Baccarat: Strategy, Tips and Explanation

Do you enjoy playing baccarat, James Bond’s favorite card game, in the casino? Adepositcasino will teach you the best strategy in a few minutes.

James Bond doesn’t need any more explanations about baccarat!

Baccarat is James Bond’s favorite card game. When he plays it, it looks complicated, but baccarat is one of the easiest games in the casino.

The rules of baccarat are very simple (much simpler than the rules of blackjack). With a bit of explanation, you’ll be playing like a pro in a few minutes, using the best strategy.

You can play this game in all low-deposit online casinos in Canada.

Baccarat: Explanation

Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards.

On a baccarat table, you’ll see two boxes where the dealer places two or three cards during the game. The precise rules for this will be covered later.

In online baccarat, the boxes are usually called Banker and Player, just like in the casinos in Las Vegas.

In some casinos, the boxes are called Banco and Punto. The game is also called Punto Banco there. The rules for Punto Banco are exactly the same as for baccarat.

Two boxes for the cards: Player at the top left, Banker at the top right.

In baccarat, the cards have the following values:

  • Ten, Jack, Queen, King: 0 points
  • Ace: 1 point
  • The rest of the cards are worth their face value.

The suit of the cards doesn’t matter in baccarat. Spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs are all worth the same.

The score of Banker or Player can never exceed 9. If the total number of points is higher than 9, the tens are subtracted. For example: 17 points becomes 7. And 20 points becomes 0.

Baccarat: Betting

As a player, you have to guess in baccarat which hand has the highest score: Banker or Player. Or Banco and Punto.

You can also bet on a tie, which is called a Tie. In some casinos, this is called Egalité.

At the start of the game, you place a bet on one of the three possibilities:

  • Banker
  • Player
  • Tie

You don’t have to do anything else. Once you’ve placed your bet, the dealer does the rest. So you don’t have to make any difficult decisions like in blackjack.

Baccarat: Gameplay

After everyone has placed their bets, the baccarat dealer places two cards in both the Player and Banker boxes. The cards are face up so everyone can see them.

Live Baccarat

If Player or Banker (or both) has a score of 8 or 9, it stays like that. It’s then immediately checked which hand wins.

Player has 8, Banker has 1. Player wins.

If neither Player nor Banker has a score of 8 or 9, it depends on the number of points whether the dealer gives a third card to Player and/or Banker.

As a player, you don’t need to remember the precise rules; the dealer will do that for you. You only need to wait for the final result: does Player or Banker win?

(If you do want to see the full explanation and rules for the third card, click here.)

After the dealer has dealt all the cards, the game is over, and the dealer checks the outcome: does Player or Banker have the most points?

Or has it become a tie, a Tie? Then all bets on Tie/Egalité win. Extra advantage: if you bet on Player or Banker and it’s a Tie, you don’t lose anything, and your bet remains.

Baccarat: Payouts

If you’ve made the right choice, you win the following:

  • Player: 1x your bet
  • Banker: 0.95x your bet
  • Tie: 8x your bet

For clarity, here’s an example in euros. If you bet $10, you win:

  • Player: $10
  • Banker: $9.50
  • Tie: $80

Of course, you also get to keep your original $10 bet.

If you play Punto Banco at JackpotCity Casino, the payouts are slightly different. In Punto Banco, a bet on Banco pays 1x your bet, just like Punto. Except when Banco wins with 5 points; then you win 0.5x your bet. This ensures rounder payout amounts, so less work for the croupier.

A $10 bet on Tie pays out a total of $90.

Baccarat: The Best Strategy

Baccarat is one of the best casino games you can play because the advantage the casino has over you (the house edge) is very low, unless you bet on Tie.

For the three bets, the house edge is:

  • Banker: 1.06%
  • Player: 1.24%
  • Tie: 14.36%

The best bet you can make is Banker because it has the lowest house edge. In the long run, you’ll win the most (or lose the least) and have the best chance of winning.

Tie may seem exciting because you can win a lot at once, but it’s actually not a smart bet.

So the correct strategy for baccarat is: always bet on Banker. Yes, that’s a lot simpler than the basic strategy for blackjack, for example!

In Punto Banco at Zodiac Casino, due to the different payout, the house edge for Banco is even slightly lower: 0.93%. Here too, the best baccarat strategy is: always bet on Banco.

Baccarat sheet

Best Bonus to Play Online Baccarat

Almost all dollar deposit online casinos offer bonuses. But for baccarat, you usually don’t benefit much from them. Either because you can’t use the bonus for live casino games, or because bets on baccarat don’t count (or hardly count) towards clearing the bonus.

Bets on live baccarat count 25% towards clearing your bonus. That’s much more than at other online casinos. If you enjoy playing baccarat or other live casino games, this is the best bonus you can get.

Baccarat: Rules for the Third Card

The rules below apply when neither Player nor Banker (or Punto nor Banco) has a score of 8 or 9 after the first two cards. Again, as a player, you don’t need to memorize this explanation. The dealer does everything; you only need to watch.

But you’re still reading this, so you’d like to know exactly how it works. Here it is:

First, the dealer looks at Player.

  • If Player has a score of 0-5, Player gets a third card.
  • If Player has a score of 6 or 7, Player does not get a third card.

Then the dealer looks at Banker.

If Player didn’t get a third card, Banker only gets a third card with a score of 0-5.

If Player did get a third card, the rules become more complicated:

  • If Banker has 2 points or less, Banker gets a third card.
  • If Banker has 3 points, Banker gets a third card, unless Player’s third card was an 8.
  • If Banker has 4 points, Banker gets a third card if Player’s third card was a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
  • If Banker has 5 points, Banker gets a third card if Player’s third card was a 4, 5, 6 or 7.
  • If Banker has 6 points, Banker gets a third card if Player’s third card was a 6 or 7.
  • If Banker has 7 points, Banker does not get a third card.

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