet Banker in multiples of $20 and the commission always comes out in whole dollars. At the big table the dealer pays the win in full and tracks what you owe with lammers in the box for your seat; you settle when the shoe ends or when you leave.

No-commission tables pay Banker even money and take the edge back on one result:

• EZ Baccarat. A Banker win with a three-card 7 pushes. Banker's edge is 1.02%, a touch under a commission table.
• Super 6. A Banker win with a 6 pays half. Banker's edge rises to 1.46%, so Player, untouched at 1.24%, becomes the better bet.

The scoreboards beside the table, the Bead Plate, the Big Road and the three derived roads, record every coup in the shoe. They're a good record. They can't tell you what's next.

A column of four Bankers looks like a trend, but the next coup doesn't know about it. Following the streak and betting against it both cost you the edge on the bet you pick, no more and no less. Nothing is ever due: Tie still carries its 14.36% after 15 coups without one. If you enjoy betting a pattern, keep the stake the same and never let a road talk you into Tie or a bigger bet.

• Mini-bac: hands off. A dealer at a blackjack-sized table deals and turns every card. Never touch them.
• The big table and the squeeze. The biggest bet on each side is handed that side's cards and may squeeze them, peeling each one up slowly. Handle only the cards you're handed, and don't drag it out while the table waits.
• Passing the shoe. At the big table players take turns dealing. The shoe stays while Banker keeps winning and moves on when Banker loses. You can always decline it.
• Bets down before the caller closes. Leave them alone once the cards come out.
• Tipping. Place a small bet for the dealers beside yours, or pass chips across between coups, never while a coup is live.