Baccarat is a game of high stakes, but with the right strategy you can play it for relatively little. The game is played with a standard deck of cards, and the highest scoring hand is the one that gets closest to nine. To win, you must bet on either the player or banker, and your hand must match theirs in order to get a score of nine. The game is a simple, regulated affair, and a winning hand pays 1-1 or even money (minus a 5% commission on the banker’s bet) depending on how you bet.
A game of choice for emperors, aristocrats, and royalty, the venerable French glassworks Baccarat has earned an aura of sophistication that has kept it in high demand. It’s not surprising that the game is favored by Asian high rollers—the game fits in with their cultural preferences and has a low house edge on banker bets.
The rules are straightforward: a dealer shuffles and deals the cards into a “shoe” or special box. You then place your chips in the areas labelled “Player,” “Banker,” and “Tie.” A player or banker win pays 1-1, while a tie bet wins eight to one (but casinos typically charge a 5% commission on the winning bet).
Once you’ve placed your bets, the dealer will deal out two cards to each of the three boxes—player, banker, and tie. The first card will be dealt to the player box, then the banker box. If the total of the two cards is an 8 or 9, that’s a natural win. You will be paid your bets, and the round is over. If the first two cards total less than 8, however, a third card may be drawn.
The best baccarat strategy is to bet consistently on the banker, because it has the best odds of winning. The only risk with this strategy is that you’ll lose if the banker wins too often, so you should keep track of your previous hands and adjust your betting accordingly. Alternatively, you can follow a simple system that helps you manage your bets: The 1-3-2-6 System. In this strategy, you bet a certain number of units each round—say $10. If you win, you increase the bet to $20 (2 units). If you lose, you decrease your unit bet to $10, and so on. By keeping track of your wins and losses, you can make the most of your profits. A good baccarat strategy should help you maximize your winnings and minimize your losses, while staying within your bankroll. This will ensure that your profits are large enough to justify playing the game in the long term.