Before I lay out the argument that baccarat is a better option than playing video poker, I want to make something clear. Both baccarat and video poker are good options for gamblers. In fact, if you do everything right, some video poker games actually have a higher return to player percentage than baccarat.
But baccarat is a better option for a majority of gamblers, and this is true for many reasons. I’m going to explain why baccarat is better on this page.
In this article, I’m talking about mini baccarat or small table baccarat. While most of the same things are true for big table baccarat, I recommend the small table version for most gamblers.
1 – Much Simpler Strategy
Baccarat strategy is easy. It’s so easy in fact that I’m going to teach you the entire strategy in this section. And you never have to worry about making any other decisions when you play.
Every time you play real money baccarat, you should make a bet on the banker.
That’s the entire strategy contained in one sentence. A few other things that are helpful are to always make the smallest bet you can and to play on a mini baccarat table. The main reason why a mini baccarat table is better is because other than deciding how much to bet and betting on the banker, you don’t have to do anything.
I cover this in more depth later on in this page.
I know that this doesn’t sound much like strategy, but there are only three betting options when you play baccarat. And each of the three options comes with a different return to player percentage. When you’re gambling, you’re always better off with a higher return to player number.
The baccarat betting option with the highest return to player number is the banker wager. When you bet on the banker and winm the casino collects a commission. Don’t let this confuse you into thinking a different wager is better.
Even with the commission deducted from your win, the banker wager still offers the highest return to player percentage.
2 – You Only Need to Learn One Game Variation
Baccarat is basically the same whether you play mini baccarat or on the big baccarat table. Two hands are dealt—one for the player and one for the banker—and a set of rules is followed for each hand. Then, the hand with the higher total wins.
If you’re playing on a big table, you get the opportunity to deal from time to time, but it doesn’t change the basics of the game. The only possible difference is if you find a special table where you actually have the opportunity to bank the game sometimes, but this isn’t common and is usually called something different than baccarat.
When you play video poker you have to learn about many different game variations. Jacks or Better plays differently than Tens or Better, and they both play differently than Deuces Wild.
Most video poker games are based on Five-Card Draw poker, but the pay tables and use of wild cards in some games creates many different variations. This can quickly become confusing, and it can lead to mistakes when you play.
When you make a mistake playing video poker, or any other casino game, it makes the return to player percentage worse. This ends up costing you more money in the long run.
This is why baccarat is a better option than video poker. It’s hard to make a mistake playing baccarat as long as you follow the simple strategy I explained in the previous section.
3 – You Don’t Have to Search for Pay Tables
If you want to have the best chance to win when you play video poker, you have to look for machines that have the best pay tables. This might not sound like a big deal, but it can be quite hard to find good pay tables.
I’ve mentioned strategy a few times, and the only way to play video poker with a high return to player percentage is to use good strategy. Good video poker strategy is much more challenging than baccarat strategy.
This means that when you play video poker, you have to use a more complicated strategy and you have to find a machine with a good pay table. But when you play baccarat, you don’t need to worry about finding a good pay table and you only need to use a single strategy.
If you find a video poker machine with a good pay table and use the perfect strategy, video poker does off a higher return to player number than baccarat. But this is only if you don’t make any mistakes. This means that if you’re willing to put in the extra work, some video poker games are actually a little better than baccarat.
But most gamblers are better off playing baccarat because they aren’t willing to do the work and they make mistakes. This is why I recommend baccarat over video poker.
4 – You Don’t Have to Do Much Thinking
If you’ve been following along, you know that baccarat is a simple game to play. It’s the easiest game in the casino to play using strategy. And a common theme in casino games is if you can use strategy the game is better than games where you can’t use any.
You can’t use strategy when playing on slot machines. And they have a lower return to player number than baccarat.
Slot machines and baccarat do have a few things in common. The main thing the two games have in common is you don’t have to think when you play. But video poker requires quite a bit more thinking and action than baccarat or slot machines.
When you play video poker, you have to look at each hand and decide which cards to keep and which cards to throw away. And this is after you find a game variation you want to play and find a good pay table.
You simply can’t play video poker without thinking if you want to have a better chance to win than playing slots or other casino games. But you can play baccarat without doing much thinking and have a better chance to win than when you play almost any other casino game.
The only downside to playing baccarat the right way is that it can get boring. You simply aren’t going to find much variety and excitement playing baccarat. But I’d rather be bored and have a higher return to player percentage than get excited every once in a while and lose more money.
As I mentioned in the last section, if you’re willing to do more and think more, some video poker machines are slightly better than baccarat. But for most gamblers, baccarat is a much better choice than video poker games.
5 – Better Online and Mobile Bonus Opportunities
When you gamble at a mobile or online casino you can usually get a bonus when you make a deposit. This is different from playing in a live casino. Live casinos have other ways that they reward gamblers, like comps programs, but these aren’t the same as getting a bonus in an online casino.
Some mobile and online casinos only offer bonuses for slots players, but many offer a bonus for any game you want to play. And on the surface, all of the bonuses look the same. But when you read the terms, you realize that every bonus isn’t the same.
Most bonuses for baccarat play are better than bonuses for video poker play. This isn’t true 100% of the time, so you always have to read the terms. But you usually have to do a lot more when you get a video poker bonus than you have to do when you get a baccarat bonus.
The fact is that you’re likely to lose in the long run whether you play baccarat or video poker. A bonus helps you play longer, so you should investigate the available bonuses any time you plan to gamble online or on a mobile device.
Conclusion
Mini baccarat, or small table baccarat, is the easiest game to play in the casino. And it has a higher return to player number if you make the right wager than almost every other game in the casino.
When you compare baccarat and video poker, there are many reasons why baccarat is your best option. The complete mini baccarat strategy can be learned in five seconds, and you only need to learn how to play one game option.
When you play video poker, you have to search for a good machine. But all baccarat games are the same. You don’t even have to think when you play baccarat if you don’t want to.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …