Casino

How to Play Baccarat and Win More Often

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March 30, 2024 · 7 minutes

Winning more often in baccarat

How to Play Baccarat and Win More Often

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What’s better than finding an article that will help increase your bottom line playing Baccarat? It’s finding an article that will help increase your profits without costing you a penny!

Baccarat is a common game offered in casinos across the world and is one of the most enjoyable tables games you can come across.

Unlike card games like No-Limit Hold’Em, you won’t need a plethora of strategies memorized before you decide to play at the Baccarat tables.

Heck, I’m sure you have heard the story of edge sorting and Phil Ivey winning $20 million playing Baccarat in the casinos, so there’s definitely money to be won. Maybe not $20 million if you do not have added advantages as Ivey did, but you get what I mean.

So, grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and get to the bottom of the page as I can assure you that your next Baccarat session after reading this article will be one to remember!

Why Play Baccarat?

Firstly, Baccarat gives you the best odds. You have a bigger chance of making money playing this game over the likes of Blackjack, Roulette, and any other table game in the casino.

Baccarat is a really simple game once you know the rules, you can almost compare it to a 50/50 guessing game, just like a coinflip!

baccarat rules

If you ever wondered where to play it, well, you can find plenty of games offered in Dave's Top Casino List, so that is not a problem. Instead, let’s look at the rules and how to play Baccarat so we can better understand this game, and

How to play Baccarat, and what are the rules?

Regardless of how many players are around the table and playing, only two hands are ever dealt:

  • The Banker’s Hand
  • The Player’s Hand

In Baccarat, the way to win is to bet on what you think the outcome of the hand will be. In this game, there are three outcomes, so you can make the following bets:

  • The Banker’s Bet – betting on the Banker’s Hand to win (The casino will take a commission from Banker’s Bet winnings.
  • The Player’s Bet – betting on the Player’s Hand to win
  • The Tie Bet – betting on the Banker’s and Player’s Hand having the same number of points. We’ll look at the Tie Bet in greater detail later.

It may seem foreign to you being able to bet on the banker to win when you’re so used to bet against it, but this is one of many reasons why Baccarat is an entertaining game to play and one you should consider playing on your next journey to the casino.

Now all this should be pretty easy to follow so far, but you’re probably scratching your head wondering what constitutes as the winning hand.

The aim of the game is to get as close to 9 points as possible.

baccarat strategy

If the Player’s hand is equal to 8 points and the value of the Banker’s Hand is 7 points, then the Player’s Hand is the winning one. So, anyone who’s made a Player’s Bet wins!

The next question you probably have is, ‘How does the scoring work?’

The dealer will place two cards on the Player side of the table and another 2 cards on the Banker side of the table face-up. You add the value of the cards together to determine your points. These are counted as follows:

  • Tens, Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as zero points
  • Ace is worth 1 point
  • The rest of the deck reflect their face value (deuce counts as two points, a 3 counts as three points and so on)

If the sum of the two cards is more than 10, the second digit is how many points the hand would score.

For example, an 8 and a 5, which equals 13, means you have a three-point hand.

So far, so good, right?

I told you this is a simple game to follow but also that there would be some aspects that you’ll need to wrap your head around.

There is a very specific rule that you’ll need to know, and this is something called a ‘natural winner.’

A natural winner is when the sum of the first two cards equals either 8 or 9 points, whoever is dealt the ‘natural winner’ wins the hand.

If either the Player or the Banker gets a ‘natural winner,’ the hand is over. There are no more cards dealt, and the bets made by participants can be cashed out.

In addition, there will be times in Baccarat when the Player’s Hand needs to draw one more card. This is dependent on the total number of points that derive from the two cards dealt to the Player at the start of the hand.

If the total sum of points from the Player’s Hand is 0-5, then the dealer will draw another card from the shoehorn for the Player’s Hand. However, if the Player’s Hand scores a 6 or a 7 then they stand. The same rules apply for Banker’s hand.

As stated earlier, once all the cards are on the table, the dealer will work out the total points for both hands to determine the winner. Just to reiterate, the hand that is closest to nine points wins.

Earlier I mentioned that you can either bet on the Player’s Hand or the Banker’s Hand. In this game, you can also bet on the Player and the Banker having the same number of points, this is what is known as Tie Bet.

In the outcome of a tie, the bets placed on the Player’s Hand or Banker’s Hand are returned to the bettors, and only Tie Bets are paid off.

Tie Bet pay-outs are eyebrow-raising, as the pay-out traditionally is 8:1 but double-check with the casino floorman to confirm the odds given.

How to win at Baccarat

Now we know how to play and know the rules of Baccarat, it’s time to absorb the information that will see your bottom line increase and make you a headache for the casinos.

Whether you’re placing the minimum table bet or in a high-roller VIP lounge, the standard strategy for being a winning player in Baccarat doesn’t deviate.

The most open secret in Baccarat is always bet on the Banker.

Just like in Blackjack, the Player must always go first, and because of this, even though only slightly, the casino will have an edge.

  • The house edge of the Banker’s bet is 1.06
  • The house edge of the Player’s bet is 1.24

This is called the one-sided baccarat strategy. It can be applied for the Player’s Hand too, but why would you when the Banker’s Hand has an edge?

Also, bankroll management is an integral part of being a successful baccarat player, so never treat it lightly and only risk money that you actually are ready to lose.

What Shouldn’t You Do When You Play Baccarat?

I did mention earlier about the payout that making a Tie Bet brings if successful. However, it is such an uncommon occurrence that renders making Tie Bets pointless.

Tie Bets will only eat into your profits, and the reason why they exist is so that the casino makes more money.

As well as Tie Bets, there may be other side bets like Player Pair or Banker Pair, ignore these side bets, they will not help you for love nor money.

Despite giving you the best odds of any table games, casinos make more money off of Baccarat than any other table game. This is because of the side bets. Seriously, do not play the side bets if you want to make money from this game.

Final Thoughts About Baccarat's Game

As far as casino table games go, Baccarat is clearly one where people like you and I have the most chance of not losing to the casino. Basic strategy and knowing that side bets are useless already puts you above the average tourist looking to get rich quick.

Like with any casino game, it is a game of chance, and even the most tried and tested theories on Baccarat go on losing streaks.

So, since you’ve come to the end of the article, remember what I’ve said. Hit the Baccarat tables at your local casino, bet on the banker, sit back, relax, and enjoy the game!

Article by
Ivan played poker professionally for over five years but finally decided to merge his passion for writing with poker and became one of the leading writers in this industry. You can connect with Ivan via his LinkedIn profile and follow him on Twitter.

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