The fact that baccarat is a traditional game of chance is precisely what contributes to the game’s high level of entertainment value. Sit at the table with us and put your wager; will it be on the player, the banker, or a tie?
There is nothing you can do to affect the outcome of the game once the bets have been placed, as the cards that are dealt to you are set by the rules of the game, and you do not get a say in the matter. However, this does not imply that you are unable to manage your bankroll and make sure that you get to the table for online baccarat with the greatest odds imaginable.
Prof. Eliot Jacobson, an authority on the game of baccarat, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 World Game Protection Conference, which took place in Las Vegas. We caught up with him immediately after the ceremony to get his thoughts on how best to approach the game.
Tips for People Who Have Never Played Baccarat Before
What is the one piece of advice that you would provide to a new player of baccarat who was about to sit down at the table for the very first time?
The single most critical thing you can do is make sure you are aware of any and all possible subtle rule changes that may be taking place. There are a number of different variations of baccarat that may be played. There is also the standard form of baccarat, which has a charge of 5% on bets placed on the banker. There is also a variation of baccarat known as “EZ Baccarat,” in which your bet is considered a push if the banker draws to a three-card winning 7 while you have placed your wager on the banker.
And then there’s another variation in which, if you bet on the banker, you are paid 1 to 2 if they win with a 6, but the payout is just half as much as normal. Because of this, as someone who has a personal interest in the player losing as little money as possible, I would generally recommend that players place the smallest possible stake on a bet that has the least edge for the house, given that they will inevitably lose no matter what they do. You never win, and nobody likes to see their money go down the drain.
Therefore, you should place your money on the bet that has the lowest advantage for the house, which, depending on the variation, may be the player or the banker. Learn the game’s guidelines, find out what the house advantage is, and then play with the bet that offers the best odds.
Which version of baccarat is the most enjoyable to play, and why?
The easiest version to play is EZ Baccarat, which allows a tie if the banker ends up winning three cards totaling 7. The player bet typically has a house edge of 1.24%, whereas the banker bet can provide you an edge ranging from 1.02% to 1.43%, depending on the variation. In normal play, the player bet has an edge of 1.24%. On the EZ Baccarat version, it is the banker side’s 1.02% edge, so if you can discover that and avoid the side bets, which are the attraction of that variety, that would be the best to play. If you can’t find that, the next best thing would be to play the EZ Baccarat variant.
The Most Successful Tactic When Playing Baccarat
Is there a certain way to play the game or a technique that works best (as there is in blackjack, for example)?
Indeed, the purpose of fundamental strategy is to cut down on one’s losses as much as possible.
When you talk about blackjack basic strategy, what you’re really saying is that the strategy is based on the assumption that you have no additional information. All you know is the two cards you’re holding, as well as the cards you’ve drawn along the way, in addition to the card that the dealer has face up. Therefore, a strategy that minimizes losses is one that brings the advantage of the house down to its minimum feasible level.
In baccarat, the only decision you have any say in is the amount that you bet, which is also the only strategy that can be considered successful in the game. If you want to keep your losses to a minimum, you should always bet on the hand that gives the casino the lowest possible advantage over you.
To put it another way, in order to maximize your winnings from baccarat, place the smallest possible amount on the bet that offers the lowest advantage to the house.
When playing baccarat, is it possible to count cards?
The game of blackjack is the one that comes to me when I think about how to quantify it. As an example, let’s imagine that your absolute maximum wager when playing blackjack is $100, and that you play 100 hands while counting cards. And let’s say we’re playing a shoe game, in which case the maximum wager you may place is $100 whenever the count is really juicy and high. It has to to our attention that when playing a shoe game, you are most likely raking in a profit of something in the neighborhood of $20 to $25 for each and every 100 hands that are dealt.
Let’s put it in perspective by contrasting it with baccarat. Card counting is an option for either the banker or the player bets. There is a card counting system available, and I have worked on it and simulated billions of shoes of this card counting system, so I am aware of the precise value of the item. Because the maximum stake in baccarat is just $1,000, you will only win $0.90 for every 100 hands played. This means that you will need to wager ten times as much money to get the same amount of revenue.
Not only that, but if you just sit there and wait for times when the shoe is rich enough in the excellent cards that you can get an advantage, then you will be making one to two bets every eight hours. This is assuming that you are not actively participating in the game in any way.
The ideal baccarat card counter would have a stack of $1,000 chips in front of him while waiting patiently for the count to be accurate enough. Once it was, he would place a wager of $1,000 every three, four, or five hours. And at the end of the day, what plans does he have for himself? In terms of his anticipated profit, he will have garnered enough cash to buy a doughnut and a cup of coffee at the very least.
Is this because there are extremely specific guidelines for when you are allowed to draw a card in baccarat, which is a very time-sensitive game?
Not really; the reason for this is that there are no good or terrible cards in the deck. If you are playing blackjack, you should keep in mind that a face card or an ace are very advantageous cards to have. This is because if you get a blackjack, you will be rewarded three to two, however if the dealer gets a blackjack, he will only take your money.
There are no cards in baccarat that can be described as “that’s a really nice card for the banker” or “that’s a really good card for the player.” This is because neither side has an advantage over the other. There isn’t a single good card for either of the two sides. Therefore, this is the true point: it is not the drawing rules; rather, it is the fact that everything in the game is so symmetrical, which means that nothing is advantageous or disadvantageous in any specific way for either side.
Does Pattern Betting Work?
Could you explain the logic behind why players typically wager on particular patterns when playing baccarat?
Myths and legends surrounding baccarat are more prevalent than those around any other online casino games. The casinos want individual players to believe that there is some significance or depth that they can acquire by reading the patterns or the streaks, but the reality is that there isn’t any meaning or depth there at all.
There is this thing called information, and information has value. Information includes knowing where a certain card is located, having the shoe edge sorted so that you can identify high and low cards, or utilizing a computer to obtain the edge on the game. These are actual pieces of information that may be accessed.
If you take a look at a blackjack table, you will see that the dealers do not put up a board that indicates the current count or the number of aces and face cards that are still in the shoe. This is because providing players with such information would give them an advantage in the game.
Therefore, the only way to know for certain that the boards do not include any information that may be valuable is for casinos to use them. And they employ them for two specific reasons: first, they speed up the game compared to the old-fashioned method of scoring by hand, which was done without using electronic scoring devices. They are able to make more judgments every hour since they do not require individuals to record the bets. Every decision results in money for the casino.
The second reason is that they display patterns, streaks, and a variety of other pictures that players are led to believe are genuine. And the more you are able to persuade a player that something that is not occurring – a streak – is actually happening and a project that into the future, the more probable it is that they will make a wager based on the knowledge that they do not have. And each rise in the size of the wager results in a corresponding increase in the casino’s profit.
This is a characteristic that is more natural to the game of baccarat than it is to any other game. In addition, I believe that it is essential for every one of us as people to have a clear understanding of the difference between useless noise and information. It is necessary for us to be aware of the distinction between illusory patterns and true information in order to get a competitive advantage or to be in a position to make a sound choice.
Did you know?
When playing Baccarat, it’s important to remember the advantage the house has over the game. If you choose to wager on a Tie, the house has an edge of 14.4% over you. On the other hand, bets placed on the banker have an edge of 1.06%, and bets placed on the player have a house edge of 1.36%. Additionally, a charge of 5% is added on banker bets.