It’s time to do another deep dive into the most popular and engaging card games. This time, we are going to focus on baccarat. Believe it or not, baccarat is one of the oldest games, even though it’s hard to tell with the glitz and glamour surrounding it at today’s retail casinos and growing online casinos.
Because baccarat has been around for centuries, there has been plenty of time to master many betting strategies like the Reverse Paroli to add countless baccarat players. By the end of this guide, you will feel supremely confident sitting at the baccarat table. You might even put on a tuxedo like in the James Bond movies.
The Art of Baccarat
Baccarat Basics – No Time to Bust
When playing poker, you have to worry about your body posture as well as having a poker face made of steel. With blackjack, you have to worry about busting if you double down or draw one card too many. However, with baccarat, you don’t bust – you play on.
As a baccarat player, I can relax a little more because I can focus on going with the flow with additional cards being dealt. Baccarat has the players issued two cards. However, before the cards are drawn, including for the dealer, which is known as the banker, baccarat players bet on these three types of bets:
- The banker’s bet: The most favorable of the baccarat bets, the banker’s bet has the lowest house edge of 1.05%. This bet means you believe that the dealer has the highest playing value. Playing live dealer baccarat at real money or with the new sweepstakes casino apps might mean having no-commission banker’s bets. In this scenario, the house edge can drop as low as 0.5%, which means more winnings.
- The player’s bet: The second most popular bet playing baccarat is the player’s bet. This is where you place your chips on the player having the highest playing hand. The house edge for these winning bets is 1.25%, not too much higher than the banker’s bet house advantage.
- The tie bet: Even though winning tie bets pay 8:1, the odds are not on your side for winning these bets. Perhaps if you are a high-roller you can absorb the 14.35% house edge. Winning the tie bet means the player and the dealer finish with the identical playing hand.
Remember, no matter which bet you go with, before sitting down at the baccarat table, always have a set budget. Playing online gives you the luxury of using the responsible gaming measures to help stave off problem gambling disorders.
Let’s Explore the Baccarat Basics
In baccarat, the tens and the royalty cards count for zero. Aces only count for one point. The other cards count as their face value. All the baccarat players and the banker begin with two cards. The goal is to have a playing hand worth 9, which is a natural winner, or 8. If nobody has a winning hand, there are special rules when the player and the banker can draw additional cards:
- If the player has a playing hand worth six or seven points, they must stand. However, for values worth five or fewer points, they can draw an additional card.
- If the player is forced to stand with a six or a seven, the dealer can draw an additional card if the playing hand is worth five points or less.
If drawing cards has the playing value over nine, there isn’t a bust. Instead, the first number is dropped, and the second number is the new value. For example, 12 has a new playing hand value of 2.
Let’s Explore Your Baccarat Options
Unlike poker, which has the most options for casino card games, baccarat has mostly kept it close to the vest while drawing massive celebrity appeal. Even with more online baccarat options, these are the most popular and consistent baccarat options available in person and online:
- Chemin de Fer – The original baccarat variant that become popular among French high society in the 1700s. Chemin de Fer has all the baccarat bets. However, one player carries the show and deals the cards as a dealer.
- Punto Banco – By far, Punto Banco is the most popular of the baccarat variants, which you also find online. Punto Banco differs from Chemin de Fer, with there being a designated dealer throughout the gameplay.
- Baccarat Banque – In Baccarat Banque, all the players take turns passing the shoe to deal.
- Super 6 – Based on the popular side bet, Super 6 follows all the baccarat bets with the caveat of the banker winning with a value worth 6 points. These payouts are 12:1.
Other popular baccarat variants include Grand Bonus Baccarat and Baccarat Squeeze.
Wrapping Up Our Baccarat Strategy Chat
Hopefully, you feel inspired to bring out your inner James Bond and take up baccarat. Playing online baccarat opens the door to high-limit tables. However, if you are starting out, we recommend sticking with the $1 tables to make your budget stretch.
When starting out, you might want to take up some battle-tested strategies like the Martingale, which calls for doubling bets when you lose, then return to the original bet when you win. However, please use betting strategies sparingly to help you get into the baccarat groove.
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