High Limit Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the oldest and most loved table games. Many players see it as a casino game that has a smaller house edge when compared to other games. This is one reason why baccarat is the perfect game for high-rollers. Baccarat is now available at several popular online casinos, making it easier than ever to get a piece of the action. If you’re a high-roller, you can be sure to enjoy extra bonuses and an exclusive VIP experience at these online casinos. High-limit baccarat offers fantastic moments of excitement and entertainment due to its really attractive odds and thrilling gameplay. We will be taking a look at the entire high-limit baccarat experience including the rules and strategies here. Learn the advantages of being a high-roller and discover the art of high-limit baccarat with us
How to Play High Limit Baccarat
This table game has quite a reputation. Most players feel that baccarat can be quite intricate, and when playing high stakes, the glamour of the game can be quite intimidating. But, it is imperative to know that the game is worth learning how to play the right way.
Baccarat has fewer rules than other casino games, and they are relatively simple to follow. You don’t need any special skills to understand and play—anyone can enjoy this game, and anyone can win big.
Let’s take a look at how to play baccarat.
Initial bets are placed on either a Banker or Player bet. These choices are not related to “players” and “dealers” like they are in other games like blackjack. It is as if you are choosing one side of a coin. The Player and Banker represent the two hands in the game.
The first step of the game is to bet on either the Player, Banker or Tie. Once you place your bet, the Player and Banker receive 2 cards each. The Player may draw another card. This happens if the first two cards add up to 5 or less. The third card draw is not the Player’s choice. It is merely a rule in baccarat.
Once the Player has a whole hand, the Banker will hit or stand. Again, the Banker’s rules are per the baccarat game, which we will get into a bit later. Once both hands finish, the comparison will happen. The winning hand is always the hand that is the closest to 9.
Card values are as follows:
- 10 and Face cards, i.e. Jack, Queen, and King are 0
- Ace is 1
- Cards 2 through to 8 are face value
As you can see, 9 is the highest value that can be scored. If a hand adds up to more than 9, ten points will be subtracted from the total. For example, if a hand contains an 8 and a 5, the hand would have a value of 3 (the sum of 8 and 5 is 13, and when you subtract ten from that, you will arrive at 3). If your adds up to 8 or 9, this hand automatically wins and is known as a “natural.”
High Limit Baccarat Game Rules
There are a few rules to bear in mind when tackling baccarat. When playing at high stakes, you should know that the rules are very similar to the original baccarat game.
You are allowed to bet on the Player, Banker or a Tie. Bets are placed, and the cards are dealt and revealed. The card values must add up to 9 or under, as per the ruling above, with no card values being 10 or higher.
The Player and Banker have to hit or stand based on the rules. If the Player has a hand value over 5, the Player must stand. Luckily when playing online, everything is automated, and drawing the third card is done by default. One cannot freely hit or stand like in blackjack.
You win if you’ve bet on the winning hand.
Purpose of a High Limit Baccarat Game
Some critics say that baccarat is an inactive game as you purely bet on one of three elements. However, there is much more to the game than that. High-rollers believe that baccarat is one of the best games to bet big on because it is so strategic.
Reputable online casinos offer live baccarat which is much more enticing with HD video streams and live dealers. The objective of the game is to predict who will win (the Player or the Banker) or if there will be a Tie. If players win consecutive bets, they will soon see the rewards in a big way.
High Limit Baccarat Game Probabilities
The most important thing to do is understand the numbers in baccarat. The game is played with lower-valued cards, which makes the mathematics easier to handle. However, having a strategy to tackle probabilities is essential.
Baccarat is a table game with one of the lowest house edges (next to craps). This is a great reason to love the game. A mere 1.4% advantage goes to bets on the Banker. This creates fantastic odds for the player.
The odds of the player’s hand winning is a massive 44.62%. These odds are just shy of the banker’s losing percentage sitting at 45.85%. Ties are not uncommon either, as the odds of a tie happening are 9.53%, though the house generally has a big advantage on tie bets.
Most players look at the probability of no tie for the most part of the game. If this is the case, the Banker has a 51% chance of winning. If you are unsure, it is advisable to bet on the Banker’s hand for the win.
Best Casinos that Offer High Limit Baccarat
The Best High Limit Baccarat Strategies
As we know, the more math a game has in it, the more strategic it is. If you play for high stakes, remember a few of these basic strategies to help you use the odds in your favour.
We will be discussing a few core strategies that you should never ignore. The odds favour the Banker more in baccarat, so remember that when betting big.
The Player or The Banker – Who to Strategically Bet on
Betting on either the Player or the Banker both have their pros and cons. If you bet on the Banker, you may have a higher chance. Generally, we see the odds favouring the Banker over the Player.
The odds are worked out based on the third card rather than the entire deck. The third card ruling is different for the Player and the Banker. The complex formula for the Banker to get a third card shows that in the long-term, the Banker is likely to attain more wins than the Player.
If you bet on the Player, the advantage is that if you win the hand, you keep all your winnings. So, if you bet £200, you will get your £200 back and receive an extra £200. If you bet on the Banker and win, you are required to pay back 5% commission to the house. You will keep your £200 and get an additional £190. The Banker has better odds than the Player, and the Banker is the “safer” bet.
How to Bet on a Tie
Betting on a tie is not a chosen path that many players take because ties don’t happen often. But if you do bet on a Tie and win, the payout is a whopping 8 to 1. If you bet £200 on a Tie and win, you will receive your £200 plus an extra £1600.
The problem with betting on a Tie is that it happens less than 10% of the time. Some high rollers completely disregard ties and play between the Banker and Player. The reality is that should you bet on a Tie, the odds aren’t fabulous, and it indeed is a gamble for the big win. It is not a recommended bet should you be playing long-term, but it doesn’t hurt to take a chance on hitting the jackpot now and then.
Avoid the Pattern Spotting Strategy
Some baccarat lovers enjoy keeping a record of each hand and attempt to notice trends in the hands. This action is also known as the “pattern spotting” strategy. You may have even seen this strategy underway at a land-based casino as players sometimes take notes of hands on a scorecard. The unfortunate truth is that the result of a past hand does not show a future hand. There is no accurate formula to follow and no trend to look out for, so it is best to avoid this strategy in its entirety.
Card Counting Strategy
Card counting is used to discover when it will be more favourable to bet on the Player. The card count only works when the dealer is using a 6 or 8 deck shoe. You should check the details of a table before joining it online. You may feel that card counting is for very mathematical players only, but it is quite simple to count. Here’s a breakdown of the card counts.
Ace, 2 or 3 counts as one
Four counts as two
5, 7 or 8 counts as -1
Six counts as -2
9, 10, Jack, Queen, and King counts as 0
The idea is to continue counting provided that the game is still from a single shoe: the greater the count, the higher your chances are of winning a Player bet. The number to watch out for is 16. If you count higher than 16, place your bet on the Player. If your count is lower than 16, place your bet on the Banker. If the dealer starts to use a new shoe, you will have to restart your count.
The theory of card counting in baccarat is that the house edge is dependent on the cards remaining in the shoe. If there are fewer 5s, 6s and 8s, the odds will favour the Player. Fewer 2s, 3s, 4s and Aces show that the odds will favour the Banker. This strategy is sure to help you make the best choice possible when betting.
Take More Home with High Limit Baccarat
We all know that the higher the stakes, the larger the wins. High-limit baccarat is all about bringing that theory to life. The logic states that the more a player bets, the more they can win. The average high-stakes baccarat game has £500 bets. You have the option to make a combination bet when playing big. The combination is either a Player and Tie or a Banker and Tie bet.
Some premium online casinos allow bet limits of up to £5000, a considerable amount when compared to regular baccarat tables. If you bet £500 and win, you receive your £500 plus an additional £500. Of course, there are terms and conditions like commission fees, but baccarat is still the perfect game to win big.
There is a wide variety of casinos that let you play high-limit baccarat. These casinos encourage high-rollers to join luxury VIP clubs that give players access to a world of unique offers. VIP clubs are often tiered, and some online casinos have over 6 VIP levels. This tiered approach is an incredible way of making high-rollers feel welcome, even if they play big less often than others. You will be eligible to receive welcome bonuses, reload bonuses, and weekly bonuses from the casino.
If you are a high-roller, it is a great idea to try and deposit more than £1000 as a start. This amount will boost your welcome bonus and future playing bonuses with the online casino.
Discover High Limit Baccarat Live
If you’re a high roller that’s looking for a thrilling experience, you have to play baccarat live. Premium casinos offer the game live, letting you can play alongside fellow high-rollers with ease. All you have to do is access the live casino section and select a game. The most common live baccarat games are Baccarat Gold and Baccarat VIP Table. These tables have maximum bets of up to £2000—definitely for serious players only. Casinos also allow high-rollers to play multiple tables at a time, which is quite a nice way of finding your most favourable dealer and table.
There are welcome bonuses at every casino and then there are bonuses that are directly related to high-limit games. These bonuses correspond to VIP levels, allowing casinos to make players feel extremely welcome with enormous maximum bet allowances and even higher withdrawal limits. Each casino has state-of-the-art technology that helps you better see the game in HD quality. Hostesses are interactive, and the casinos often hold competitions while you play live. Such contests can include prizes of up to £30,000.
Take advantage of this exclusive experience and enjoy the thrill of a live game from the comfort of your own home.
The History of High Limit Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the oldest casino games still around today. It was created over 500 years ago in Italy during the medieval era. Baccarat was originally a game played only by aristocrats. It kept its reputation for centuries and has only recently hit the online market.
It All Began in Italy
Similar to blackjack, baccarat’s origins were in Europe. The Italians created baccarat, whereas the Spanish and French birthed blackjack. The Italian Felix Falguiere invented the game in the 1400s. The game was known as “baccara” then, which means “zero” in Italian. This name was given because of all the face cards and 10s are worth zero in the game. It became known as “baccarat” later on, from the French spelling.
The original game was slightly different. There used to be four dealers, and each player had a chance to be the Banker. Players could even bet against each other. In a baccarat game today, there is just one dealer, and all bets are against the house. Players can no longer bet against each other.
Legend tells us that baccarat was created based on a myth of a 9-sided die that needed to be thrown by a virgin. The throw would determine her destiny. If an 8 or 9 showed, she would become a priestess. If she threw a 6 or 7, she would not be allowed to be a part of any religious community, but she would still live. If she threw anything less than 6, she would be banished to the ocean to drown. The tale may not be the most pleasant, but the rules of baccarat do follow this story quite closely, minus the drowning, of course.
The game then spread from Italy to England and France. The French often called the game “Chemin de Fer” and baccarat soon became the most popular game among the French aristocracy. Baccarat was also well-known to King Charles VIII. As the card game travelled from France to England, there were a few famous names that learned the game, including Ian Fleming. The author’s love of baccarat is probably the reason why baccarat is featured in the James Bond series.
The Change Across the Atlantic
The game soon became a well-known card game across the globe. Similar to blackjack, baccarat travelled from Europe across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and South America. Baccarat was extremely popular in Cuba, and is known there as “Punto Banco.” It was here that the game changed to players betting against the house only. With time, the casino started to act as the Banker, and this form of the card game became known as “American Baccarat.” The game was brought to Las Vegas in the 1950s by Tommy Renzoni.
Once baccarat hit Vegas, it was an exclusive and very secretive game, unlike roulette and slot machines. There were baccarat tables in individual rooms with that were hidden for a select few players. The game was all about setting the scene with elegant furniture and wallpaper. Players have to be willing to bet big, so baccarat was all about the VIP experience. This marketing strategy made the public curious, and as a result, more and more bets came to the table.
Baccarat Comes to the Online World
Baccarat soon became famous around the world and was known as a luxurious and exclusive casino game. Many people knew baccarat from the famous James Bond movies, but very few had played it.
This behaviour changed in the 90s when online casinos became somewhat popular. These casinos had low minimum bets, which meant that anyone with an internet connection could play. Players didn’t have to budget for hotel or travel expenses like they would if they wanted to play at a brick-and-mortar casino. All they had to do was log into a casino’s website, deposit money and play.
Be a Part of the Classic yet Thrilling High Limit Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the best casino games for high-rollers. The rules may have changed over the years, and online casinos may only have recently attained live versions of baccarat, but the popularity of baccarat is still growing.
Most exclusive online casinos offer baccarat, and you will quickly find many versions of the game. Some games are for VIPs only, while others accept lower bets. No matter what your desired minimum bet is, online casinos will have a table for you.
Players that enjoy high-limit baccarat often opt for a live table. These live casino tables have real dealers that are interactive and helpful. Thanks to advanced technology, casinos offer live streams in high-definition. The VIP lounges are also an incredible experience. High-rollers get access to exclusive bonuses and promotions as a nice touch from the online casinos.
Baccarat has some of the most straightforward rules. The winning hand is the hand that is closest to 9. All players have to do is bet. There are several strategies like betting on a tie and card counting that can be implemented.
Online casinos offer this high-limit card game on well-designed websites with the best technology. Software giants like Microgaming produce software for live baccarat that is modern and completely reliable. Many of the online casinos that we have reviewed feature high-limit baccarat. Take a look at our reviews to find out more about the casinos’ games and terms.
Dive into the “game for aristocrats” and experience the hype. After all, baccarat is one of the oldest card games, delivering thrills and big wins for over 500 years!