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Baccarat Strategy Guide: How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is a casino guessing game played between 12 to 14 players on a table with three stand-up dealers. As baccarat is a guessing game, bettors will only need to guess which hand will win when playing baccarat in Singapore. Bettors have the following bet choices:

  • Banker Bet – Player wins when the banker has a winning hand. It has a better probability of winning but requires a winner to pay a 5% commission. Payout is 1:1 minus the commission.
  • Player Bet – Player wins when the player has a winning hand. The probability of winning is lower than a banker bet, but it does not require the winner to pay a commission. Payout is 1:1.
  • Tie Bet – Player wins when both player’s and banker’s hands are tied. Payout is either 8:1 or 9:1, depending on the table.

Gamblers can stick to either a player bet or a banker bet for a one-sided baccarat strategy or randomise their bets while still following a 1-3-2-4 betting system. While the bets are pretty easy to understand, it’s not enough to learn how to play baccarat since the game still involves multiple rules that most players might not be familiar with.

General Rules

Baccarat is played with either a six-deck or eight-deck shoe. The cards’ values are the following:

  • Cards less than 10s are counted at face value
  • Aces are valued at 1
  • 10, King, Queen, and Jack are valued at 0

The game’s goal is to bet on whatever hand is closest to 9. A hand usually consists of two cards, but both dealer and player can get a third card in certain conditions. Once two cards are dealt, and the total value reaches the double digits, the left number is dropped, so it’s impossible to exceed 9. For example:

  • When the player’s hand is 11, the hand’s value is 1
  • When the banker’s hand is 15, the hand’s value is 5

After bets are placed, the dealer will start dealing cards, and whoever bets on the hand with a value closest to 9 wins their bet.

Once cards are dealt, certain rules will come into play for both the player’s hand and the banker’s hand under certain situations.

Player Hand Rules

If the player’s first two cards total 6 or more, then the player cannot draw a card. If the player’s first two cards is 5 or less, they can draw an additional card.

When keeping the third-card rule in mind, the player cannot draw a card if either player or banker has a total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards. The hand is called a natural, and the round is over.

Banker Hand Rules

The rules for the banker’s hand are more complicated than that of a player’s hand. If the banker’s first two cards total 7 or more, the banker doesn’t draw a card. Banker stands when the banker’s hand totals 7, and their hand is called a natural when they total 8 or 9. The rules for drawing a third card complicate things and are better represented in a table format.

Banker’s Hand

Banker’s Action

0-2

Banker draws

3-6

Banker draws based on the player’s third card

7

Banker stands

8-9

Both player and banker stands

 

When the banker’s hand totals 3-6, they can only draw a card when the following conditions are met:

Banker’s Hand

Banker Draws When Player’s Third Card is

3

1-7 or 9-10

4

2-7

5

4-7

6

6-7

 

Gamblers don’t really need to memorise the banker’s rules, but it’s better to know about it instead of getting shocked when the banker draws a third card, and they get a higher value card than the player.

Why Compare Player’s Hand and Banker’s Hand Rules?

Comparing the rules on drawing the third card will reveal that the banker only draws a third card when it suits them, showing why the banker’s hand has a better chance of winning than the player’s hand. This gives bettors more reason to bet on banker bets instead of a player bet.

The player is always forced to draw a third card regardless of the banker’s hand when the player’s total is 5 or below, while a banker can still draw a card when their total is already 6 when the player’s total is 6 or 7. The player’s hand will likely end up weaker after drawing the third card, and even if the player’s hand gets stronger, the banker can still draw a card and try and aim for an 8 or 9.

What to Keep in Mind When Playing Baccarat?

The average bettor doesn’t really need to overthink about the different rules, but it can help them decide whether to bet on the banker or the player. Of course, a tie bet is out of the question unless the bettor only occasionally makes the bet.

Reading tips to turn a profit in baccarat and following them religiously is arguably enough for most bettors, mainly since one popular tip is sticking to banker bets anyway. Reading about the rules only explains why gamblers should stick to banker bets.

Anyone who wants to try more advanced betting techniques can opt to use certain betting systems to try and maximise their winnings. Bettors won’t go wrong when using the player bet for any betting systems since many involve going back to the original bet when they lose.

Apart from sticking to either player or banker bet and selecting a betting system, gamblers must also remember to only play baccarat online through a reputable live casino Singapore like CM2Bet. When playing through CM2Bet, gamblers can either play regular baccarat through Evolution Gaming and Allbet or try AE Casino’s Sexy Baccarat offering.

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