Baccarat Strategy Guide

Everything You Need To Know with this Baccarat Guide

Baccarat is known to be one of the safest games to bet on, as far as casino games are concerned, but a few selections of Baccarat bets appear to be safer than the others. To be specific, the one bet to avoid at all costs is the tie bet. It can easily run down your wallet. Baccarat can be described to be among the widely known casino table games. This is because the game has grown so much in popularity, and there are many Baccarat variants such as Mini-Baccarat, European Baccarat, Punto Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, and Baccarat Banque. As a result, a comprehensive baccarat guide is essential for players looking to master the game. The game does not have a player limit on the number of active players. This happens because they have to make a wager on the Banker’s hand or the Player’s hand for one to play. The coupler then deals the cards and the hand with figures close to 9 wins. The number of cards in hand determines the card value.

While playing Baccarat, every card has a face value, and the ace card is worth 1. All the other cards and all tens are worth 0. If the value of a hand goes beyond 10, the value is determined by the exceeding number above ten. For example, if your hand has a 5 and a 9, the value will be equal to 14. This means that the sum of the values is 4.

There are many other details about Baccarat that vary from one type to the other. However, in casino games, Baccarat is the easiest game to play apart from slot games. This is why the game is very popular among players and a Baccarat Guide can be helpful for beginners. Baccarat is mostly a game of chance, so no strategy needs to be involved for it to work. Traditionally, Baccarat should be played on higher stakes.

The Evolution Of Baccarat

The intriguing and exciting history of Baccarat traces its roots back to the 1400s when Felix Falguierein, an ardent gambler from Italy, started the game. The game’s name is derived from ‘bacarra’, the Italian word for ‘zero,’ which implies why all tens and face cards are valued at zero.

Though medieval times’ tarot cards marked the beginning of the game, they were slowly replaced by the normal playing cards. After some time, the game made its way to France, where the Chemin de Fer variant was adopted. Chemin de Fer is a variant of Baccarat en banque. The game spread quickly around the 18th and 19th centuries, and it was all over Europe.

The game got to Las Vegas from Cuba through a gambler-cum-writer known as Tommy Renzoni. The rest is history. Currently, Baccarat is legal to play in many land-based casinos and all online casinos in the United States, where gambling is legal and in other parts of the world. For those looking to learn more about the game and its history, a Baccarat Guide can be an invaluable resource.

Learning How To Play with Baccarat Guide

With the infusion of a European feeling to it, the glamour and magnificence of the game can seem to be a little intimidating. However, when you decide to dig deeper, you will find that the game is very captivating, and you can only get three outcomes from playing per hand. Unless Baccarat is considered a casino skill based game, it doesn’t need too much practice to start playing.

Similar to the majority of the table games, seemingly blackjack, Baccarat is played on card decks, between three to six 52-card decks, which can be reshuffled and placed on a dealing machine referred to as the ‘shoe.’ The game is very simple to play, and you will enjoy every moment of playing. A Baccarat Guide can help you understand the intricacies and improve your gameplay.

Despite what the game might sound like, the croupier does all the tough work, including dealing with the cards placed from the shoe. But, then, all you are required to do is place a bet, sit back and let every card in play decide your fate.

To begin playing, you have to wager using tokens/chips and checks in the Player’s hand, Banker’s hand, or the bet tie. The croupier then deals two cards to the punter, and two cards are given to a banker, each of these cards is given while facing up. The catch here is to guess the hand with a count close enough to 9, but not more than 10.

• The cards from to 9 have their face values.
• Every card with a 10 and Face, also referred to as court( J, K, Q), has a numerical value of zero.
• Each of the Ace cards is counted as 1

The value of the two cards will be added to find the value of each hand. For instance, if a player has a Q and a , their hand is worth points. If the bank hand has a 5 and 3, then the value of the hand is 8.

If any of the hands have a total above 9, the count is calculated by subtracting ten from the total sum or by dropping the first digit of the total value. Therefore if you have two cards, one is a 6 and the other is a 9, the sum will be counted as 5 and not 15.

Each Player can have three cards in their hand, and a few rules depend on the casino, which will determine whether a player or Banker can be given a third card for a draw. Most rules of the house state that when the count is at 6 or 7, the Player must stand. A Baccarat Guide can provide further clarity on these rules.

When a player’s hand is worth a number below 5, a third card must be given. If the card count is exactly at 5, the Player has the choice to call a stand or request for a third card. So when is a third card given to a banker? A banker is given a card if their count is below 3 or if stated by the required odd amount.

If the Banker has a count of 6 or more, then they have to stand. The Banker can stand or take out a third card if the hand count of the bank is exactly 3 to the Player’s 3rd card, making it 9. The same thing happens when the Banker’s hand count is 5, and the Player has managed to get a 4 in the third draw of the card.

Payouts

Player hand bets:

You win if your player hand is nearest to 9 compared to the Banker’s hand. The payout is even or doubles. (1:1). This figure wins you a total of $40 which is the winning wager plus the player hand win.

Banker bets:

If you place your wagers on the Banker’s hand and wins, your win will be an even value, and they will deduct a 5% commission for the house. For instance, if you bet $20 on the bank hand and wins, your winnings will be $19. The other $1 will be paid to the house as a commission.

Tie Bets:

When you land on a tie bet, you essentially expect the player hand and the bank hand results to be equal. Therefore, a tie bet win is counted at 8:1. So if you wager $20 on your tie bet and wins, your total winnings will be $160 with the retained $20.

It is important to note that every bet placed on the Player’s hand and the Banker’s hand will be forwarded if they tie. Meaning that neither of the hands wins or loses. You have the option of leaving it as a bet, removing the bet, switching or reducing, and adding the chips.

Bets You Should Always Avoid

Baccarat is known to be one of the safest games to bet on, as far as casino games are concerned, but a few selections of Baccarat bets appear to be safer than the others. To be specific, the one bet to avoid at all costs is the tie bet. It can easily run down your wallet.

The tie could have the biggest payout, considering it pays at 8:1, but its winning odds are the worst. This is because the house has an advantage of 14.36% on such bets. Meaning that if you were to place $1 on these kinds of bets, you could end up losing $14.36. Going by the math, that is a slot of money. After all, the main purpose of gambling is to win money and not to lose your money to the casino.

Comparing tie bets to banker bets, they have an edge advantage of 1.06 percent. These figures imply that you could lose $1 if you make a hundred $1 bets on the Banker’s hand. If you do not want to pay a 5 percent commission to the Banker, you could try playing on the player hand, which has a marginal house advantage of 1.24 percent.

The bottom line of this statement is that you should not consider the tie bet as part of your Baccarat strategy.

The Simplest Strategy To Use On this Baccarat Guide

If you have been gambling for a while, then you might have come across the words ”always bet on the banker’s hand”. This is not just a regular gambling quote you get to hear around. Betting on the Banker is both the safest and one of the best baccarat strategies to win on Baccarat. And this all happens because of math.

To begin with, the common house edge when you bet on the Banker is 1.06 percent. Using the same token, the payout percentage for banker bets is 98.94 percent. So, theoretically, if you make one hundred $1 bets, you will win $98.94. It is crucial to keep in mind that the values are theoretical, and it only guides you to know which bet is more viable or more likely to fail than the other.

The percentage payout on a banker’s hand bet is 98.94 percent which makes it a better option than player hand bets, in which the RTP is at 98.76 percent. Likewise, wagering on a tie bet is risky because it has a low RTP of 85.64 percent.

The reason why betting on the bank hand is better is more than just the RTP and the house edge. This is how the math in the Banker strategy is calculated.

Let us say the casino has eight 52-card decks. Tie bets payout at 8:1, and the banker bets will pay evens as you subtract the house commission of 5 percent. The player bets pay at 1:1—this math implies that!

• The player hand will win at 44.63%, loses at 45.87%, and the tie at 9.515
• On the other hand, the bank hand will win at 45.87%, lose at 44.65% and tie at 9.51%

If all tying hands are removed from the bet, the Banker’s hand will lose 49.32% of their hands and win 50.68%. On another note, 49.32% of hands will win, and 50.68% will lose. Going by this mathematical calculation, all indicators show that the Banker’s hand bets are less likely to lose, while the Player’s hands are less likely to win. To cover for this, the 5% commission on banker bets makes the equation simpler.

But looking at this from a different angle, even with the 5% not deducted, the bank hand bets still have a lucrative house advantage, at 1.17%. So, in simple terms, each $100 bet placed on the Banker will accrue a loss of $1.17 while the loss of betting the player hand is at $1.36. So, going by the numbers, your money is safer when you bet with the Banker.

The Martingale System And Other Strategies

Apart from avoiding the tie bet and choosing to bet with the bank hand, there are a few modern betting strategies and baccarat tips that can work well for your game. The most widely used system here is the Martingale system.

The martingale system was popularized in France in the 18th century. The system involves adjusting the bets in a game, and it greatly favors the Baccarat. However, the system can also do magic when playing games such as blackjack, roulette, and craps. Besides gambling, the martingale system has been used for Forex trading, stock trading, and other investment platforms that expect profits on a long term basis.

A French mathematician known as Paul Pierre Levy was the originator of the system, but many times, it has been rumored that the system was developed by a deceitful casino investor called John Martingale. So how does this system work? The system takes after the Mean Revision Theory, which states that asset prices will regress to the long term mean.

Specifically, in Baccarat, the martingale system believes that the payout will always be closer to the best-returning percentages. In simple terms, there is a particular hand that must win at some point. Traditionally, the system suggests that you should double your wager if you lost your last bet. So, for example, if you wager $10 for the bank hand to win and lose, then your next wager should be $20 for the Banker’s hand. But that is not all; the theory has made it clear that you should keep playing until you win.

If your bet wins from the double wager, you start betting using $10 again as you work your way up. The motivation behind the martingale system is that the punter will be the biggest winner at the end of it all. From the figures, you can see that the punter has a success rate nearing 100%. However, the system still comes with its risks. Such as:

• The bet does not work for small stakes, and you can use all your money before you win.
• If you have many consecutive losses, you can reach the table limit amount
• You will need to place too many bets before you win a good amount of money
• Some casinos do not allow gamblers to use the martingale system.

Luckily, other systems have been proven to work.

Fibonacci Strategy

This strategy states that the Fibonacci sequence determines the amount you should bet after losing a bet. This sequence is where the subsequent number in the system is calculated by adding the two previous numbers. The sequence would be noted as 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,43,55 and so on. A Baccarat Guide can help you understand how to apply this strategy in the game. Compared to the martingale system, there is much calculation to be done when using this betting strategy. You do not have to be a math guru to utilize this system. The thing is, for every lost bet, add it onto your next wager. Use this cycle until you get a win. Just like the martingale system, it still uses the mean revision theory.

You might ask yourself why you need to carry your bet on a hand when you have already lost the initial bet. The idea behind the system is that you can win your two lost bets if you subsequently increase your bet despite the losses.

The Paroli Baccarat Strategy

This system is the complete opposite of the martingale system. Some statements identify it as the reverse martingale system. It has been used since the 16th century in Italy, when it was influenced by a game of cards known as a basset. A Baccarat Guide can help you understand how to implement this system in the game.

Today, this system is widely used to bet roulette, Baccarat, and other game odds such as sic Bo, craps, and many others. As a successful betting system, paroli states that you need to double your bet after every win until you hit a loss. Thus, this system aims at getting three wins in a row.

For example, bet $10 for the Player’s hand and if you win, double the wage to $20. If you lose, start again on betting the Player’s hand at $10.

Now that you have won a $20 bet until you will stake $40 on your next bet. If you lose, start from the first step and if you win, bet with $80 until you hand wins. Anytime you lose, always start from step one. Repeat this process until you win or lose three times consecutively. Remember, this works best for high rollers.

How To Manage Your Bankroll

Every gambler must have financial management skills, and this is important for players of Baccarat. However, no matter what strategy you use, there are some baccarat strategy tips that you need to keep in mind to manage your bankroll and increase your winning chances.

Tip 1 – Stick To Your Set Loss And Win Limits

Everything has an end to it, and a winning streak is not exceptional. That is why you get more returns when you stick to your limits in Baccarat. However, considering Baccarat bets have a house advantage, at some point, you have to lose. This is why you need to retract immediately when you reach your limits.

Tip 2 – Consider Breaking Down Your Bankroll

When playing casino games, the odds are better when you play multiple games. Therefore, you need to have a bankroll for each game. This situation mostly applies to online casino players and in-house casinos. In case you want to wager $100 to play Baccarat from a $500 bankroll, then you need to exit the table as soon as your balance reaches $400

Tip 3 – Wager On Bets Where The House Has A Low Edge

In Baccarat, it is always safer to bet on the Banker. This should be your all-time mantra because the house edge is at 1.06, which is very favorable. It would help if you always tried to stay away from tie bets because the house has an advantage of 14.36%. Do not be scared of betting the player hand, though, and its margins are lower than that of a banker bet.

Tip 4-Do Not Play All-In Bets.

Traditionally, it is believed that you should not place your eggs in one basket. Your bankroll should last you for some time till you get good returns. Betting all your money on a single bet is not a good idea, and this should only be at Hollywood. You might end up losing your bankroll within a moment.

Tip 5- Choose The Right Strategy

The martingale strategy might work better for high-rollers who have huge bankrolls, but it may not be favorable if you have a bankroll of $20. Instead of taking a loss risking your bankroll on a few bets, you can use the other viable systems that will lower the chances of making rapid losses.

Types Of Baccarat

In this section, you can check all the versions of online baccarat and see what options you have to play this amazing game

Punto Banco

Punto banco is also known as the American Baccarat and is the most common example used in this guide. The game is popular in Australia, North America, Macau, and a few gambling sites. You can bet on the Player’s hand, the tie, or the bank hand in this game. The game stands out because:

• The execution of the Player and bank hands follows specific house rules
• The house is the game banker
• There is a 5% commission charged on the successful banker bets

In this game, drawing the third card does not lie on the Player but the casino. That is what mainly defines Punto banco.

Chemin de Fer

Chemin de Fer is French means railway, and this is a Baccarat version that is very common among French casinos. The rules of the ‘chemmy’ as it is known, are similar to Punto banco with only two distinctions;

• Players can choose to be the Banker, and they can play the bank hand
• Players choose whether the Banker or the Player will draw the 3rd card

Usually, the handler will shuffle 6 standard 52 card-decks, and then a player is chosen to be a banker, and there is an option for all players to play as bankers. The Banker will then decide his bet amount, and the players will take turns stating their bet amounts. The highest wager will be chosen as the Player. A single player can wager an equal of the Banker’s amount to proclaim ‘banco,’ which excludes all the other players apart from the two. A Baccarat Guide can help you understand these rules better.

The croupier will hand two facedown cards to the Player and bank hands. The two players will then look at their handed cards. If the Banker or the Player’s hand has an 8 or a 9, the hand takes the lead and closes the round. If both the bank and the Player’s hands are not an 8 or 9, they decide if they will stand or draw a third card.

Once the Player’s hand has taken its stand, the Banker has to decide if they will draw or stand. After the bank’s decision, both of them will check their cards to check the winner. In this type of Baccarat, the Player stands at 6 or 7 and draws on , 3, 4, and 5. Then, they can choose to stand or draw. With the players having the upper hand, using the martingale, Fibonacci, and other strategies cannot work.

Mini Baccarat

Mini Baccarat is the lower version of the huge Punto-banco. In an in-house casino, the mini-Baccarat can be played on the main floor next to the blackjack tables. The tables can have a capacity of six to seven players. Compared to main Baccarat, which has two bankers and above, this one uses only one dealer. Players here are not allowed to bank, but they can deal cards. This is why the mini-Baccarat games are usually quicker, and the same Baccarat strategies apply.

Baccarat Guide Conclusion

It is not easy to come across a better table game if not Baccarat. This is true for those who do not want to be overwhelmed by the pressure of making moves that will interfere with the calculations on your play. However, once you learn that the Banker is the best bet with bigger odds, you can bet on the Banker repeatedly and be confident about your strategy. A Baccarat Guide can help you master these betting strategies.

Even if you choose to go with the Player instead of the Banker, you might get a few good runs. There is only one thing you must not do with this kind of game, and that is betting a tie. This is awful.

There are many other side bets you can choose from, but we would advise that you ignore them as well. Baccarat is mainly a game of luck, and there is no perfect strategy to put into action. You just have to pick what works for you, and you will be okay. Remember, if you want to know more about Vegas Aces, check our social media and be aware of every casino news.

Baccarat Guide FAQs