The game of baccarat is best played when you understand the strategy involved. First, in case you don’t know what baccarat is all about; it is a betting game that involves the application of strategies. There are various baccarat strategy options available to players to choose from. However, in this article, we will look at the top strategies to help you make the best of your betting game.
Unlike the game of Roulette, Baccarat is played with a logical rule based technique. It is more of a game of strategy than a game of chance. You must be able to apply the methods and techniques that have been created in order to have the best chance at success. Players must learn to take advantage of different aspects of the game outcome, known as shoe outcomes form. Majority of shoe outcomes represent mixed outcomes; for example, a combination of two outcomes.
There is hardly anyone who plays baccarat blindly; almost every player of the game betting for outcomes either in live or online baccarat games uses one form or the other of baccarat strategy. Surely, some technique and strategy work well in the game than some other techniques. It is important to mention that there are some gamblers who believe that there is no particular advantage that comes with playing with baccarat strategy and that playing with sets of rules do not make any significant difference. Well, we believe that this is far from the truth as the strategies we will explore will show.
Strategy One: One Sided Baccarat Strategy
On the surface of the game taking one side; player or banker, it may look a bit overly basic but you should never underestimate the strength of this baccarat strategy. If used correctly, the chance of you getting ahead into the winning position during one out of two baccarat shoes you bet on is about 3:1. In addition to this, the chance that your casino bankroll will linger around breakeven level is about 4:1.
The fact about this strategy is that both sides of the game; banker or player, at some point during a shoe do have an advantage, even though not so much. This happens in about eight out of every ten shoes. In other words, the chances of the side you have selected to go with surely have a great chance of proceeding by one or more units. If you had planned to flat bet, you would need a minimum of three units wins to push ahead of an opposing side to provide you with the edge of confidence to progress and form an opinion that the strategy offers.
How to use the One Sided Baccarat Strategy
Start betting at the beginning of a new Baccarat shoe. When you notice that the outcomes are against you; stay put and stand your ground by activating a stop loss. Do not let yourself lose more than three in a row of double down units or flat betting units. When you have lost up to three times, it is recommended that you stop betting. Wait until your side shows up again and let this be your indication to start betting on your side again. At the beginning of the game, set a target that you want to reach in a single shoe. You might want to consider 5+ unit wins. If you can, you may push for more but for a start, target 5+ unit win.
You should be prepared and expect the opposing side to make a comeback. So you need to be sure how far you can go and how much you can afford to lose. Do not fight against a tide when you do not really need to. Instead, take the profits you have made and look for another Baccarat table. In case you are backing the baccarat Banker side, have it in mind that there is commission to pay when the Banker wins on most of the Baccarat tables. Although this might not have any effect on your objectives of earning money, it may definitely add up if you come upon a powerful Player overriding shoe.
Important Banker Caution Tip
You should never believe the baccarat strategy mantra that states that you should always bet on the Banker. This is a wrong thing to do for some reasons. First, the average player in an online casino bets in two to three Baccarat shoes about every other day. This does not necessarily mean that the majority of the shoes will become Banker dominant. In fact, majority can be Player dominant. Secondly, even if you decide to take an extreme measure and take, let’s say over 50,000 Baccarat shoes, the Banker will have only a small edge over the side of the Player.
To top it all, the edge is reduced drastically by the various Banker commission. So when you come across bad shoe, engage the three in a row stop loss which is an important baccarat strategy to employ at this juncture. If you have a second stop loss in a bad shoe again, this should be your final stop loss. If you get to this stage, you should stop betting on that specific shoe. As a matter of fact, do not take a risk of more than a nine-hit on any bad Baccarat shoe.
The Limit of One Sided Baccarat Strategy
Most baccarat strategy options do not always minimize the house edge or provide net profits of 100% in all Baccarat shoes you bet on. Yes, this is the real truth about the one-sided baccarat strategy but it is also true for the house. Casinos do not always win at baccarat tables. Furthermore, casinos do not win when there is a group of players using the same strategy working well on any particular shoe. This happens both at live and online baccarat games. In general, you should take advantage of good shoes. When your side of the shoes is happening in bands of three or more game wins in a row, and you also have doubles against the singles, then ride the winning wave and make as many winning units as possible. There are many online casinos that you can explore to try out this strategy.
As you play at a casino, take notes of the outcomes in order to try to work out how well the strategy works. As you play, try to make some adjustments as you deem fit. For exam, when you double down for outcomes, you may feel like you have a higher possibility of having an edge after some lost outcomes. This can increase the quantity of units you are able to profit. Patience as well as baccarat strategy experience will be of great help to you in the long run, so practice this strategy and understand how it works to have the best of its benefits. The one-sided baccarat strategy has a lot more to offer advanced baccarat players but what has been discussed so far pretty much cover the basics. As you continue playing, you will learn the rope and get better at applying this strategy to your game.
Strategy Two: Trend Switch Combat Strategy
This strategy recommends that you begin flat betting and switch between the zigzag zone (changes that occur between players and bankers), and the streaky players and banker trends. Let’s explain this a bit. There are different trends in baccarat shoes; the zigzag zone is a trend where the outcomes of the game are mostly zigzagged. Zigzags are changes or chops that occur between players and bankers. This zone consists of 1st and 2nd line outcomes. It is important to mention that these outcomes sometimes breakout of the zigzag mode which in turn forms the player or banker streaks. When these streaks don’t continue, the zigzag zone automatically dominates. The streaky players and banker technically begin from the third line and moves on.
In this case, although the 1st and 2nd line shows outcomes, the outcomes are usually a brief occurrence because there is a powerful presence of streaky players and bankers vertically, from back to back. The implication of this is that the 1st and 2nd lines only get filled up on the scoreboard as alteration outcomes, that is, from player to banker streaks and vice versa. Seldom, the pattern of the shoe displays a small zigzag zone streak without the banker or player streak breakouts. These short zigzag zone breakouts can be overlooked because they are short lived blips. In addition to this, it can be ignored because the streaky bankers and players are dominant in the game.
For this baccarat strategy, begin flat betting and follow it up with the rules of the zigzag zone and streaky player and banker. In this situation, if you lose twice on a trend, do not stop and wait for a trigger, just switch to the second trend. When you incorporate the next strategy we are going to talking about shortly, you can start gambling like a professional. Note that your total stop loss has to be a little wider; make it like twelve and let your target be around the 8+ unit. Using this strategy, you will make profit on both trends while maintaining your control. This offers you a nice secret double down moment and there is high odds of attaining your target with about 65% chance while the odds of reaching your target and getting into profit is about 85% in two out of three shoes.
Strategy Three: Break the Doubles Baccarat Strategy
This strategy has the potential to beat the house edge significantly. Given the fact that an approximate of 85% of general Baccarat shoe outcomes get formed by the zigzagged streaks with a blend of Player and Bankers, as well as zigzag streaks, players can overcome the house edge. This is because when you are playing in a losing shoe, you definitely will know in time and you can avoid it. Understand that the majority of the shoes are dominated by double outcomes. Secondly, Banker or/and Player streaks can occur in a cluster, producing back to back over a short distance from one another.
How does the strategy works?
You have to bet on the opposite (that is, when the zigzagged pattern persists), bet with the pattern. Secondly, be conscious of your game. Whether you have gotten to your target or not and you come across a double, the steps you should take are as follow; when you make a loss when you double down once, you should double down your wager just once. If you are the 5th player, you win and then you break the double. Repeat this rules until you attain your goal. If you are using this strategy, your total stop loss on every shoe you play should be on 9-.
When you come across streaks of Players and Bankers, you will have two choices if you have not reached your total stop loss or your target. In case you lose a double down break, discontinue and hang around for a reset. You should exit the shoe if you are half through and you are not yet in profit. Nevertheless, if you have a shoe that looks strong, with back to back streaks in the 1st half, there is a great chance that there may be a change to the streaks.
Having looked at the baccarat strategy options, let us now look at tips you can use to win at baccarat tables.
Tips to win at Baccarat Table
No doubt, the game and strategy of baccarat is quite easy to understand, having some tips handy can greatly enhance your betting advantage at the table and maximize your wins. The tips below will definitely help you at the table.
Do not look for patterns
When players first start learning how to play at baccarat table, they tend to overlook this tip. You don’t need to keep track of the patterns to win at the game. In a game of baccarat, each game ends in different result and even though you can try to determine the outcome of a game, it is practically impossible to be totally certain of the specific method that will win you the game. So instead of focusing on pattern, enjoy the game and don’t bother about the possible sequences.
Make sure to bet smart
When you sit at a baccarat table, it is possible to wonder which bet will be the best choice for you; player or banker. Well, when you bet on the banker, there is a 5% commission going to the house so this might not seem like a great option for a new player. However, it has been proven that it is safer to bet on bankers even with the cut on your winnings.
Overlook the tie bet
A professional baccarat player knows that tie bet is the worst kind of bet you can make. Of course, the payout may look attractive but you need to be really lucky to be able to pull of the bet off. This is because the game pays off only 9% of the gaming time. If you manage to pull it off, you can make a big win but predicting with precision is almost impossible, so your chance of losing is higher than that of winning.
Follow your gut
There is no clear cut to the game, even if you have been playing for a long time. So in some cases, follow your gut. In fact, the fun in casino games playing and placing wagers is based on your gut and hunches. You never can tell what great win can come out of a game you allow your gut to direct you to play.
Look out for competition
Although the usual 5% commission is the regular standard for betting on banker in a game of baccarat and this is nonnegotiable but you need to practically check this out at physical casinos. You may find some casinos that are ready to relinquish a small percentage of the wins on the banker bets.
Pay close attention to each table
Although the majority of baccarat tables collect just 5% commission on the banker bets but you should not assume that this is the standard in all casinos. There are some casinos that offer baccarat tables that charge as high as 10% to 25% commission on the banker bet winnings. So check out the rules on each table before you start playing.
Conclusion
We have looked at the top three baccarat strategy options that can make significant difference on your performance at baccarat tables. We have also explored some tips that can enhance your winning opportunities at the tables. Following these strategies and tips will definitely increase your chances of winning.