The do's and don'ts of baccarat

6 May 2014

By Frank Scoblete

DO realize that there are four types of baccarat games now found in the casinos -- plus variations that individual casinos might add. The first is the high-roller room “big table” baccarat of James Bond, European nobility and Asian high rollers. The other two are mini-baccarat and midi-baccarat. There’s also a fourth -- the no-commission mini-baccarat.

DON’T pronounce baccarat as “back-a-rat.” It is pronounced "bah-cah-rah."

DO realize that on the two main bets of the game, the Bank and the Player, the house edges are quite low. The Bank’s edge is 1.06 percent and the Player’s edge is 1.23 percent. What do these edges mean? For every $100 bet on Bank, the expectation is to lose $1.06. The expectation on $100 wagered on Player is to lose $1.23. Not bad.

DON’T think that these low house edges can’t hurt you. In mini-baccarat, players can routinely see 150 decisions or more. This is far more than the number of decisions at the high-roller “big table” game where 40 decisions would be the norm.

DO deal the cards in the “big table” baccarat game. It is fun to deal and to enjoy watching various superstitious players at the table trying to corral Lady Luck.

DON’T think there is any betting strategy -- the usual one being some kind of trend betting system -- that can beat the game. You will see many baccarat players keeping track of what has hit. They will pore over their scorecards as if these scorecards have meaning. They don’t. Baccarat is an unbeatable game but limiting one’s decisions to between 40 and 70 can make it a decent game to play.

DO be polite to the other baccarat players, many of whom are supremely superstitious and often easily offended.

DON’T make the third bet at the game, the Tie bet, which usually comes in with a house edge of 14 percent. The expectation is to lose $14 for every $100 wagered on this bet. This is one of the worst bets in the casino.

DO create an account called the 401G in which to keep your gambling money. The “G” stands for gambling. Never bet money that is not already in that account for playing purposes. You want your casino experiences to be fun and there is no fun when you worry about the money.

DON’T think that the hitting and standing decisions of the game have any meaning to the player. Since you can’t decide what to do and everything is rote in terms of the rules, you really don’t have to memorize the “strategies” since they are meaningless and can’t be changed.