What Numbers tell us in Baccarat Game

baccarat game

We all know that baccarat game is currently one of the most played casino games in the world of gambling. Baccarat is both an elegant and exciting game that is enjoyed by many gamblers in the casino. This casino game is not exceedingly a difficult game to learn. Even novices can play the game since it does not necessarily require a strategy. 

However, some average gamblers tend to ignore the possibilities as well as the proper way of playing their own hands. If you are one of those players, these tips will help you in your future plays and by then you will be aware of the rules on how the casino handles the hands. The casino handles the hands once the decision of either hitting or standing are fixed and the players do not have the authority to change how the hands are managed. Instead they play the hands dealt with what numbers tell us in Baccarat.

Baccarat Game: Rules for Player Hands

If first two cards total: Action

1-2-3-4-5-0 Player draws a card

6-7 Player stands

8-9 Player and Bank must stand

Rules for Bank Hands

If Bank’s first two cards total

Draw when Player’s third card is: Do not draw when Player’s third card is:

3 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 8

4 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 1, 8, 9, 10

5 4, 5, 6, 7 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10

6 6, 7 1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10

7 stands stands

8 Natural stands Natural stands

9 Natural stands Natural stands

The payout of a winning hand is one to one. Once you bet $100 then you win the same amount. The payout for a winning Bank hand is even money with a commission, approximately five percent retrieved from every win. Thus, once you bet $100 then you will win $95. The commission is collected once the shoe is done but you can always request to pay as you go. The payout for a Tie hand is eight to one. Once the Tie wins the wager of $10, the return is $80. Once you place your bet on either the Bank or the Player and the Tie wins, you do not lose the bet rather it is a push.

baccarat game

Tie Bet

One of the worst bets in the casino industry is the Tie bet, having an edge more than 14 percent that means you are anticipated to lose $14 for every $100 you place on the Tie. Do not consider placing this amount on this kind of wager. The Tie bet does not affect the bets of the Player and Banker, so this article will mainly focus on how these bets arrived at a certain house edge.

  • The Player bet wins 49.32 percent of the time.
  • The Player bet loses 50.68 percent of the time.

If you convert those percentages into money then for every $100 that is placed on the Player bet, you will lose $1.36 (subtract $50.68 and $49.32). As a result, the casino edge is 1.36 percent.

  • The Bank bet wins 50.68 percent of the time.
  • 49.32 percent loss of the time by the Bank bet.

The Bank Bet

The Bank bet receives a 1.36 percent edge in its favor provided there is no hindrance. If casinos allowed this to stand then no person will wager on the Player and every gambler will place their bets on the Bank until casinos will undergo bankruptcy. In order to avoid this circumstance, casinos charge five percent commission on all winning Bank bets. However, you only get to win at least 95 cents on the dollar of a winning Bank wager. Therefore, the casino gets a smaller house edge of 1.17 percent.

A five percent commission reduces the house edge to 1.17 percent. For instance, once you lose the Bank bet, you lose $49.32 for every $100 wagered. However, when you win the bet, you win $48.15 ($50.68 X .95). Once you subtract $48.15 from $49.32, you will get $1.17. That is the value you lost for every bet of $100 placed. 

The figures shown above would create a dispute among purists since they want the Tie bet to be included in the equation. The Tie bet, however, does not exist in the majority of baccarat games. Tie bets appear almost 10 percent of the time and have a payout of 8 to 1. Below are the given house edges when Tie bets are included in the equations.

  • Player = 1.24 percent
  • Bank   = 1.06 percent
  • Tie      = 14.36 percent

There are some casinos who offer a payout for the Tie bet at nine to one. This cuts the house edge at approximately five percent, which is not a good bet. Long story short, you should never bet on the Tie bet even if you see someone claiming that he has hit the Tie bet. After a while, the bet will sink all players in the game.