Baccarat Strategies
Baccarat Rules
Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards. Each numbered card less than ten is worth its face value, aces are worth 1, and tens and face cards are worth 0. The suit does not matter. Play begins by all baccarat players betting either on the 'player', 'banker', or a tie. The terms "player" and "banker" do not necessarily represent the dealer or the actual players. After all bets are down, the dealer gives two cards to the player and the banker. The score of the hand is the right digit of the total of the cards. For example if the two cards were an 9 and 7, then the total would be 16, and the score would be a 6. The scores will always range from 0 to 9 and it is impossible to bust. A third card may or may not be dealt to either or both the player and the dealer depending on the totals. If either the player or the banker has a total of an 8 or a 9 they both stand. If the player's total is 5 or less then the player hits, otherwise the player stands. If the player stands, then the banker hits on a total of 5 or less. If the player does hit, then you can use the chart below to determine if the banker hits (H) or stands (S).
|
Banker's |
Player's Third Card |
|||||||||
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
|
7 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
|
6 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
S |
S |
|
5 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
|
4 |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
S |
|
3 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
S |
H |
|
2 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
1 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
0 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
The winner is the one with the greater score. Winning bets on the banker pay 19 to 20 (or even money, less a 5% commission). Winning bets on the player pay 1 to 1. Winning bets on a tie pay either 8 to 1 or 9 to 1, depending on where you play. Regardless of whether the tie pays 8:1 or 9:1 it is a very bad bet and should be avoided. You may wonder how the dealer collects the 5% commission on winning banker bets. If they did so every hand it would involve a lot of change and slow down the game. To avoid this, during the course of the baccarat play the dealer will pay even money to winning banker bets and consider the 5% an IOU (I Owe You). As the dealer plays through an eight deck shoe he/she will keep track of the commissions every player owes. At the end of the shoe or when a player wants to leave mid-shoe, the dealer will collect on the commissions. Make sure you don't run out of money with outstanding commissions.
The Baccarat House Edge
Except for the tie bet, baccarat is one of the best bets in the casino. The following table shows the house edge on all available baccarat bets.
|
Probabilities in Baccarat |
|||
|
Bet |
Combinations |
Probability |
House |
|
Bank |
2212744 |
45.843% |
1.064% |
|
Player |
2153464 |
44.615% |
1.228% |
|
8:1 Tie |
460601 |
9.543% |
14.117% |
|
9:1 Tie |
460601 |
9.543% |
4.574% |
Baccarat Strategies are based on mathematics.
The most popular is the 1 - 3 - 2 - 6 baccarat strategy. With this strategy you keep track of what you bet over the course of four hands. The objective is to bet a little with the potential for a larger return. With this specific baccarat system, you can risk two dollars for a return of ten.
Here is an example of how baccarat strategies such as this work:
First, bet one unit. If you win add another, making the second bet a total of three units. If you win the second bet there are six units on the table. Remove four, making the third bet two units. If the third bet wins, add two more units for a total of six on the fourth bet. If the fourth bet wins, you collect a total of 12 units, ten of pure profit. So if you lose the first bet using this baccarat system, you lose one unit. If you win the first bet but lose the second, that's two units you've lost. If you win the second bet but lose the third bet, your profit is two units. If you win the first three bets but lose the fourth, you break even. If you lose the second bet five out of six times, and then win four consecutive bets once, you break even.
Baccarat Strategies such as this work because the game is an even-money odds game. The same system will work for any casino game that pays out even-money. But, don't forget baccarat strategies like this may work in the short-term, but in the long run, the casinos ALWAYS win.
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