Attempts to Apply Baccarat Strategy

About Baccarat Strategy

Baccarat, as it is well known, does not involve any skills from the part of the player. The player does not even decide anything in baccarat, but where to place the bet. So, claiming that an effective baccarat strategy exists would be absurd. Despite this, some offer baccarat systems that are told to give an advantage to the player. These either are erroneous ideas or attempts to attract the attention and raise the rating. Here, we explain why baccarat strategy is impossible and we also disprove some popular myths concerning baccarat strategy.

So-Called Strategy:

Here we give a couple of examples of most popular baccarat strategies that in fact are completely useless.

1. Many casinos provide cardboard cards and pencils to the players, so they can record the outcome of each game. Many players do that very diligently and believe that analyzing the game patterns they can predict future outcomes of the game. These people probably know nothing about random numbers and simply waste their time. The most valuable thing they win with such an analysis is a free pencil. Despite all the glamour of the game, playing baccarat has the same principle as dropping a coin. Believing that a coin falls according to some mysterious patterns is simply irrational. The most popular delusion is that a coin is more likely to fall tail up if it has fallen head up many times in a row. Well, if you say that from this moment on a coin will fall tail up 10 times in a row, there will be a chance of 1 to 1024 for this to happen, but if it has already fallen 9 times, the tenth time has the 1/2 probability as in any other throw. The same thing happens in baccarat. No matter how many times the bank has won in a row, it has the same chance to win again as in any given moment.
2. Another popular surrounds card counting. Card counting was invented for blackjack and barely works there. Even perfectly performed, which by the way, is very difficult, it gives such miserable advantage that is not worth the effort. In baccarat, the things are not even worth it. First of all, the player can not control the game in any manner, so card counting does not give any tactical advantage. Besides, baccarat is played with 8 decks, which already is a nightmare of any card counter. In addition, the cards are often shuffled and returned back to the shoe much before all decks end up, so exactly at the point where card counting starts to be effective the whole thing is ruined and must be started from the beginning.
3. Martingale system has already been discussed on pages related to other games. It also can, but should not, be used in baccarat. Martingale system is more commonly associated with roulette, but, it actually is not aimed to any specific game, but to betting in general. It says to double the wager each time you lose, so no matter how many times you lose, when you finally win, you recover the whole loss plus an initial bet. Well, the system is perfect when played by supposed players with unlimited budget playing in supposed casinos with no betting restrictions. Real casinos are not unfortunately like this. They are managed by real people who perfectly know what Martingale system is and have invented countermeasures probably at the same time as it appeared. Countermeasures are very simple: all casino games have minimum and maximum betting limits, so doubling is possible for a limited number of times. For example, at a table with 5 to a 100 dollars limits, a player can bet 5 dollars, then double to 10, 20, 40 and 80 dollars. He can not double anymore, because his bet will be above the maximum limit. If he wins after one of these 4 doublings, he actually wins 5 dollars, but if he reaches the limit he loses all the money he has wagered until this moment: 5+10+20+40+80 = 155 dollars. Although winnings happen more often than losses, they are very small in comparison, so in the long run, Martingale system applied in real casinos is very disadvantageous for the player.

In the end, the only effective way to profit from casino games is to open your own casino. Baccarat is not an exception. Although its house edge is relatively small, especially when betting on the bank, it still exists and there is no way to overcome it.