5 Ways to Avoid Embarrassing Yourself Playing Baccarat

Once you learn a few simple things, it’s easy to play baccarat without making any mistakes. Of course, if you’ve never played baccarat before, mishaps are bound to happen. The good news is that by the time you’re finished with this article, you’re going to know everything that baccarat veterans know.

The most important thing is to make sure you join the correct game. You’re going to learn a lot on this page, including finding the right game. Here are five ways to make sure you avoid doing anything embarrassing when you play baccarat.

1 – Play Mini or Mid Baccarat Only

Baccarat is played the same at every table in a land-based casino or online. But if you happen to find yourself at one of the big baccarat tables, the gameplay could potentially lead to an embarrassing mistake. Sure, the base game is the same but baccarat variations make a significant difference. At big table baccarat, the players are more involved in the dealing and the mechanics of the game.

Once you learn how the game works, you can join a big table if you want, but I prefer to stick with small table baccarat and online play.

The main way to tell the difference between big table baccarat and small table baccarat is simply the size of the table. Big table baccarat is played on a table closer to the size of a craps table, while small table baccarat is played on a table the same size as games like blackjack are played on.

Small table baccarat is usually called mini baccarat or midi baccarat. When you play small table baccarat, the casino provides a dealer who takes care of all of the dealing procedures and collects losing wagers and pays out when you win.

When you play small table baccarat, all you have to do is place a bet on each hand.

2 – Know the Wagering Options

Whether you play small table baccarat or large table baccarat, there are only three wagering options for the base game. Some baccarat games also have special side wagers that you can make, but you never have to place a side wager to play the base baccarat game.

I cover a little more about baccarat side wagers in another section on this page. In this section, you’re going to learn about the three main wagering options when you play baccarat. Once you learn about these three main wagering options, you can play baccarat anywhere in the world or on your computer or phone.

The three baccarat wagering options are banker, player, and tie. And the truth is that there are only two of these wagers that you should ever consider making. You can ignore the tie wager option because it’s always a terrible betting option.

When you sit down at the baccarat table, if you already have chips, all you have to do is wait until a hand is finished. Then, place a wager in one of the spaces marked on the table. Simply place a wager in one of the spaces and wait for the dealer to play the hand.

If you want to place a wager on the banker hand, use the banker space. If you want to place a wager on the player hand, use the player space. This is all you need to know to play baccarat like a pro. Just remember to always avoid the tie wager option. The tie has a much higher edge for the casino than the other two wager options. It’s so bad that you’re better off playing slot machines or almost any other game in the casino than the tie option.

3 – Understand How Commission Works

If you make your wager on the player hand, you don’t need to know anything else. When a wager on the player hand wins, you get your wager back and a win equal to the amount you risked. If you bet $40 on the player hand and win, you get your $40 back and the dealer gives you another $40.

A wager on the banker hand works almost the same. But when you win a banker hand wager, you pay a small commission. The commission on the banker hand is almost always 5%. This means that if you risk $40 and win, you only get back your original wager and win $38.

The reason why there’s a commission on the banker hand is because you actually have a better than even chance to win this wager. The casino would lose money if they didn’t charge the commission. And casinos aren’t in business because they lose money.

You don’t have to calculate the commission or worry about making the right pay outs. The dealer does this automatically. But it makes it easier to track the commission if you bet in increments of $20.

Some casinos and online casino sites don’t collect the commission until you stop playing. If this is the case you do need to keep track so you make sure you have enough money to pay it. If you find a baccarat game that charges less than 5% commission, it’s a good game that has an even lower edge for the casino than normal.

The banker hand wager is the best bet to make even with the commission. It’s slightly better than the player hand wager, and much better than the tie wager.

4 – Bet Small and Don’t Make Side Wagers

If you play baccarat for very long, the edge the casino has is going to work against you. You can’t beat baccarat in the long run, even though it has a smaller edge for the casino than most other games. This means that the casino is going to keep a percentage of all of the money you wager playing baccarat over time.

The way to limit your baccarat losses is to risk less. The casino keeps a little over 1% of all the money you risk playing baccarat. And every wager you make increases the amount you’re risking.

Some baccarat players bet more sometimes trying to guess when they’re going to win so they can win more than they lose. But this is a dangerous strategy because you can’t get an edge playing this way. You’re just giving the casino more money over time.

I mentioned side wager options earlier. You can find many different side wager options playing baccarat, and they all have one thing in common. They increase the edge the casino has. This means that when you place a side wager, you risk more and lose more over time.

Never make a side wager when you play baccarat. In fact, avoid all side wagers on all casino games.

5 – Play Mobile and Online Baccarat

Instead of playing baccarat in land-based casinos, you should play it on your phone or computer. The game is played the same, and online or mobile play offers a couple advantages that live baccarat play doesn’t offer.

The first advantage is the availability of lower table minimums. Instead of being forced to risk $10 or more on every hand, you can play for $1 a hand in many mobile and online casinos.

Another advantage to mobile and online baccarat is that you can get bonuses when you play for real money. Live casinos don’t offer bonuses, but you can earn a few comps. A bonus gives you extra money to gamble with.

A mobile or online baccarat bonus isn’t going to help you win in the long run. But it does allow you to play longer than when you don’t get a bonus. Read all of the terms for your baccarat bonus so you know what you have to do before you can request a cash out.

Conclusion

Baccarat is a simple game, especially when you play on a mini baccarat table. All you need to know is how to place one type of wager, and the dealer takes care of everything else. It helps to know how the commission works on the bet you make, but even this is taken care of by the dealer.

Take a hard pass on any side wagering options, and keep your bets as small as possible. You can make table minimum bets, or you can play baccarat online for even smaller bet limits. You can even play baccarat on your phone, thanks to the rise of mobile casino gambling.