Online gamblers who play for low stakes don’t usually win much money. This is especially true when they only deposit $60.
However, a Philippine gambler recently managed to win $300,000 (15 million Philippine pesos) while playing online baccarat. What’s amazing is that they managed to do this with just $60 (3,000 pesos) in starting funds.
How in the world did they make this much money with such a small deposit!? Can you somehow pull off the same feat?
I’ll answer these questions below while covering the story of how this Philippine baccarat player won life-changing money.
How Did This Gambler Win $300k?
The Philippine baccarat player’s story began when they deposited $60 (PHP 3,000) at an online casino. These types of small deposits happen all the time at gaming sites, but they rarely result in six-figure wins.
The gambler proceeded to play Evolution Gaming’s Speed Baccarat. This variation works just like any other, with a few notable exceptions.
Here are the details on live Speed Baccarat:
- Standard live-dealer baccarat format
- 8 decks and standard rules
- You must place bets within 10 seconds (instead of the usual 15 seconds)
- The common banker, player, and tie bets are available.
- You can also place the following side bets:
- Banker or player pair = 11:1 payout
- Either pair = 5:1 payout
- Perfect pairs = 25:1 or 200:1 payout (difference depends upon the exact cards in both hands)
- Banker or player bonus = 30:1 payout
The press release that broke this story is limited on details. Therefore, I don’t know exactly which bets the player made to increase their bankroll from $60 to $300k.
My guess, though, is that they started out playing for low stakes and made a few side bets. After getting lucky with side wagers, they began playing for higher stakes. Of course, they also had to experience some amazing luck to pull off this feat.
Player’s Account Is Suspended
The player in question won 5,000x their original stake. Therefore, they immediately drew suspicion from the casino operator.
The house is used to losing money here and there to baccarat players. Gamblers have almost a 50% chance of winning money on any single hand.
However, online casinos aren’t used to seeing somebody turn $60 into a $300,000 windfall. The casino in question shut down the player’s account due to suspicion of cheating.
They wanted to investigate the win before paying out the money. After all, some gamblers have found loopholes that’ve allowed them to cheat gaming sites out of huge amounts of money.
In less than an hours’ time, they completed their investigation, unlocked the account, and approved the winnings. Luckily, the big winner only had to wait a short amount of time before being able to cash out.
Tips for Winning Big in Online Baccarat
It’s not every day that somebody multiplies their online gambling funds by 5,000x without cheating. But you can at least improve your chances of winning big just like the Philippine player with the following tips forplaying real money online baccarat tips.
Have a Bankroll Management Plan
You can’t start out on the road toward serious baccarat winnings without a solid plan in place. Therefore, you should spend time developing a bankroll management plan in the beginning.
The first step in this matter involves figuring out how much money you can reasonably deposit. To do this, you should go through your finances and determine what you can comfortably afford to lose.
From here, you want to break your bankroll down into units. Doing so makes it easier to manage your baccarat funds.
Here’s an example on doing so:
- You determine that you can comfortably risk $300 on baccarat.
- You normally make $5 bets online.
- 300 / 5 = 60
- You have a bankroll worth 60 units.
Finally, you should put a stop-loss limit in place. A stop-loss limit refers to a point where you automatically quit a session based on how many units you’ve lost.
In the example above, you might want to limit yourself to losing 15 units. This ensures that you only lose 25% of your bankroll in a given session.
By minimizing losses on a given day, you won’t be tempted to chase losses and end up losing more money. Furthermore, you’ll be less likely to go on tilt and make more deposits just to keep chasing losses.
Bet on the Banker
Baccarat offers three main bets and, in some cases, various side wagers. Luckily, you only need to concentrate on one of these bets to use perfect strategy.
Wagering on the banker hand to win yields a 1.06% house edge. All you need to do is bet on the banker again and again to achieve the optimal 98.94% RTP.
The player hand is another option that gives you a fair chance to win. This bet only carries a 1.24% house advantage, which results in 98.76% RTP.
In reality, though, you have no reason to go away from the banker bet. It’s easy to make and delivers the highest RTP available in baccarat.
Try the Occasional Side Bet
The details are somewhat limited on exactly how the Philippine gambler won $300,000. Again, though, I’m sure that they made a few risky side wagers along the way.
Normally, I don’t recommend baccarat side bets. Some of these propositions carry high house edges and require you to assume more risk.
However, the occasional side bet isn’t so bad—especially when you’re trying to win serious money. You might get lucky with a few of these wagers, net large payouts, and eventually be able to play for higher stakes.
Take Advantage of Bonuses
One great thing about playing online baccarat is that you can look forward to deposit bonuses. Many gaming sites offer these bonuses as a way to entice you into depositing.
These deals give you a chance to win a match percentage of your deposit amount. For example, a bonus might offer a 100% match on your deposit worth up to $500.
You need to satisfy the terms and conditions on these deals. But they’re definitely worth going after if you’ll be playing internet baccarat anyways.
You can also collect VIP rewards at gaming sites. Almost every online casino offers a loyalty program that rewards you for your bets.
Realize That You’re Playing a Negative Expectation Game
Baccarat offers some of the highest RTP in the casino as long as you stick with the right bets. Nevertheless, it’s still a negative expectation game.
Theoretically, every $100 that you risk on the banker hand results in a $1.06 loss. You’ll need some luck to win profits over time with this game.
The expected losses only increase when you start getting into side bets. This is unfortunate when considering that you need to win some risky side bets in order to earn big profits.
Conclusion
I’m not going to lie: your chances of winning $300,000 after starting out with only $60 aren’t great. The lucky Philippine gambler has lived out a miracle in accomplishing this feat.
But nothing is stopping lightning from striking twice. You could theoretically become the second online baccarat player to live out this fantasy.
The tips presented above will give you a better shot at winning big through this game. Assuming you properly manage your bankroll, bet on the banker, and take occasional risks on side wagers, then you have a stronger shot at winning.
More likely than not, you won’t book a $300k win from a tiny deposit. However, you may win a significant amount of money at some point if you keep trying.
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. …