In the game of baccarat, players only have three different options. They can bet on the banker winning, the player winning, or a tie. The best decision is to bet on the banker winning. Players don’t need to use any other strategy when playing baccarat. However, the odds of the banker or player winning are not that different.
Why is the banker bet usually best?
A banker bet has better odds of winning. No casino willingly gives a player the edge. When playing baccarat at a real money online casino, the house edge is 1.06%. This gives the house a lower advantage over players than most other games. Only blackjack and some video poker games offer better chances of winning over the long term than a banker bet in baccarat. The banker bet is the best way to reduce the house edge. Online baccarat also has an advantage in that players only need to place a small wager.
Wagering on the player hand
Wagering on the player carries a 1.24% house edge. Players only yield 0.18% when betting on their hands. It’s rather like tossing a coin with the number of heads or tails being quite even in the end. Very few situations warrant betting on the player hand.
There isn’t a straightforward one-to-one return on money when placing a banker bet because the house edge is lower. Commission on winning a banker’s bet is usually 5% so the profit is 95% and not 100%.
Some casinos have a minimum commission that may be as low as 1%. The amount may look cheap but low-stakes players may not realize how much it affects them. At a table where players bet $5 a hand, a 1% commission is 20% of the win. Wagering $10 a hand they still lose 10% of their winnings. They need to seriously consider what type of bet they make when they intend to bet less.
Players don’t have to worry about minimum commissions when they bet $20 or higher. What they have to worry about more is whether a casino offers safe and secure payment methods.
It is much better to wager on a player hand than on a tie. A tie delivering an 8-to-1 payout carries a 14.36% house advantage. It drops to 4.84% when it offers a 9-to-1 payout. This is very much higher than the banker and player house edges. Players get a great payout if it hits but chances are that the house will clean up over the long term.
Players can’t influence the round outcome in baccarat
When looking at baccarat vs blackjack, players can’t make any decision to influence the outcome of a round in baccarat. They place the bet and the dealer does the rest of the work. The dealer deals the cards to the banker and the player to see which one comes out with a score closest to nine. When playing blackjack players can choose to take another card or stand.
