Believe it or not, you don't have to be a high-roller to play baccarat at the casino. You don't have to wear a three-piece suit or an exquisite evening gown during your baccarat sessions. This stylish casino game has made the jump from the exclusive, roped-off sections of the casino and is now available to mainstream players.
It's great to know that you can play baccarat affordably at an online casino. However, if you prefer a bricks-and-mortar experience, there are often several mini baccarat tables for you to choose from. Gone are the days of staring on in earnest as casino whales drop big dollars at the baccarat tables.
Now, you can play baccarat and enjoy the fast-paced action of this stylish casino card game. First things first – it's not pronounced ba-ca-rat – it's ba-ca-ra - the 't' silent at the end of the word. If you prefer the phonetics pronunciation, it's probably best to hunker down in some grimy alley in Toronto and play baccarat with a bunch of street hustlers.
We will introduce you to 8 winning tips for playing baccarat like a pro. Seven of these strategic tips are positive things that you as a player can do, while the eighth is best avoided. So without further ado, let's get started!
Tip #1 – Play the Banker Bet – It's The Best Bet in Baccarat
You look around the casino, and you spot the live baccarat table. It's time to place your first bet! Never hesitate – the only bet that you should ever play first up is the banker bet. It has a fabulous house edge of just 1.06%. This particular bet wins slightly more than 50% of the time. But here's the kicker – winning banker bets are subject to a 5% commission known as the vigorish. This prevents the casino from giving the edge to the Player.
Regardless, play the banker bet at the baccarat tables.
Tip #2 – Stick with The Banker Bet Until You Lose
If it isn't broken, don't fix it! There is an inexplicable phenomenon in the gaming arena called hot streaks. Nobody can determine why they begin or when they'll end. Just go with it! Play the Banker bet until your luck runs out. Keep going with the Banker bet if you are red-hot at the baccarat tables.
Bear in mind that it's impossible to ascertain when a hot streak will end. Regardless of the bets you place, the house still has an advantage over the Player. No matter how hard you try, you cannot eliminate the house edge in any casino game.
Tip #3 – Following A Banker Bet Loss, Don't Play the Next Round; wait for The Next Decision
Once you lose a Banker bet, don't jump back in. Instead, wait for the next decision. It's essential to see which hand wins first – the Banker or the Player. The hand that wins is your next bet selection.
Tip #4 – Don't Be Too Eager to Play Mini-Baccarat
There is a traditional version of baccarat where players deal the cards – this is the high-roller variant of baccarat. In this game, you could face 40 decisions every hour. But there's another variant of baccarat known as mini-baccarat.
There are substantial differences between these game variants. In mini-baccarat, the dealer is responsible for dealing the cards to the Player and Banker positions on the table. The players aren't involved in dealing any cards.
But here's the kicker: Mini-baccarat plays at a furious pace – between 150 – 200 decisions every hour. So even with a low house edge, you can burn through your bankroll in double-quick time with Mini-baccarat.
Even though you are playing with low minimum bets, the house edge creeps into the equation and can be devastating. The house edge on the banker bet is 1.06%, and the house edge on the player bet is 1.24%.
Here's a tip that will hold you in good stead: Always bet on the Banker if you play Mini-Baccarat. Continue betting on the Banker until it loses. If the Player hand wins, wait for the Player hand to lose and then continue betting on the Banker hand.
The theory behind this betting practice is as follows: you can reduce by approximately 50% the baccarat decisions that you are facing. This practice can also reduce by about 50% your losing expectation.
Tip #5 – Ties Don't Matter – Ignore Them
We are all familiar with the three potential outcomes in baccarat – Banker wins, Player wins, or Tie wins. For baccarat strategy, assume that Tie bets are anomalies. They are hiccups in an otherwise stable set of outcomes between Player and Banker. If the results of four baccarat games are Banker, Banker, Tie, Banker, disregard the tie result and continue betting on the Banker.
Tip #6 – Don't Wait for the Next Decision If the Player Bet Loses
Here's a curveball! When Player loses to a Banker bet, don't wait out the next decision. Instead, jump onto the next Banker bet. When the Banker wins, bet on it immediately. If you experience a loss with the Banker bet, wait for one decision after a Banker loss and then bet again. Remember, it's all about hitting a winning streak of banker bets!
Tip #7 – Manage Your Bankroll Well in Baccarat
Cool fact: Baccarat is like betting on a coin toss. It could be heads or tails – Banker bets or Player bets. Then, of course, there is also an uncertain outcome known as Tie bets. Despite these odds (almost 50-50), you can experience unpredictable patterns, with hot streaks and cold streaks.
If you are betting ten units for every decision, create a limit per session that you're prepared to play with. Perhaps your bankroll is limited to 200 units per session. If you lose your bankroll, walk away from the table. Take an extended break. Get something to eat, walk around the casino, go for a run, watch a movie, talk to your friends – anything other than gambling.
Once a sufficient amount of time has passed, you might want to consider going back to the Baccarat game. This next part is a little all over the place, but let's assume you've won some money playing baccarat. You might think it's a good idea to quit, but you don't want to leave while enjoying a hot streak. What should you do?
You may wish to consider betting half of your winnings. If you lose that portion of your bankroll, take the rest of your winnings and get away from the table. Baccarat is intended to be a fun game to play. There are plenty of opportunities to socialize with other players and enjoy good banter at the tables!
Tip #8 – Never Place A Tie Bet in Baccarat
You know that there are three types of bets in baccarat: Banker, Player and Tie. Only two of these bets have very low house edges The third bet, a.k.a. Tie Bets should always be avoided. Consider the Banker bet with a house edge of 1.06%. The Player bet has a house edge of 1.24%.
What do these percentages mean?
* A Banker Bet with a house edge of 1.06% means that you can expect to lose C$1.06 for every C$100 you bet in the long term.
* A Player Bet with a house edge of 1.24% means that you can expect to lose C$1.24 for every C$100 you bet in the long term.
There's no doubt about it – these are great bets, compared to most other casino games, except for blackjack, craps and some video poker bets.
Ready for the worst bet of all? It's the Tie Bet. The house edge on this bet is uncomfortably high at around 14.4%. That's huge! Alarm bells should be going off in your head right now – avoid the Tie bet at all costs – it's just as bad as playing Keno at the casino. For every C$100 that you bet, you can expect to lose C$14.40. Those are odds you should avoid.
But if you pronounce the name of the game Ba-ca-rat, by all means, please play the Tie Bet!
