How to increase your winning odds in baccarat

Baccarat is one of the most famous and oldest casino card games around whether it’s online or on-site. It’s been part of the gambling industry ever since the 1400s when it was invented by Felix Falguiernein. Its name was derived from the Italian word ‘baccara’ meaning zero since most cards in baccarat have this value.

Baccarat, at first sight, may seem intimidating since it’s usually played by high rollers and the minimum bets can be high. But despite it being on the luxurious side of casino games, you’ll discover that it’s a fair and sensible card game that only holds three possible outcomes per hand.

This game attracts all types of gamblers from low to high rollers whether they’re beginners or seasoned players. And it’s not hard to see why since this game has one of the lowest house edges, easiest rules and greatest payouts of all games you’d find in a casino. Plus, all you need to do to win in baccarat is bet on the hand closest or equal to 9. No card counting or skill strategies needed!

If you’re starting to catch interest in this casino card game, you’ll first have to know its basics, from its type of bets, do’s and don’ts and so on. Knowing these will give you an upper hand when playing baccarat. So if you’re ready to go and test your luck, Bitcasino has listed down ways on how to increase your odds of winning in a classic game of baccarat down below!

Types of bets in baccarat

First of all, you need to understand the types of bets you can place before playing in online or on-site casinos. For baccarat, you have three betting options namely the banker, player and tie bets. All three offer different payout rates and functions so it’s important to know them apart.

Banker bet

This bet wagers that the banker’s hand will get the value closest to 9. For the banker bet, you’re faced with a house edge of 1.06% and the casino takes a 5% commission from all banker bets.

Player bet

When you place a player bet, you’re betting that its hand will be closer to 9 than the banker’s. If you win this bet, you’ll get a payout of 1:1. So for example, if you wager €20 and win, you’ll get €40 for this bet option. Lastly, it has a house edge of 1.06% similar to the banker but the casino doesn’t take any commission for this bet whenever it wins.

Tie bet

Last but not least is the tie bet. This is placed when a player bets on the banker’s and player’s hands to have the same value. The winning payout is 8:1 so if you wager €20 you’ll get a payout of €160 but despite its tempting high payouts, your odds of winning are low. For this option, you get a house edge of 14.36%.

Things to avoid when playing baccarat

After getting a sense of the different betting options, you’ll need to know what to avoid when playing baccarat, from the number of decks used, patterns and even types of bets since most of these play a huge role in determining your chances of winning. So here are some of the things to avoid when playing baccarat:

Avoid the tie bet

As tempting as its payout may be, this is a bet to avoid using casually and that shouldn’t be part of any gambling strategies you might have. Even though it has a large payout rate of 8:1, its house edge sits at 14.36% which is larger by a mile from the 1% of other bets. With such slim odds of winning, you’re always more likely to lose money with this bet.

Avoid 8 deck games

When choosing which baccarat table to play at, avoid tables that use 8 decks especially if you’re using a card counting strategy since more decks means higher house edge rates. Opt for tables using 6 decks though they may be rare to spot nowadays.

Things to apply when playing baccarat

After knowing things to avoid, learn all about favourable actions you can do when playing baccarat. Knowing these can potentially give you better odds of winning and not to mention, better payouts every time. So if you’re ready to know advantageous strategies, here’s a list:

Go for a safe bet

Now that you’ve learned to avoid tie bets, you’re left with two betting options, the player bet and the banker bet. Among the two, beginners are most likely to go for the former since for the latter, the casino gets a 5% commission for its every win.

However, the banker bet is the safer betting option since it has a winning probability of 50.68%, higher than the player bet’s 49.32%. So despite the cuts, it’s still considered the safest of all three betting options.

Trust your gut

Trusting your gut may sound like a questionable tip since it’s not based on anything provable but doing so won’t hurt since statistically, it doesn’t affect your chances of winning. What it does though is add a thrill to your game. So not only will your odds be unaffected but you’ll also be left with a thrill that makes gambling more exciting and entertaining. If you ever reach a point of question when it comes to betting, trust and follow your gut.

Now you’ve learned a thing or two about baccarat, test out your newfound knowledge at Bitcasino where you’ll find tons of baccarat games all with different rules, features and bonuses from renowned game providers. Apart from baccarat, you’ll be pleased by the wide range of casino games available, including slots, blackjack, roulette, and much more!