5 Baccarat Tips To Help You Win

Looking for baccarat tips? These baccarat tips and tricks might not turn you into James Bond — but you’ll get pretty close.

Long before low buy-in tables were plentiful in casinos, baccarat was a fancy-schmancy table game for high-stakes players. Nowadays, players of any budget and skill level can enjoy baccarat at casinos and online. It’s no longer a game for the elite — now, us regular folk can play.

Baccarat is a fast-paced game of chance where you bet on who will have the highest hand total: the Player, the Banker, or a Tie. It’s quick and easy to learn, making it a fun choice for newbies and experienced gamblers alike.

If you’ve never played baccarat before, or if you just want to get better at playing, here are the top five mistakes rookie baccarat players make. By brushing up on your knowledge of the game, you can act and seem like a total baccarat pro at your next casino visit.

5) Over-complicating the Game

The best baccarat strategy is having no strategy. Baccarat online is a luck-based game, meaning that there is nothing that can make you have better chances of winning each round. Many people and sites may try to sell you on a surefire strategy to win baccarat every time you play, but these methods and strategies simply don’t work. There’s no way to “beat the system”, the best thing you can do is play smart. 

Even strategies like card counting that may help you be a better poker or online blackjack player just don’t work when it comes to baccarat. In baccarat, any hand value that goes over two digits has the first digit removed, so counting cards won’t help you get much of an advantage. You’ll just be doing mental math for no reason. (Unless you’re a smart person who enjoys math, in which case, do whatever you want. Live your best life. Do your unnecessary math.)

Don’t worry too much about how you’re going to win, instead, try focusing on just enjoying the game.

4) Only Betting on the Player Hand

As a new player, you may assume that the odds are 50/50 between the Player and the Banker winning, but you would be wrong. While they are close, the banker does have a slight advantage. The Banker’s hand wins 45.8% of the time, whereas the Player’s hand will only win 44.6% of the time, leaving the odds of a tie happening at just 9.6%. 

In terms of the house edge, it is around 1.24% for Banker bets and 1.06% for Player bets, with a 5% casino commission sometimes tacked onto winning Banker bets. So, statistically speaking, betting on the Banker is the smarter move in baccarat. (If you must have a strategy, always betting on the Banker could be considered a strategy.) You’re of course still allowed to bet on the Player if you want to, just make sure that’s not the only bet you place while playing baccarat.

Speaking of ties, that brings me to the next mistake rookie baccarat players make.

3) Betting on Ties

In baccarat, a tie pays anywhere from 8:1 to 10:1, which makes it an appealing bet choice, but the risk just isn’t worth the reward. Aside from the fact that ties only occur 9.6% of the time, the house edge on winning tie bets is between 9.5% and 14%, so you’d lose a good chunk of your winnings there.

Again, as I mentioned above, this isn’t to say that you can never bet on a tie. If you want to switch things up a bit and place a tie bet every now and then, go for it. Just know the risks before you do so!

2) Not Setting a Betting Limit for Yourself

This is a mistake that even seasoned gamblers make, and not just while playing baccarat! When you’re gambling, it’s so easy to get caught in the thrill of winning and wind up gambling away all of your winnings. That’s why it’s important to set a betting limit and make sure you know how to manage your bankroll properly & responsibly — this way, you’ll ensure you don’t over-spend so you can walk away without your wallet hurting too much. Oh, and always check which casino bonuses’ are available so you don’t miss out on potential freebies.  

1) Not Playing Online

Of course, we’re a little biased here, but it’s true that playing baccarat online is far better than playing in a land-based casino for a number of reasons. For one, online casinos are able to offer more range in betting limits and available online casino games since they don’t need to deal with physical space limitations. Most casino sites offer multiple variations of baccarat, so you can play games with different themes and rules to switch things up.

Since online casinos also don’t have the same costs as a brick-and-mortar casino, they are able to offer better odds and lower minimum bet amounts. You can place bets at online casinos for real money for as low as a few cents for some games.

You’ll also never have to wait to get a seat at a table, you can play from the comfort of your couch, and you can even stay in your PJs if you want. It’s a win-win-win!