How Does Progressive Baccarat Work?

Baccarat isn’t the first casino game that comes to mind with regard to big jackpots. Instead, it’s a table game that offers consistent payouts over huge wins.

However, progressive baccarat can feature big jackpots. It provides the thrill of chasing huge prizes while also enjoying one of the most-classic table games.

The following guide discusses the main points on how progressive baccarat works. It also details what you should consider when playing this game.

Play for a Huge Jackpot

Progressive baccarat’s main draw is no doubt its jackpot. This game provides an opportunity to win five or even six figures with a relatively small bet.

The casino seeds the original jackpot. In many cases, it’ll seed the progressive prize at between $5,000 and $10,000.

From here, the jackpot grows with every side bet that’s made. The casino will take a small percentage out of each side wager to help fund the jackpot.

This prize continues growing until it’s won. Therefore, a baccarat jackpot with longer odds of winning grows larger on average than one with better odds of hitting. The online jackpot from Playtech seeds at $50,000 and is worth $94,378 at the time of this writing.

While it doesn’t make much difference to you when you hit a jackpot playing real money baccarat, you should know how seeding works. While the casinos claim to seed the jackpot with the starting amount, the way that most of them seed jackpots is with a part of each bet made on the game or wager.

As an example, if the jackpot grows 50 cents on every wager made on the game, the casinos is collecting 60 cents with 50 cents going toward the jackpot and the other 10 cents going toward the next seed.

Don’t make the mistake of believing that the casino is losing money on baccarat jackpots, or any other jackpots in the casino. All casino game jackpots are paid for in full by the money you and other gamblers risk on the game or wager.

Make the Side Bet

You must place both a regular bet and side wager to qualify for the progressive jackpot. The side bet is optional, meaning you can use it at any time.

Most casinos only require you to spend $1 on the side wager. That said, many progressive baccarat players place this optional bet no matter what.

The side wager will not only qualify you for the jackpot but also other side payouts. The additional payouts can vary based on the individual game and casino.

Odds of Winning the Jackpot

As with any progressive jackpot, your odds of winning top baccarat prize aren’t great. However, the odds are at least better than what the average online slot offers.

You stand 1 in 588,296 odds of winning the aforementioned Playtech baccarat jackpot. This means that you’ll need to play 588,296 hands on average before winning big.

You might play when the jackpot is larger to make the long odds more worth your while. This way, you at least get a huge reward if you’re lucky enough to win the jackpot.

Available at Land-Based and Online Casinos

Baccarat jackpots aren’t widely available across the gaming industry. Nevertheless, you can find them at select online and brick-and-mortar casinos.

Atlantic City and Las Vegas are good places to begin your search for land-based progressive jackpots. These large markets improve the odds that you’ll find a progressive game.

Playtech is the only developer that I know of that currently offers a progressive baccarat jackpot. You’ll need to find online casinos that carry Playtech software to go for this prize. Unfortunately, this software isn’t currently available to the US and many other countries.

What Are the Best Aspects of Jackpot Baccarat?

You’ll enjoy multiple benefits when chasing jackpots in baccarat. Here are the main advantages to going after these progressive prizes.

Winning Big

You can certainly win some money when experiencing a baccarat hot streak. Unless you win a bunch of tie bets, though, then you’re only getting even money on your payouts.

This makes it difficult to win a fortune through this game. You pretty much have to play high-stakes baccarat or get extremely lucky to win thousands of dollars.

The progressive version, however, gives you an opportunity at gambling riches without playing high stakes. You can place your $1 bet and go for the huge payout.

The Jackpot Bet Is Cheap

Casino games with progressive jackpots can get very expensive. Slot machines are particularly notorious in this regard because they could see you lose lots of money in a short time span.

Of course, progressive baccarat jackpots can be expensive as well. It can also be cheap, though, if you want it to be.

First off, the side bet is usually only $1. Some land-based casinos may charge $5, but this isn’t as common as the dollar wager.

Secondly, you don’t have to make the side bet on every hand. Instead, you can simply play the main game and place the jackpot bet whenever you feel like it.

Play for Big Jackpots Online

Table games aren’t always the greatest about offering jackpots—especially online. However, you can play for some pretty big jackpots through online baccarat.

Again, Playtech is the one the developer that’s offering the progressive version at this time. You’ll find progressive baccarat at any of their casinos.

Hopefully, other developers began providing this game. When this becomes the case, you’ll have even more options and potentially larger jackpots to choose from.

What to Watch Out for With Progressive Baccarat

You can see that this game offers some thrills thanks to its large jackpot. However, you’ll want to keep the following points in mind before seeking out progressive baccarat.

Low Odds of Winning Big

Unless you play countless hands, you’re probably not going to win the jackpot in this game. Again, your odds of hitting the top prize online are just 1 in 588,296.

Of course, the point of playing the progressive version is the hope that you’ll get lucky and win big. If you’re alright with the long odds, then you might still appreciate playing this game.

On the other hand, you should never go into progressive baccarat expecting to solve any financial problems. You’ll realistically need to log hundreds of thousands of hands before winning the top prize.

Drains Your Bankroll Faster

You can play both land-based and online blackjack relatively cheaply. The average land-based casino typically requires a $5 side bet, while online baccarat casinos only require a $1 side wager.

You might not think that adding a dollar side bet on top would make a huge difference. However, it can cause you to burn through your bankroll faster.

The biggest problem is that you won’t normally realize any wins from the side wager. Therefore, you’re basically throwing an extra dollar away on most hands.

Limited Availability

Many gamblers enjoy playing baccarat. That said, it seems logical to assume the progressive version could become more popular in the future.

For now, though, it’s relatively obscure. Only one online developer offers this game, while most land-based casinos don’t include it among their table game jackpots.

That said, you’re not going to find jackpots for this game as frequently as with Caribbean stud or Let It Ride. You’ll have to put some time into locating a progressive version.

Conclusion

Jackpot baccarat may not be the most-common table game. It does exist, however, and it lets you enjoy this game with a huge payout on the line.

The online version currently offers a jackpot worth almost $95,000. While this isn’t life-altering money, it can take care of lots of bills.

You can also play progressive baccarat in certain brick-and-mortar casinos. Land-based venues may feature even bigger jackpots.

Of course, you should always be aware that your odds of winning the top prize aren’t great. Provided you’re fine with this aspect, though, then you should really enjoy playing progressive baccarat. Furthermore, you’ll at least have a better chance of winning a baccarat jackpot versus a slots jackpot.