How to Give Yourself the Best Odds

 

You have seen the game in popular media, especially in James Bond movies, thanks to its glitz and glamour. Because baccarat has a relatively low house advantage and is fairly easy to master, it has become a player favorite across the entire casino spectrum, from the mini-baccarat tables in Macau’s Cotai Strip to the high-limit rooms of Monte Carlo and even online.

As far as the best odds go, baccarat is among the top four casino games, alongside blackjack, Jacks or better (the 9/6 variant), and craps. In a lot of ways, you could say it resembles blackjack, but it is much simpler and more exciting. It’s a rookie-friendly game too.

Although it’s partly a game of chance, baccarat has a few nifty tips, strategies, and hacks you can use to dramatically improve your odds of winning. That’s why we put together this Baccarat strategy guide.

Quick History of Baccarat

The fascinating and colorful history of baccarat dates as far back as the 1400s when it was invented by an ardent Italian gambler called Felix Falguierein. Baccarat is derived from the Italian word “baccara” which simply means “zero,” reflecting the fact that all face cards and tens have a value of zero.

Though the game initially began with popular medieval-era tarot cards, these were soon replaced by the standard playing cards, and the game made its way to France where it took the moniker Chemin de Fer, a variant of Baccarat en Banque. Between the 18th century and 19th century, the game of baccarat spread quickly across Europe.

It’s believed that Tommy Renzoni, a write-cum-gambler, brought the game to Las Vegas from Cuba. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, baccarat is permitted in all brick-and-mortar and online casinos in US states where gambling is legal, including Nevada and New Jersey.

Baccarat Payouts

Player Hand Bets: You win if the Player hand is closer to 9 than the Banker hand. And it pays double or evens (1:1). That is, a winning wager of $20 on the Player hand wins $20, bringing your total payout to $40.

Banker Bets: If you bet on a Bank hand and it wins, you will be paid evens minus 5% house commission. For example, if you bet $20 on the Banker and it wins, you will get $19 in winnings. In this case, $1 will go to the house as a commission.

Tie Bets: When you make a tie bet, you are essentially wagering that the Bank hand and the Player hand will have an equal count. A winning tie bet pays out at 8:1. So, if you bet $20 on a tie and it wins, you will get $160 in winnings as well as retain the original bet of $20.

One thing to note is that all bets placed on the Banker and Player hand will be pushed if the result is a tie, meaning that neither hands loses or wins. You can decide to leave the bet as it is, remove it, switch it, or reduce/add the chips.카지노사이트