5 Baccarat Strategies to Increase Your Winnings
Baccarat is a game of chance and strategy, played with three to six standard 52-card decks, shuffled together and placed in a shoe. A croupier deals out the cards and the players place their wagers on the Player or Banker hand. The game has one of the lowest house edges in the casino, but there are several strategies that can increase your winning percentage.
1. One-sided betting
This strategy involves choosing to stick to either the Player or Banker bet, and taking advantage of the game’s low house edge on those bets. However, the’real odds’ of any particular hand will fluctuate throughout the course of the game, making this a less-than-straightforward strategy.
2. Using a baccarat score board sheet
A baccarat score sheet can be found at all tables, and is essential for keeping track of wins and losses. Its columns list the number of points won, lost, and tied on both the player and banker hands. Depending on your skill level, you can use this to spot trends in the cards that have been dealt and to make a more informed decision when deciding which bets to make.
3. Observing streaks and zigzag patterns
If you’re looking for an easy-to-implement baccarat strategy that can help you win more than you lose, look for patterns in the cards that have been dealt. There are two types: the zigzag pattern, where the dealer’s cards have been stacked in a horizontal line, and the streak pattern, where the dealer’s cards have arranged themselves in rows. Whether you choose to go with the zigzag or streak pattern will depend on your skill level and experience with baccarat.
4. Identifying when to draw the third card
The third card is drawn by the Player or Banker depending on the total on their first two cards. The Player draws a card if they have a total of 6 or 7, while the Banker draws a card on a 0-5 total if they do not have a 7.
5. Understanding a ‘natural’ win
The first two cards are drawn and discarded, and the dealer then proceeds to deal out the third card. Then the dealer checks to see if either the Player or Banker has a total that is closer to nine than the other. If the cards are closer to nine, they must subtract ten from the total or drop the first numeral. This is the most basic rule of baccarat and should be followed whenever possible, as it ensures that each player or banker has a hand that will be close to nine.
6. Counting the points
A total of nine is the best hand that a player or banker can have. The game is played in two different versions: Punto Banco and Chemin de Fer. In Punto Banco, the rules are fixed and the dealer makes all decisions automatically, while in Chemin de Fer, players are allowed to choose which of their two cards should be discarded or drawn if they want to increase their total.