A Closer Look at Baccarat Strategies
Baccarat is an elegant and sophisticated card game with an enduring appeal that spans cultures, attracting players of all backgrounds. Originating in medieval Italy, the game has evolved into several variants—punto banco, chemmy and baccarat banque—today played around the world. Although a game of chance, with the right strategy, baccarat can be highly lucrative.
Baccarat’s simple rules and structure make it a great game for beginners to learn. The dealer deals two hands, the Player’s and the Banker’s, and the hand with a total closest to nine wins. Players can choose to bet on either the Player or Banker, and may even place a bet on both at the same time. A bet on the Banker’s hand has a slightly lower house edge than the Player’s hand, but requires a commission payment to the casino of up to 5 percent of winnings.
The game is played on a table with from seven to 14 seats and a special betting area for the banker and player. The cards are dealt face up and are visible to all players at the table. A nine-card is the best possible hand, with tens and other numbers counting as zero points, and aces counting as one point. Unlike blackjack, players don’t receive their own cards or touch them; they merely place their wagers and the dealer handles the rest.
In addition to being one of the most visually appealing games in the casino, baccarat also features some of the lowest house edges in all of gaming. A standard deck of playing cards has a house edge of only 1.06 percent, and the game is very quick—each round of play takes less than a minute when there are no other bets in progress. In comparison, a game of European roulette with only one zero has a 2.7% house edge.
Many of the same principles that apply to other casino games apply to baccarat: capitalizing on favorable betting opportunities, observing trends and patterns, practicing discipline and continuous learning and adaptation. However, many players struggle to understand and utilize these principles.
This month we take a closer look at some of the strategies behind a successful Baccarat session. We speak to a former card counter who has managed to shift the odds in his favor, and he shares his insights on how he achieves such impressive results.