Live Baccarat – A Comprehensive Playing Guide

Introduction

This page is your first step towards understanding and playing the game of Baccarat. I have more dedicated pages that cover each topic in detail, but this is where you start.

You’re probably interested in Baccarat as it’s a simple yet fun card game with a low house edge, in which you bet on either Player or Banker to have the highest totals.

There are strategies you can use to win more frequently, and there are different variations of the game to choose from – single or multiplayer, squeeze or no squeeze, win multipliers, side bets.

I’ll guide you through all that on this page.

Highlights

Where to Play Live Baccarat

Live Baccarat Overview

Baccarat is an old game that emerged in France in the 1920s. The most popular form is Baccarat Punto Banco, developed in Havana in the 1940s. It217;s a two-person zero-sum game where the player bets on whether the Player or the Bankers hand will win. Punto Banco became synonymous with Baccarat, and you might see this game called one or the other. It’s the same thing.

There are loads of different varieties of Live Baccarat you can play against a live dealer online, which I’ll cover here briefly.  You can read more about it on the Live Baccarat Casinos page. I’ve made it simple for you to find the Baccarat version that interests you, as well as the online casino that has the game.

Most of the live casino software providers carry the basic game, and some offer additional versions. Typical differences in the games include the speed of play and the Squeezing of cards. You also get a choice of playing on your own or with others at the table.

There’s also the opportunity to play alongside real players in land-based casinos and you’ll even find games where you pay No Commission on Banker wins.

And that’s not to mention a whole array of different side bets.

Why Play Live Baccarat?

Live dealer Baccarat you can play at online casinos is one of three ways to enjoy this game. The other online version is automated Baccarat. That’s essentially a computer game where you bet on the outcome of a random number generator.

Then there’s the ‘real’ Baccarat that you play at some casino facility.

Logging into an online casino and playing live dealer Baccarat is more convenient than having to physically go to a casino and dedicate an evening to it.

Finally, live dealer Baccarat comes in many flavours, but at a physical land-based casino, you’re playing the same old game every time.

Live dealer Baccarat is simply the best way to play Baccarat.

Continue reading this guide to find the exact version of Baccarat you like and the right casino where you can play it.

Live Baccarat – A Brief “How to Play Guide”

The objective of Live Baccarat is to predict which of two hands, The Player or The Banker, will win by having a hand value closest to 9.

You’ll find the online version uses either 6 or 8 decks of 52 playing cards.

The most popular is the 8 deck game, as it makes it slightly more difficult for card counters to gain an edge over the house.

Read more in my Live Baccarat Playing Guide.

Calculating Hand Values

The playing cards are assigned the following values:

• Aces are worth 1 point.
• Cards 2 to 9 are worth their face value.
• 10’s and face cards are worth 0 points.

Hands values are calculated by adding the values of the cards together.

If the sum produces a double-digit number, the hand is given the value of the second digit.

For example, if the hand adds up to 13, the value of the hand is 3.

Dealing The Game

The game commences with both the Player and Banker positions being dealt two cards.

The value of each hand is then calculated.

A hand with a total of 8 or 9 “a natural” wins automatically and the game ends.

A third card can be drawn depending on the value of the initial hand.

There are some specific rules for this, in summary, if the hand is valued at 0 to 5 a third card is taken. If it’s 6 or 7 no more cards are dealt.

If the value of each hand is the same then a Tie is called.

In most games, this will result in the initial bets being returned to the players as a Push.

The hand that is the highest in value wins.

Playing Tools

Baccarat Roadmaps, which are used by players to record the past outcomes of each hand are created automatically by the playing software.

If you don’t use them you can choose not to display them.

Be sure to read Wikipedia’s . They do a far better job than I ever could of explaining its history and customs.

Payouts

Standard Baccarat games all offer the same pay-outs. There are some differences, especially in games like Bet On Baccarat and No Commission Baccarat, which I’ll cover later.

• A player win pays even money 1:1.
• A Banker win pays 0.95:1, which accounts for a built-in edge for the house.
• No Commission games pay Banker wins at 1:1 even money.
• Tie bets normally pay 8:1.

There’s also a range of side bets like Pairs, Big/Small, Super 6 to name a few. You can get more information about them on my Baccarat Side Bets and game options page.

Baccarat Versions

To find out more about all the different Baccarat games you can play, visit this page where I also suggest quality casinos that have those games.

Here I’ll simply give you a quick overview.

Single Player Baccarat

This is the basic standard game you’ll be playing unless at most live casinos.

Rules vary slightly between providers.

Note:

• Visionary iGaming is the only supplier to use 6 decks, all others use 8.
• Playtech has the Egalite side bet.

Multi-Seat Baccarat

This is the same game as Single Player Baccarat, except that the seating positions for other players are visible. Only one Dealer/Player hand is dealt, but you’ll be able to see other players betting on the hands.

Speed Baccarat

This version has been designed for players that like a quick game. There is no ceremony, all the cards are dealt face-up, and any extra cards are dealt as soon as possible. Evolution Speed Baccarat has a deal to deal time of 27 seconds, while Playtech’s standard baccarat is faster than their Speed Baccarat.

Baccarat Squeeze

The Squeeze is a ritual of slowly revealing the value of a card by turning the edges of the card. The player can then peek at the markings to determine their value. The Squeeze is performed by the dealer, for player-controlled squeeze see the next section.

Baccarat Controlled Squeeze

This is Baccarat Squeeze but the squeeze is performed by the player, using your mouse to peel back the corner of the cards to reveal the value.

Progressive Baccarat

Playtech is the only supplier to offer an optional side bet for a Progressive Jackpot in Baccarat.

Mini Baccarat

No Commission Baccarat

No Commission Baccarat is a special version of Baccarat where Banker wins pay 1:1, but you lose if it’s with a hand total of 6.

Live Streamed Baccarat

Currently, only two suppliers are providing live streamed Baccarat from real land-based casinos, Ezugi and Portomaso. You’ll play alongside real money players and the games tend to be a bit slower than the studio versions.

Bet On Baccarat

With Bet On Baccarat, it’s possible to place a side bet after the dealer has dealt each new card onto the table. Additional bets include card numbers, colours and totals, and odd/even.

Lightning Baccarat

Lightning Baccarat is the first Baccarat game to be given payout multipliers. It’s only available at Evolution casinos. Before each game up to 5 cards in the deck can be selected to have multipliers of between  2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 8x. If one or more of the cards get dealt into your winning hand the payout is multiplied by that amount. A 20% fee is taken before each game to fund the multipliers.

Golden Wealth Baccarat

Golden Wealth Baccarat is a similar game to Lighting Baccarat, but with one major difference. Five cards are selected each game round to have multipliers of 2x, 3x, 5x or 8x. A fee of 20% is taken at the start of the game. Everything else plays out the same as normal baccarat.

Peek Baccarat

Peek Baccarat takes squeezing cards to a whole new level. In this version of the game the dealer will show up to four of the cards after they have been dealt, so you can raise your initial bet by a further 2 or three times. A one-time fee of 20% is taken at the start of the game. While there are no multipliers, this game gives you the chance to improve your initial bet after seeing some of the cards before the game completes.

Live Baccarat Summary

Essentially the base game of Live Baccarat is the same wherever you play it online.

As I’ve discovered there is a wide range of “types” you can play, with different options and side bets.

The differences in the sophistication and streaming quality of the solutions are quite noticeable.

True HD streaming for Live Baccarat is only really available from Playtech and Evolution.

The other providers struggle to provide a consistent stream and it’s often better to play these in Mixed mode, where they stream a smaller picture superimposed on computer-generated tables.

They are equally as playable but maybe not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Land-Based streaming is starting to take off and one casino that has already taken the plunge is Grosvenor Casino with its own dual play Baccarat table.