While the off-kilter card value structure may throw you off a little at first, just remember that baccarat is a fun and simple game that can be enjoyed by players at every level. The rules are minimal and the game is chance-based rather than skill-based, which may come as a relief to newcomers to the live baccarat setting.

There can be a maximum of twelve players in each round or sitting. The game is played with 6 to 8 decks of mixed and shuffled cards. Cards will be dealt face-up by the dealer and distributed in twos to both the player and the banker. Whichever hand has a value that is closest to 9 (based on the ‘righty’ card point system), is the winner! It really is that simple. The only decision one has to make when playing baccarat is who is most likely to win the hand—the player or the banker?

Because of the ‘righty’ value system, the suits of cards are obsolete. It is only the combined numerical value of cards that is important in baccarat. As we outlined above, high cards such as queens and kings are obsolete in baccarat, whilst the ace has the lowest value in the pack at just 1 point. Because the total score of a hand cannot exceed 10, a hand of double digits will automatically have the ‘left hand’ digit removed. For example, if you achieved a hand of 6 and 6 at the Baccarat table, the total would not be 12, but 2. A perfect land on 9 is considered a ‘natural’ win, and cannot be beaten at the baccarat table.

As we have already established, the purpose of a game of baccarat is to correctly bet the outcome of a round of play between a player and a dealer. By accurately choosing the outcome from the three possible outcomes (player, banker or tie), you can win big at the baccarat table.

Baccarat is special because unlike the majority of dealer-facing casino table games, the ‘house,’ or casino, has a very low advantage and can thus be beaten more easily. Baccarat is so popular and accessible precisely because of the easy play and generous probability rates. Players can really feel that they have a chance of winning big and outsmarting the casino at its own game.

A tie is rarely the outcome of a round of Baccarat, and as such, the house holds an advantage of 14.44% in the event of a tie-break situation. It is commonly accepted that in baccarat, the player commands a more than slight advantage over the banker or the dealer. This advantage is the difference between 1.24 (player) and 1.06 (banker).

This classic baccarat strategy shows the importance of stamina and that persistence pays off—most of the time. The ‘Break the Doubles’ strategy could not be easier to employ. All you need to do is double your bet every time you lose. While this may at first seem like an exercise in self-punishment, it is important to remember that no matter how many times you lose at the table, a single win is guaranteed to ensure profit on your initial bet. Because of the erratic, streak-heavy nature of parallel player/banker play in baccarat, it is certainly possible to ride the waves of the game and continue to capitalise on ‘doubled’ bets to maximise winning capacity whilst reducing the impact of losses at the table.

This strategy might remind you of that football supporter who changes his team from season to season depending on who holds the cup that year. Similarly, the ‘Trend Switching’ strategy in baccarat involves capitalizing on the highly erratic and fluctuating nature of play and the peaks and troughs that both the banker and the player will inevitably go through in each shoe. To put it simply, if the banker is on a winning streak, bet on the banker. If the player is on a winning streak, bet on the player. By following this simple and discriminatory betting pattern, you are sure to maintain some kind of stability and control as the game spirals back and forth between the house and the challenging player. By recognizing and honing in on certain trends in the game (such as zig-zags and streaks), players can heighten their capacity to read the shape and narrative of the game.

In effect, this strategy is the polar opposite of the ‘Trend Switcher.’ It is basic and timeless, being perhaps the oldest and most instinctive baccarat strategy that there is. By choosing a side and sticking with it, players eliminate any over-analysis of the flow of the game and card patterns and instead zone in on their running bet, whether that be the player or the banker. The ‘One-Sided’ strategy adds some stability to the game and is based on the logic that streaks and trends that may seem attractive are in fact negatively influential. They can cloud judgement and result in sudden or unexpected losses. By sticking with one side, be it the player or bank, you can ensure that your odds of winning 1 out of every 2 games are approximately 3 to 1. By employing your gut instinct, in perhaps the most satisfying act of all gambling, you can capitalise on the probabilities of the game and employ a firm strategy that is sure to produce the goods in the end, one way or another. If it isn’t broken, why try and fix it?

The ‘1324’ Baccarat strategy is a recently developed, modern tactic that has come to prominence in online and live baccarat circles. It is a steadfast and reliable way of ensuring some kind of overall win even in the midst of losing hands and losing bets. It is a thoughtful and numerical way of playing the game, and it’s one of the most direct, aggressive and high-limit oriented ways to approach the baccarat table.

When employing this strategy, the player progresses through rounds using the 1324 sequence with each incremental win. So, while a loss would result in starting the sequence from the beginning, a win would allow the player to progress to the next number. Once all four hands have been won, the player would restart the process and begin a fresh sequence of 1324 hands. If the first two bets are accurate, then the following two wins would be bonuses, while two losses would not affect the profit margin of the shoe or the success of overall play.