The Do's and Don'ts of Baccarat

Play Baccarat online at William Hill Casino Club

Before you play the game of Baccarat there are a few do's and don'ts that you should familiarise yourself with that will help you to lay aside any misconceptions that you may have. After all, knowledge is power and being correctly informed may help you to avoid costly mistakes and help you to increase your overall winning potential.

Below we take a look at what you need to know:

Do

• Be aware of the fact that there are a variety of Baccarat games available at online casinos as well as individual variants that each casino may choose to add to their games portfolio, so always examine and compare the rules and payouts of a game before you play in order to select the most suitable and profitable one.
• Realise that there are two main bets offered in Baccarat (the Bank and the Player) and be aware that the Bank bet carries a house edge of 1.06% while the Player bet has a 1.23% house edge. This means that for every $100 you bet on Bank the expected loss will be 1.06 and if you bet on the Player you will lose $1.23 over the long term, making the house edge quite low.
• Have the confidence to deal the cards in land based casino baccarat games, it is a great deal of fun and you'll get to watch the different myths and superstitions that various baccarat players believe in action.
• If you're playing Live Dealer Baccarat or a multiplayer game, be aware of and adhere to good baccarat etiquette. Also be polite to everyone involved, it just makes the game better for everyone.
• Have a separate bank account to fund your online gambling and never play if you don't have money in that account. This way you'll always gamble responsibly.

Don't

• Never pronounce the game's name as "back-a-rat" – the word is of French origin and is pronounced "Bah-cah-rah".
• Even though Baccarat has relatively low house advantages, don't think that these can't affect you, especially when playing a game of mini baccarat where players generally see 150 decisions or more in a single game. This is higher than the number of decisions made at the high roller tables where 40 decisions are the general norm. This means that over the longer term the house edges will come into play and can affect your bankroll when playing mini baccarat.
• Don't buy into Baccarat betting system or betting strategy advice. Many players keep track of the results in Baccarat, spending a great deal of time filling in and studying their scorecards as if something can be deduced from them. The reality is that Baccarat is an unbeatable game and the only way you can influence it in your favour is to limit your decision to 40-70 per game.
• Never bet on the Tie wager as it carries a considerable 14% house edge which means that the expectation is that you will lose $14 for every $100 wagered on the Tie bet over the long term, making it one of the worst wagers at the casino.
• Don't believe that hitting and standing hold any meaning in the game of Baccarat. As a player you can't decide what to do and everything is subject to the rules of the baccarat game you are playing. There is therefore no need to memorize strategies for this game as they are in essence quite meaningless.