Baccarat is one of the most popular casino table games there is, and for good reason. It’s the one card game where you can actually bet on the dealer’s hand. It’s like blackjack, but the dealer (in most versions) does all the work. It’s complicated to score, but easy to play. It has one of the weakest house advantages of any game on the casino floor, which means it has one of the highest chances to pay out. 

How to Play

In baccarat, two hands are dealt by the dealer. The dealer’s hand and the player’s hand. The catch is that rather than play the player’s hand like you would in blackjack, the dealer actually plays both hands and the player’s one and only role is to bet on one of three outcomes: that the player’s hand wins, that the dealer’s hand will win, or that the two hands tie. It’s just as well that the dealer is the one that actually plays as there is a very definite and quite complicated set of rules of when to “stay” a hand or when to “hit”. 

The way it’s scored is somewhat complicated too, but the basic idea is that the hand with a total value closest to 9 wins. The way it works is that all numbered cards are equal to their face value, Aces are worth 1 and picture cards are worth zero. So, a 6 and a King would equal to 6. Anytime the total equals to more than 9, you subtract 10 to get the new total. So, getting two 6s will not equal 12, but 2 (6+6=12; 12-10=2). 

This is the main thing that you, as a player, will need to know when playing any game of baccarat. There are some rarer variants of the game where the player gets control of the cards in their hand and decide whether to hit or stay, depending on their hand, but in most cases, this is left entirely up to the dealer, who follows specific rules on when to hit or stand on both hands. 

Where to Play

Baccarat tables tend to be some of the most exciting on the casino floor and also some of the most social, as each player is really playing against the dealer rather than one another. But if you can’t make it to your local casino or if you want the game at your fingertips whenever you want, you can also play baccarat as an online, virtual machine like online poker or online slots. The thing is that because the actual mechanics under the hood are the exact same as online slots, as it is all built around a random number generator rather than actual cards dealt, it’s not really the same game. 

A far better option that isn’t quite as good as playing in-person, but is much more rewarding and enjoyable than these souped up online slot games, is to join a live online baccarat game. 

As its name suggests, live online baccarat effectively takes the best of both worlds, by allowing you to join a real game of baccarat that’s happening live in an actual casino from your computer or mobile device. You can see the action taking place through the live webcam feed, can place real cash bets through the online portal or casino you’re using (be sure to check that the site is reliable, secure and offers a wide variety of payment options) and can even interact with other players and the dealer through a text chat service. All this happens in real time with what’s actually happening in a real, brick-and-mortar casino. 

Why to Play

Before getting into just why you should play baccarat, a few crucial things to mind when it comes to practising responsible gambling. This is especially important because when playing from home with your credit card on hand, it becomes incredibly easy to lose track of how much you’re spending or how long you’re playing and you may suddenly find yourself having sat in front of your screen for most of the day and thousands of dollars in debt. Baccarat is a “safer” game because of the low house advantage, but it’s still gambling so it should still not be played with credit, for overly long sessions and without a set budget of disposable income that you can afford to lose and will keep to.

With that in mind, here are some of the big advantages to why you should play live online baccarat:

• With a house advantage of around 1%, the game suffers from “the house always wins” syndrome much less than something like roulette or playing the slots.
• You can bet on one of three outcomes so the gameplay is more varied that something like blackjack. Worth noting that the dealer’s hand has the lowest house advantage, but because of that carries a 5% cut of your winnings going to the casino.
• Because the main job of the player in baccarat is to bet, it’s ideally suited to an online version where the dealer gets to handle everything else.
• Unlike automated online games that are based on random number generators, playing live baccarat (like live roulette and the like) means that you’re connected to a genuine casino so the game is less likely to be rigged.

• Playing live online baccarat also has the huge advantage of being based on the real dealing of cards and not a random number generator “pretending” to deal cards. Even if the virtual version is made entirely honestly and the odds are still identical to the real thing, it’s always just a simulation of the game rather than the game itself.
• Playing online through a credit card or an eWallet like PayPal is, as long as you use a trustworthy site, much, much safer than walking out of a casino in the dead of night with cash winnings on your person.
• Convenience is king. While an actual game of baccarat has to be played in real time in a real casino, the worldwide nature of online live baccarat means that you can join a session any time of day or night. This means, you can always play it, wherever you are as long as you have a basic device and an internet connection. Again, this could be a gigantic problem if you don’t gamble responsibly and you should seek help immediately if you find yourself spending more time and money on online baccarat than you should.
• The social aspect of live online baccarat games is a huge boon as it removes some of the loneliness of playing online games, but is also a great choice for those with agoraphobia or social anxiety and prefer not to deal with a crowded casino. 

While some of these advantages are shared with other live online casino games, baccarat is still uniquely suited and ideally for this format. Both the game itself and the wide availability of online games makes it one of the better options for gamblers on the go. Just remember to be responsible and smart and you may well find yourself having a truly great time on this popular casino fixture.