The Optimal Strategy in Baccarat Game

An Overview of the Basic Baccarat Strategy

Baccarat is such a simple but classy game that gives one that James Bond-style gambling experience. With all the prestige surrounding the game, one might think that it has several complexities and requires great intellectual prowess, just as the British Secret Service agent showed. Well, it doesn’t. Baccarat is no more than a coin toss. Once you’re familiar with the mechanics of the game, you’re good to go.

A typical game of Baccarat involves 12 players, two dealers, and a caller. On the Baccarat table, every player will find two fields in front of them. These fields represent the Player and the Banker. There is also an extra option called the Tie which is a bet you place if you think the Player and Banker’s hands have equal value.

To start the game, each player must place their bet on either one of the fields. After that, the Player and Banker are dealt two cards each. The hand that has the closest value to 9, wins the game. So, if the Banker hand is 5 and the Player hand is 7, the winning hand is the Player’s.

All the players who placed their bets on the Player hand, win. However, if the hands are equal and no one made a Tie bet, it will be a loss for everyone who bet on the player or banker. Basically, there are only three possible outcomes of Baccarat – the Player Hand wins, the Banker Hand wins, A Tie occurs. That’s pretty much how to play baccarat.

 Rules of The Basic Baccarat Strategy:

1. Never Make The Tie Bet

Out of the three bets played in Baccarat, the Tie bet is the most dangerous. This is because it has the highest house edge at 14.4 percent. Whereas the Player bet and Banker bet have their house edge at 1.24% and 1.06% respectively.

So, when players make the tie bet, they lose 14.4 units for every 100 units wagered. That’s a lot of money to lose. Seasoned players know to treat all tie bets as invisible.

2. Bet On The Banker

Every player’s first bet at the Baccarat table should be on the Banker. The Banker has a little over 50% odds of winning and a slightly better chance at a streak.

If a streak does occur, the player should keep betting on it, but with caution. There’s still a house edge to face on every bet that is made, so one should not get too ambitious with their betting amounts.

3. Stick To The Banker Bet Until It Loses

Keep betting on the banker until a loss occurs. Once this happens, pause and wait for the next decision. Do not be too anxious to place another bet. Whatever decision is made (player or banker) is what we should bet on. Remember that the tie is the decision that the Banker and the Player have equal value.

 4. Ride The Player Bet Until It Loses

If the next decision was the player bet, keep betting on it until it loses. As soon as the Banker wins, hop back on that train! The Banker Hand is a gold mine in this game. The goal is to milk it as much as we can.

5. Focus on Your Money Management

This is probably the most important rule. Money management is absolutely critical in Baccarat. Players should always divide their money and control how much they bet each round.

For example, if they intend to be 10 units per decision, their ideal bankroll should be 200 units. Should they lose this bankroll, they should stop playing.

However, if a decent amount has been won but the game is too thrilling to end, the player can split his win in half and use one half to start the next round. This would help mitigate losses.