Live Baccarat

You've probably heard of baccarat thanks to James Bond. However, let's put our favourite secret agent aside and look at the game itself. Our online baccarat guide will show you some strategic tips for playing this electrifying game. We'll also tell you what the best odds are for winning the most money by betting at our casino.

Purpose of online baccarat

Online baccarat, like live baccarat, is a game between the dealer and the player. The objective is to score 9 points and whoever gets closest to that number wins. However, it is not always the winner who scoops the pot. You can bet that the winner will be any other player at the table, yourself, the dealer or that there will be a tie.

How to bet to win at baccarat

To play baccarat, Punto Banco style, once you learn the rules, it is easy to master the game. In the other variants we have mentioned, we give players the opportunity to act as a dealer, who is known as "the banker" in this game.

Here, you can bet on any of the other players at the table or you can bet on the banker. There are many decisions to be made in this version. In theory, you can even strategise to gain an advantage, become a professional baccarat player and, who knows, defeat a few supervillains along the way.

Baccarat Rules

After placing your bet on this table game (between $1 and $500 at the Nevada casino), both you and the dealer will be dealt two cards face up. While in blackjack the idea is to get as close to 21 as possible, in baccarat, the best hand you can get is a 9. Aces are worth one point in baccarat, 10s and face cards are worth zero, while between 2 and 9, each card is worth its own numbering.

Card values

When you add up your card values in baccarat, your score can be between 0 and 9. If you score more than 9 points, simply ignore the digit in the tens column and concentrate on the digit in the ones column. For example, if your two baccarat cards are a 9 and an 8, totalling 17, your score in this case is 7. If you have an 8 and a 3 (totalling 11), your score is 1.

Ideally, your two cards should add up to 8 or 9. You will not enter the priesthood, but if you or the banker draws an 8 or a 9 in baccarat, that is called a "natural hand", and it means the round is over. You or the banker will have the winning hand at that point. If neither you nor the banker has an 8 or a 9 after receiving two cards, then a third and final card is dealt to the player or dealer under certain conditions.

In online baccarat, all cards are dealt on a random system, using the standard baccarat board as a reference. You can see this by checking out the baccarat game description at 8xwins casino.

Playing online baccarat at 8xwins

As everything works automatically at 8xwins, you don't need to memorise the board, unless you want to do it anyway because you are curious about the game. Another important thing about baccarat: you have three betting options to choose from. You can bet on yourself (the player), the banker, or you can bet on the hand ending in a tie. Each outcome has its own odds and payouts, so you'll definitely want to keep the different bets in your memory bank.

Baccarat odds and betting

To bet well in this game, in addition to knowing the statistics or what strategies to use, it is good to know how to recognise and avoid the most typical baccarat mistakes.

Here's the analysis: it's all or nothing, either you double your bets or you lose everything. Winning bets on the banker pay 1:1 minus a 5% commission. And winning bets on a tie pay 9:1. If you play live baccarat, you're likely to win only 8:1 on your tie bet; one more reason to play baccarat at 8xwins.

It may seem like you should always bet on a tie, but the odds of winning that bet are relatively small: 9.53%. The player will win 44.62% of the time and the banker will win 45.85% of the time.

Since there are no other options to bet on, it's easy to calculate baccarat odds with a little maths. And once you know the odds, you can calculate the house edge for each bet.

Types of baccarat hands

There is nothing particularly complicated about the hands you can play in baccarat: you will score between 0 and 9 with the deck.

The player's hand in baccarat

The player's hand is revealed first. If the cards total 6 or more, the player will play those cards. If the cards total less than 6, the player receives one more card.

The banker's hand

The banker may not be dealt a third card if his first two cards total 7 or more, however, he must be dealt a third card if his first two cards total three or less. Unless the player has a starting hand of 8 or 9 against the dealer's maximum of three, in which case the player automatically wins.

The dealer will also receive a third card when his first two cards total between 4 and 7, but it will depend on the player's hand.

Top three strategies for winning at baccarat

With no decisions to make other than betting on the player, the banker or the tie, there is no real strategy for winning at baccarat in the long run. But these three tips will help you get the most out of your game during any session:

• Respect the house edge. If maximising your winnings is important to you, always bet on the banker when playing baccarat. If you're looking for more variety, keeping in mind the house edge mentioned above, bet on the player almost as often as the banker and add some tie bets from time to time.
• Manage your bankroll. Divide your bankroll into at least 100 units and bet only one unit per hand. Always stick to that bet size. More advanced players can plan their sessions to last for a certain period of time. On average, doing some calculations with the house edge and the number of hands they normally play per hour. Choose an appropriate bet size to reach your goals.
• Have fun! Baccarat should be played for fun and not as a source of income - play only when you feel like it! And, of course, never play with money you can't afford to lose.