Now, just looking at the bet from a distance, the return for a win on this bet is 9-1. It sounds pretty good until you take a closer inspection of the facts in this situation.

If you were to bet on the player/ banker/tie projections, the mathematics of the situation tells us that a tie will occur about 9.5 times out of 100 hands of baccarat. The casinos edge in this bet is 14%, so you are making an unwise investment if you spend any money on betting on a tie in baccarat.

Baccarat has been traditionally noted for being a game of high rollers. For myself, I’m more comfortable playing online baccarat where I can listen to my instincts and be true to myself. If you are a beginner at the game, my suggestion is that you do the same!

Would you believe that baccarat is the simplest game in the casino, whether in the traditional land casino or in the online casino gambling websites on the Internet? I would compare it to a flip of a coin because those betting on the game have only two choices: bet on the designated “player” or on the banker. Since there are specific rules on how to play the hand for both the player and the banker, depending upon the value of the two cards they receive, the strategy ends when the bettors place their money on either the player or the banker.

The winner is the one whose cards value is closest to 9. The banker holds a slight edge in percentage of chances to win (1.24%) and the player wins, there is a 5% commission deducted from the winnings. In the game of baccarat, the strategy begins and ends with your first decision.

When you come right down to the nitty-gritty, once the baccarat cards are dealt, the hand is fete complete, and the die is cast.  Your win or loss has already been determined.  The object of the game is to come closer to the number 9 than the banker.  As the player, you need to know card values.  The card numbers 2 through 9 are face valued, an Ace counts as a 1 and a 10 card and picture cards have no value at all.  Get it, so far? 
 
Let’s draw some cards so you know what we’re talking about.  Suppose you are dealt a 6 and a King.  What’s your total?  The correct answer is 6 because 6+ zero = 6.  Let’s try another one.  How about if you are dealt a 7 and an 8?  Oops!  I forgot to tell you that any hand over a 9 subtracts 10 from the total.

Let’s try the same hand again.  The card values 8+7=15.  We then must subtract 10 from that total, and your hand is a 5.

You might as well be aware of the fact that a player has specified actions to take depending on the two card total.  Follow this now— if the total is 8 or 9, the player has a “natural” and the banker is not allowed to draw any cards.  If the player has a 6 or 7, he must stand with that hand.  However, if the totals are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, the player must draw another card.  The 10 has a numerical value of zero, so the two numbers are equal according to the baccarat rules.

If we play a hand or two, you’ll catch on.  It’s easy!  The player has 4 and the banker 8.  Who wins?  The banker wins.  If the player has 3 and the banker has 4.  Both draw another card and the player and banker draw a 4 and 3 respectively.  Who wins?  Neither party wins, and the game is declared a tie.

If your strong suit is math, you may be interested to know that the house has a 1.24% edge over the player.  So, my suggestion is do not linger at the baccarat table, or the odds may go against you.  Trust me on this one!

Therefore, you have just as much a chance of picking the winner (player or banker) as the next person.  The game of baccarat loses much of its stuffiness online.  Online baccarat is popular because it involves as much strategy as picking the hand that holds the M&M’s.  

However, there are a few baccarat tips I’d like to send your way:

• If you start to lose three or four games consecutively, walk away from the table or log off if you are playing online.
• Pick a table with a minimum bet that fits your budget.  Don’t be tempted to bet above your means.
• Practice on free casino baccarat games until you have acquired sufficient confidence to play for profit.

The game of baccarat is based on a bet on which of two individuals has cards that come closest to the number 9.  There are no past performances that can help us make our selection.  We have no idea of the past history of the two baccarat foes, the player and the banker and, even if we did, it would not matter at all.  You could flip a coin and have about as much chance as if you really thought deeply about the outcome of the game.  If I could give you a couple of baccarat tips, they would be: 

• Play within pre-set budgetary limitations— If you brought $400 to play, then don’t go past the $400 self-imposed limitation.
• Don’t be tempted to bet the tie.  It is too heavily weighed in the casino’s favor.  It’s throwing money down the drain.