A Guide to Playing Baccarat Online

Gambling has never been easier and there’s such an array of games online that players are all too often spoilt for choice when it comes to finding the right game for them. In particular, baccarat is one of the most accessible, enjoyable, and popular games out there and we’ve written the following article to give you all you need to know about playing baccarat online and the most fun variants of the card game you can play from the comfort of your own home. From the rules and best hands to punto banco, we’ll cover everything there is to know about this simple and addictive online card game.

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If you tried our free demo above, you might have realized that the game is very straightforward indeed. This game is ideal for those that want to get into a game from the word ‘go’ without having to memorize an entire rule book or learn a thousand complicated bets and different hands. As it happens, much of what happens in the game is pre-determined, so – aside from the most important decisions like betting and holding – the player can take it relatively easy and enjoy this simple classic card game.

How to Play Baccarat: Rules, Wagers and Tips

Before diving into the advantages of playing baccarat online, we’re going to cover the basics of how to play baccarat. We’ll cover the rules, kinds of wagers and some tips that you’ll need to succeed. To succeed, you’ll need basic numeracy skills and know the bets you can make.

Rules and Card Values

As you probably already know, baccarat is a table game played with several decks of cards that are kept in a shoe. Cards are dealt to the player and the dealer and the aim of both player and dealer is to get a hand with a total as close as possible to 9 without exceeding it. If the player or dealer is dealt a 9 in the first hand then that is known as a ‘natural’ and is an automatic win.

All cards in baccarat have a certain point value. Cards from two through to nine are worth their face value in points. Tens, jacks, queens, and kings have no point value, whilst aces are worth one point. The hands are valued according to the rightmost digit sum of the constituent cards. So, for example, a hand consisting of 3 and 4 is worth 7, whereas a hand consisting of 5 and 6 is worth 1 because the rightmost digit in the combined total of 11 is 1. For that reason, the highest possible value from a hand is 9.

Players bet either on the player or on the banker or on the dealt hands resulting in a Tie between the player and banker. Once the bets are made, the dealer then deals two cards to either side and the winner is the one with a hand closest to 9. All you need to worry about is placing a bet; that’s how to play baccarat. If all this talk of throwing chips about and placing bets gets your heart racing, why not check out our classic roulette or blackjack pages for more classic casino action!

Wagers and Bets

So much for the rules, here’s a quick guide to wagers in baccarat. There are three wagers you can make in baccarat: the player, the banker, and a tie. Betting on the banker’s bet is the most common, as this wager has the highest chance for a win. The player’s bet pays out 1:1, and the tie bet means you’re placing a wager on the player and the banker having the same hand value. The tie wager has got the worst odds but also a chance for an 8:1 payout. There are also big and small side bets in baccarat which can make all the difference between a big win and an even bigger win. For instance, the banker pair bet – the same value pair being dealt with the banker – gets you an 11:1 payout, and can be made in addition to the standard wagers. The total amount of cards dealt in a round determines whether or not a bet is big or small.

Both the player and the banker can be dealt only two cards each, which makes for a total of four cards. These four cards determine the side bet and the bet is paid out at 1.5 to 1. One additional card can be drawn to either or both the player and the banker, so the big bet wins if five or six cards are dealt out. The big bet, however, pays out at 0.54 to 1.

Tips for a Winning Baccarat Strategy

The first tip applies just as much to real-life baccarat as it does to online, but it’s well worth mentioning nonetheless; set a bankroll – a fixed amount of cash you can spend on a single game – and don’t exceed it. Unlike real-life casinos, you’ll be able to check your betting history in an online game of baccarat so refer to past wins and losses to determine when to walk away from the table.

You can forget about card counting when playing online baccarat. The random number generators (RNGs) which most if not all casino software providers use in their games are much too sophisticated to be cheated. Generally, it’s also a good idea to disregard betting systems that are tailored for real-life baccarat when playing online baccarat. The ‘Martingale’ system, for instance, might work perfectly well at the card table, but as it’s based on an exponential rise in betting it really doesn’t work online. Another key tip is to realize that the banker will win just over 50% of the time and you should bet accordingly. The game has an inbuilt system to compensate for regular wins made of the banker’s wins; every win you make off the banker comes with a 5% commission deducted from it.

First and foremost amongst tips for quality baccarat play; you should never make the tie bet. There are very low house advantages on two of the bets you can play in this game. The three bets you can play are Banker, Player, and Tie and we’ve listed them in order of likely returns. Banker and Player bets both have an edge just slightly above 1%. The Tie bet,  on the other hand, is to be avoided. The house edge in a tie bet is 14.4%. That is to say that for every 100 pounds you bet on a tie, you’d lose £14.4. So always remember, don’t waste your time with tie bets.

Differences Between Baccarat in Casinos and Online

There are some considerable differences between playing baccarat online and in real brick-and-mortar casinos. Firstly, online casinos offer a free play mode that allows players to learn the rules and get a bit of practice before risking any money. In real-world casinos, players have no such luxury, so the learning curve in real-life casinos can be a lot more expensive. Online casinos are also not limited by floor space and can offer a wider variety of baccarat games with different ranges of betting limits to a larger number of players. Whatever your budget and however many people you want to play with, you can find the right table for you online. In online baccarat, the cards are randomly generated via an RNG and there’s no fixed number of decks. In real life baccarat, there’s a set number of mixed decks added to the card shoe, which means players can make some attempt to anticipate the next cards to be dealt. This simply isn’t possible online.

As mentioned before, betting limits vary from casino to casino and we’ll get into more detail about finding the right online casino below, but there are both high-roller versions of punto banco – a game of pure luck – in real life casinos and online casinos and that’s something players may want to take into consideration when deciding between real-life and online. Obviously one of the factors that confront any player of online card games or casino games is trust. In bricks and mortar casino, trust is less of an issue, but in the anonymised world of online gambling, players need some assurances. Again, we’ll take a look below at how to find the best online casino for you.

Table For One? Where To Play Baccarat Online for Free

Finding a good baccarat site is relatively simple, but there are a few things you should be aware of. Firstly, stick to the most popular and best-trusted sites out there in order to ensure that your bank details and personal information are safe. The sites worth visiting all follow the proper SSL security procedures and are regularly audited. Add to that decent customer support and you’ve got the makings of a halfway decent casino. Another factor to consider when choosing the right casino is the welcome bonus. Most casinos offer bonuses along the lines of 100 % up to a given figure. However, be aware that you’ll likely have to play through the games on the casino a set number of times before you can get your bonus, so always check the fine print. Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that the casino has a large range of games and betting limits. It’s no good starting a game if you haven’t got the budget to see it through. If you want to know more about what makes a great online casino, check out our casinos review page here.

Interesting Online Baccarat Card Game Variants

There are quite a few baccarat variations out there and in the following couple of paragraphs we present our favourites. Mini Baccarat is, as the name suggests, a smaller version of the popular classic casino game. Players compete for smaller stakes and at a smaller table, making it ideal for players looking to practice baccarat. Only 7 players can play at a mini-baccarat table at a time. Given that the stakes are lower and the number of players fewer, it’s perfect for those looking for an understanding of the game. Some of the live versions of Mini-Baccarat even feature a chat function that allows players to ask questions of their dealer as they play. Live Dealer Baccarat is pretty much it says on the tin. Players play and bet as normal but in Live Dealer Baccarat, there’s a real-life human croupier to compete against and interact with. Instead of players rotating the role of the dealer as in real-life baccarat, the dealer remains the same throughout. Live Dealer Baccarat also has the added advantage that it doesn’t rely on RNGs (Random Number Generators) for the card play which is a relief to those who don’t trust the automated card system. That’s all for our guide. We hope you’ve found some of the information in this article useful.

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Last Updated on 1 Feb 2022 by Mark Podd