Baccarat Strategy - It's as easy as pie!
Baccarat strategy is something that most people think is really hard to learn because of the game's reputation for being played by only the very wealthy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Baccarat is one of the easiest games at the casino to learn and to play. Maybe that's why the rich and famous used to be the only ones that played it; because they were too busy listening to the sound of how awesome they are to be bothered to learn the rules for a more complicated game. :) I'm just joking about that. Not the rules being simple, but about the rich people. Baccarat strategy couldn't be an easier thing to learn. It's certainly much less complicated than Blackjack and you'd be surprised if I told you that there are really only two things to remember, and that's it.I'll talk a little more in depth about the rules on my baccarat rules page, but here's the basic idea behind the game. For simplicities sake, let's say there's just you and the banker (dealer) at the table. If you want, you can also imagine that I'm there, telling you about baccarat strategy as we go along, but that's up to you. OK. First thing is, there are only 3 bets you can make. You can bet that the banker will win the hand, you can bet that you'll win the hand, or you can bet that the two hands will tie. Statistics have shown that the banker's hand has a slight edge as far as winning a bit more often than the player's hand, so the only baccarat strategy I can pass on to you is that you should bet on the banker's hand more often than either of the other two bets.
Another baccarat strategy that I simply have to pass on to you is that you should never, unless you are extremely wealthy, place a tie bet, except in very rare instances. There is little chance of the two hands tying, so there's little reason to make that bet, unless of course you are a reckless and wealthy individual. The tie bet does pay off at about 9 to 1 though, so it can look pretty attractive if you're getting down on your luck. I've been known to win that bet on occasion, and I can tell you that it feels pretty good to win 9-1 on a $100 bet. but consider this a baccarat strategy warning, place this bet with extreme caution.
Now that you know about the betting, that's about it. The rest is up to the dealer. Once you've placed your bet, the dealing commences, and you can't remove your bet, or increase it after that, so you just sit back and see if you win. The way the deal progresses is that you and the dealer each get two cards, one after the other (you, dealer, you, dealer), and if necessary, either you or the dealer, or both of you will get another card. Once the deal's finished, the hand is done, and you either get paid, or you pay the bank. There's really no more to baccarat strategy than that. Just pick your bet and away you go. It's all up to the luck of the draw, especially with casinos using 8 decks in the shoe, or online, where the cards are shuffled and kept random and refreshed by computer.
Hopefully you'll learn to have fun playing baccarat; since it's a simple game, it's really easy to enjoy. Don't forget to check out my baccarat rules page and also how to play baccarat, on BettorsBaccarat.com!
