The first game of baccarat was played more than 500 years ago in Italy. Traditionally a game for aristocrats and high-rollers, the introduction of online baccarat has brought the popular card game to the masses.
In the world’s top land-based casinos you might catch a glimpse of the baccarat room. This is a room reserved for high-stakes players to pit their wits against the dealer. Notable baccarat players include NBA great Michael Jordan and notorious professional poker player Phil Ivey.
Some casinos also offer ‘mini-baccarat’ tables to give beginners a chance to taste the action. However, nothing gives players the thrill like an online baccarat game with one of the sites listed on BoomCasino.co.uk.
How To Play
Baccarat is one of the easiest casino games to play. It’s a game played between the player and the banker. Both are dealt two cards and the player with a hand closer to 9 wins. It must be noted that the banker, also known as dealer, has a slight statistical advantage in every hand. This is similar to other casino table games.
The win probability for the banker is 45.86% while the player has 44.63% chance of winning in the long run.
There’s not really any ‘winning’ strategy or formula you can employ in baccarat. This makes it a great game for players to sit back and relax while enjoying the thrill of playing a casino game.
Best Online Casino Table Games
Online Baccarat Rules
As we have mentioned, the rules of online baccarat are fairly straightforward. The dealer deals two cards to themselves and each player, both cards will be face up. Whichever pair is closest to nine wins. If your hand totals to a figure over 9, you take the 1 or 2 from the number to get your actual figure. For example, if you are dealt a seven and six to total 13, you remove the 1 to give you a final figure of 3.
If you place your wager on the player’s hand and it wins, your winnings are double your wager. If you bet on the dealer’s hand and it wins, you’ll get your wager + 95% back as your winnings. The banker takes a 5% commission in most cases.
There are a couple of other rules to be aware of too. If your total after your pair has been dealt is five or lower, for example. a two and a three, you will be dealt another card. If either player or banker is dealt a total of 8 or 9 then both stand.
Finally, there is also the possibility of a tie in all forms of baccarat. Online baccarat players can place a wager on the total of both player and dealer’s card to be a tie. This returns at an attractive 8/1 although this bet has a house edge of around 15%.
Online Baccarat Betting Options
As has been noted, there are three betting options when playing online baccarat. Player bet, Banker bet and a Tie bet. Again, this shows why baccarat is a favourite for online casino players, it is a very straightforward game to play.
- Player Bet: A bet on the player’s hand to be the winner. This has a 1/1 payout i.e. winnings are double your money. The house edge here is 1.29% (Single Deck) or 1.24% for a Six Deck game.
- Banker Bet: A bet on the banker’s hand to be the winning hand. This has a 19/20 payout with the banker taking a 5% commission. The house edge on a banker bet is 1.01% for a Single Deck game and 1.06% for a Six Deck game.
- Tie Bet: A bet on the player and banker to have the same total. The payout here is 8/1. The house edge is 15.75% (Single Deck) and 14.44% for a Six Deck game.
There are also a number of other side bets available to play in a six-deck online baccarat. These include Player/Banker Pair bets, Perfect Pair and Either Pair bets and Big and Small bets.
The Perfect Pair bet has the biggest potential payout at 25/1. The bettor requires the first two cards dealt to either player or banker to be a pair from the same suit e.g. six of hearts.
Responsible Gambling
As always, we want player to enjoy the thrills and excitement of playing online baccarat. However, we also know that sometimes the enjoyment can wane and spending on casino games can become an issue.
All of our casinos listed on our site are fully regulated and we follow the UK Gambling Commission guidelines. For more information visit BeGambleAware.org.
Popular Online Baccarat Sites
The top online casinos have made baccarat a key component of their offering. We encourage users to take their time to read the casino reviews and special offers available on BoomCasino.co.uk.
The best sites will be will have put time and effort into the user experience and will be up front about their regulations and withdrawals process. We have found that the sites that have the best slots selection often have a great baccarat offering.
Frequently Asked Questions – Online Baccarat
What is Online Baccarat?
Even though it has been around for hundreds of year, the casino game of baccarat is still shrouded in mystery. Typically the preserve of high-rollers, most people will be familiar with baccarat through James Bond who regularly plays the game in films and books. Online baccarat has brought the game to a wider audience and it is rapidly growing into a casino favourite.
How do you play Online Baccarat?
As can be seen from our review, online baccarat is fairly straightforward. Played between a banker and the player, a pair of cards is dealt to both players. The pair which totals closest to 9 is the winning hand. You can place bets on the Banker and Player to win as well as a tie bet.
Are there different versions of Online Baccarat I can play?
Yes, there are a number of variations of the baccarat game. These are namely Punto Banco, Chemmy and Banque. Punto Banco is often known as American Baccarat or Mini-Baccarat. These games have a number of different variations in terms of house edge and side bets. They are popular in the online and live casino environments.
What is the best Online Baccarat strategy?
To repeat, there is no real online baccarat strategy as such as it’s a very straightforward game. This game is designed to be fun, fast-paced and give fairly even returns to both player and banker. In time, you will become familiar with the ebbs and flows of the game and hopefully become a great baccarat player.