Chances are, you first encountered Baccarat (pronounced bac-car-ah) in a dark theater with a glimpse of the game over the tuxedo-clad shoulder of Agent 007. Long before many of us were financially fit or legally able to approach a Baccarat table in a casino, we could catch the action in a James Bond film.

Although most of us first discovered Baccarat on the silver screen, the game predates Hollywood by a few centuries. While there is some debate over whether Baccarat originated in Italy or France, most agree the game was created in the 1480s from a deck of tarot cards.

Believed to be based on an ancient Etruscan ritual, Baccarat represents the nine gods who prayed for a young, blonde virgin who threw a nine-sided die to decide her fate. If she threw an eight or a nine, she became the priestess; if she threw a six or seven, she could lead a free life. If she threw any number less than six, she had to walk into the sea and drown herself. The ritual was turned into a wagering game and named for the zero value point that most cards hold (the Italian term baccara means zero).

The good news is, you don’t need to be a billionaire or a secret agent to play Baccarat. Despite all its elegance, prestige and cameo appearances in Hollywood movies, Baccarat is a very simple game.

“Players have only two decisions to make: where to bet and how much to wager,” says Al Faccinto, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM MIRAGE International Marketing. Faccinto, Jr. began his career as a Baccarat dealer at Caesars Palace over 30 years ago. “Unlike other table games, players are not required to make decisions during the game, only before each hand is dealt.”

The objective of Baccarat is to correctly guess which of three possible choices will win on a hand: bank, player or tie; the hand that has a point total closest to nine wins. All tens, jacks, queens, and kings equal zero. Aces equal one and cards two through nine count at face value. Hands have only a single digit value. If a hand goes over nine, you subtract 10 from the hand. For example, if you are dealt a nine and a seven, the total is not 16, but six. If dealt a three and an eight, the total is not 11, but one.