2 Jan 2013

Winning Punto Banco / Baccarat strategies

A quick look at the odds in Punto Banco / Baccarat will show where the house has its edge - in the 'Tie' bet. This bet will win less frequently, so the pay out is correspondingly large, with the aim of tempting the player. The odds of 'Tie' winning are 10.5-1, though the payout is only 8 to 1.

The two other bets (Banker and Player) have similar odds to each other, but the payouts are different as the banker bet is subject to a 5% commission (the 'vigorish'). (See bottom of the page for details of Betfair's Zero Lounge Baccarat which has NO vigorish and No house edge!)

The money-back rule

Finding a winning Punto Banco / Baccarat strategy comes from understanding the rule that if you do not bet on a Tie, and the hands tie, your bet is returned to you.

Because of this, in any calculation of Punto Banco / Baccarat house edge, the Tie bet can be effectively disregarded. If there was no vigorish (commission), the probability of winning on Banker would be over 1 in 2 ie better than a coin toss. Even allowing for the vigorish, the house edge on the Banker bet is just over 1%.

The Player bet has a slightly higher house edge, usually around 1.25%. But there is no vigorish, so nothing is deducted from your winnings.

Even so, with such a low house edge, the Banker bet is still the safest Punto Banco / Baccarat bet.

Betting to lose
Some Punto Banco / Baccarat players find that betting on the Banker seems somehow unnatural, as though they're betting against themselves. This probably comes from playing Blackjack, where the player is always trying to beat the Banker.

Remember, in Punto Banco or Baccarat, the winner is the one who bets on the winning hand, not the one who plays it.

A winning Punto Banco / Baccarat strategy

Based on the above, we recommend the following Punto Banco/Baccarat strategy:

The almost evens nature of the Banker bet allows us to use an evens chance gambling system. Our preference is to use the

1-3-2-4 system, which is a way of limiting your losses whilst allowing for bigger wins.

When you are winning, the bets progress as follows:

Bet 1 is 1 unit, Bet 2 is 3 units, Bet 3 is 2 units and Bet 4 is 4 units.

Whenever you lose, you revert back to Bet 1.

If your first bet loses, your loss is 1 unit.

If the second loses, your loss is 2.05 units.

If the third loses, you make a profit of 1.8 units (with the vigorish).

If the fourth loses, you make a profit of 1.7 units.

If the fourth wins, your overall profit is 9.5 units.

The advantage of this Baccarat system is that you risk 2.05 units with a chance of making 9.5 profit. In other words, you can have four losing sequences and get your money back with one winning run

The 1-3-2-6 system - why it doesn't work for Punto Banco / Baccarat

You can find many Baccarat strategy sites on the net recommending the 1-3-2-6 system. We've even found it for sale under the guise of an 'unbeatable' Baccarat system.

Just to explain, the 1-3-2-6 is a great evens-chance system for games like Roulette or Sic Bo. But in Baccarat, it doesn't work as well because of the vigorish on the banker bet.

Sites pushing the 1-3-2-6 will claim that a losing fourth bet leaves you even. It doesn't. A losing fourth bet actually results in aloss of 0.3 units.

The 1-3-2-6 as described by those sites can only used on the Player bet, where there is no vigorish, but the Player bet has a higher house edge, so you're less likely to win!

Our advice? Stick to the 1-3-2-4 - it's a system we've devised especially for Punto Banco / Baccarat!

Betfair - the best online casino for Punto Banco / Baccarat

Betfair Casino has two fantastic versions of Punto Banco / Baccarat for you to play:

1. Betfair's Zero Lounge Baccarat offers a Baccarat with no house edge. The commission is 2.75% instead of the standard 5% and the expected payout to players is 100%!

It's an amazing version of the game, and one where you can really hone your Baccarat skills before hitting the tables for real.

2. The other Baccarat unique to Betfair is their Exchange Baccarat. Whereas in normal Baccarat you have to place your bets before the game starts, Betfair Exchange Baccarat allows you to watch a game of Baccarat and bet as things change!

Each game takes place over a maximum of 6 rounds and you can change your bet after each round. In addition to the standard Banker, Player and Tie bets, there are also a number of side bets, to add to the interest and excitement.