The Complete Guide to Online Baccarat

Baccarat isn’t one of those games that immediately comes to mind when you think of online casino games. Other table games like blackjack, craps, and roulette often take precedence, but baccarat has a dedicated player base in Europe, and mini baccarat is popular in the USA.

But new players are often hesitant to take up baccarat at brick and mortar casinos because it can be an uncomfortable environment if you don’t know all the rule.

Well, you can play online baccarat free, which takes the embarrassment out the equation. It makes it easier for new players and seasoned veterans alike to enjoy the game. Then, once they’re familiar, they can start playing online baccarat real money style!

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How to Play Baccarat and Win

Baccarat is a game of patience and skill, so practice will really improve your chances of winning. There is a basic strategy you should employ as well as an advanced one and learning how to play baccarat at online casinos will help to ease the learning curve.

Baccarat’s basic strategy is easy to learn, so it can be quickly employed after winning your first game. The best tip on how to win at baccarat tip for new players is to bet on the banker. You win half of the time and lose half of the time. With online casinos, playing with low minimum bets can make playing your first game of baccarat less stressful, and help you get the hang of the game.

We’ll talk more about strategy later on, but first let’s break down some of the basic rules.

The Rules of Baccarat

The object of baccarat is to bet on the two possible outcomes: player or banker. Two hands are dealt out to two players, also known as the banker and the bettor. Whoever has the closest hand value to nine wins.

The 10s and face cards count as zero and aces can be one or 11. The best possible hand is 9-9; the worst, 0-0 (or three zeros). Hands that end in zero are known as “natural” and the house has no edge over them.

Once all bets are placed on either banker or player, the banker’s hand is dealt first. The game begins with each player taking turns drawing cards (or standing) until both hands have six cards. Any card eight or higher must be drawn; this means that if a hand totals five (which can be achieved by drawing an eight or higher), the next player must stand rather than draw.

Once both hands have six cards, the hands are compared based on how close their total is to nine. For example, if a player’s hand has 6 and 3 for a total of 9, the player would win against the banker if the banker has a total of 8 or less. However, if the banker’s hand totals 7, then the player would lose since his total is lower than nine.

It should be noted that a score of three (3) is considered a “natural” and automatically wins unless the other hand also has a natural total of three.

How to Win at Baccarat

Winning a game of baccarat is fairly simple, and the rules for a clear win are the same whether you’re playing in person or online.

The goal is to get as close to nine without going over. Any other number loses; zero and casino house win.

If your first two cards add up to eight or nine (8-8, 9-9), it’s a natural and you automatically win. After the initial deal of two cards, all remaining players have a choice of either standing pat or drawing a third card. If both cards that you’re dealt add up to a total greater than nine, then you’ll want to draw a third card.

If, after standing pat or drawing a third card, your hand is still at nine, then you’ve hit the magic number and win automatically. Congrats!

But if your hand goes over nine, then your bet is lost to the house.

The house edge in baccarat can be up to 2%, which makes it one of the lowest bets you’ll make at a casino.

At the other end of the spectrum, players who manage to achieve a nine or eight with their first two cards have a 1% chance of winning—the best odds possible in this game! The odds in baccarat are much better than the odds for slots or roulette, both games that have a high variable of chance.

The Best Baccarat Online Casinos – Where to Play Baccarat Online

There are a lot of places out there were you can play baccarat online, and many of these real money online casinos are great options.

When choosing online casinos for baccarat, make sure to keep these three characteristics in mind.

Game Selection and Limits

Some online casinos put limits on how much money you can bet at certain table games, like baccarat. Make sure you’re familiar with the game limits, as well as the deposit limits. Plus, look around to make sure the site has all the games you want to play, not just baccarat.

Bonuses, Prizes, and Promos

All real money online casinos entice new players with hearty deposit bonuses or free slot spins. While these offers can be tempting, don’t choose a casino based solely on their prize offers. Find a casino that has a healthy balance between gambling bonuses offered and the games you want to play.

Mobile Compatibility

More than ever, people are playing online casino games on their phones. Whether you’re on a road trip or just lounging at home, having the option to play your favorite casino games on your phone is a must.

If you’re just here to learn about the best baccarat sites, you’re in luck. We’ve selected the best of the best, starting with Las Atlantis.

Types of Ways You Can Play Baccarat Online

The most popular land-based casino version of baccarat is Punto Banco, and since baccarat isn’t as widely played in the USA as other casino table games, it’s pretty much the only version land-based casinos offer.

But real money online casinos offer more variations of baccarat, including Super 6, mini baccarat, Chemin de Fer, and baccarat banque.

What’s the Casino’s Edge?

Every game you play at a casino — whether it’s in person or online — is tailored to give the casino a chance at success. This percentage is called the house edge or the casino’s edge.

The house’s edge is how much you expect to lose on average per game if you continue playing for an infinite amount of time. For example, the house edge in baccarat is about 1.06%.

This doesn’t mean that if 100 people played for one hour at $100 each, the casino would take in $1,060; it means if 100 people played for one billion hours, they would make around $10 million (before paying out any wins).

Baccarat has a relatively low house edge compared with other table games like blackjack or roulette because the game is simple and there are only two outcomes (banker or player), which reduces how many combinations/permutations are possible when choosing how to place your bets.

Tips and Tricks for Online Baccarat

Like we mentioned above, one of the best strategies for winning online baccarat is to bet low amounts on the banker to start out.

As you get more comfortable with the rules, you can start betting more.

Well, there are a number of reputable websites that offer baccarat instruction and tips for players. And most casinos will even allow you to practice the game online before playing with actual money.

While it can be enticing to place high bets on the banker or player (which many novice players do), sticking to the basic strategy below is advisable:

• Always bet on either the player or banker (not both). The only exception here is if you’re betting for fun and want both sides. There’s nothing wrong with that; we all need entertainment in life!
• Banker wins when no number appears more than five times, and player wins when a certain pattern appears more than five times.
• Bets should be placed on the pattern that has appeared most often in the last 30 hands played. It’s recommended that you bet on this pattern for at least two dozen consecutive rounds before betting any other pattern.
• If both patterns have appeared equally as often during those last 30 hands, then simply bet 50:50 (split) on each pattern.
• Always place your bets after all of the cards have been dealt—never before! That way, if a miracle happens and a different winning hand is dealt after you’ve placed your bets, you always switch to the new winning hand.

Online Baccarat vs. Live Baccarat

There are a few differences between online baccarat games and in-person baccarat.

Unless you’re playing live-dealer baccarat, online baccarat is run on a random number generator with no human dealer. This can speed up the rate of play, but for some people, it removes the immersive aspect of playing with a real dealer.

In-person baccarat requires the use of chips rather than cash so it can be more difficult for players who are inexperienced in using chips to keep the money straight.

Both online and live baccarat require no skills other than how to place bets, how to hit or stand on your hands, how much you should bet, and when to walk away.

One of the other key differences between online baccarat and brick and mortar baccarat is the cards.

Typically, in-person baccarat is played with six to eight decks of cards with a discard pile, which is advantageous for card counters. However, online baccarat using RNGs doesn’t have a discard pile, and the deck is shuffled after every hand.

The History of Baccarat

The game of baccarat has been around for hundreds of years. There’s no indication on whether the game was invented in France or in Italy. In both Italian and French, “baccarat” is used to for the number zero. The first mention of the game dates all the way back to the 1400s.

The game experienced a huge rise in popularity in the mid-1800s, when James Buchanan Eads invented the card game Euchre. This new card game was not only easy to learn how to play, but it also had an element of chance involved. This is what made it so appealing for its time. As poker became more and more popular, so did baccarat.

It introduced to Las Vegas casinos in the 1950s and is a staple of almost all casinos in the country today. But it wasn’t as popular in the US overall. Baccarat still isn’t as successful as blackjack and roulette, but this might be because the rules for baccarat aren’t as simple as with roulette or blackjack.

Baccarat can often be found in land-based casinos, and it is now offered at various online casinos. This makes the barrier to entry less threatening to players. For new players, baccarat takes some getting used to, but playing online baccarat for real money (or for free) is a great way to get a hold of the rules before venturing into your local casino.

Online Baccarat FAQ