Online Baccarat Strategy

In order to make the most money possible at online casinos, it’s always best to explore different betting systems – and that includes baccarat strategy. Even for simple games like baccarat, you’ll find that certain bets reward you with more profit than others in the long term. And we’re here to show you the best online baccarat strategy around.

Learn What Baccarat Strategies Exist

In this guide, our experts will walk you through the different types of baccarat strategy, highlighting what will and won’t work. That includes a list of bets you should avoid, and others you should opt for.

Once you’re ready to try out our baccarat strategy firsthand, you can sign up to any of the excellent online casinos on this page. Each of them offer online baccarat, and all are available to players in Canada.

Punto, Banco or Tie?

The three main bets in punto banco baccarat – which is the most common type of baccarat – are punto, banco and tie. By understanding the baccarat odds alone, you can form a more effective strategy than the majority of players out there!

Banco

If you don’t have time to read this entire online baccarat strategy guide, just remember this: banco is the best of the three bets.

Banco has the lowest house edge out of banco, punto and tie at 1.06%. So, statistically, you’re most likely to win when betting on the banker. Some casinos pay out at even odds for banco, while most usually trim the payout slightly to 19/20. But, either way, the correct baccarat strategy is to choose this over punto.

Banco has a return-to-player (RTP) percentage of 98.94%.

Punto

Only slightly behind banco is the punto bet, or betting on the player. This always pays out at even odds. However, it is slightly less likely to win, with a 1.36% house edge.

Punto should win 44.63% of the time versus banco’s 45.87%. Even with the differing odds, banco is preferable – but only marginally. Therefore, the optimum baccarat strategy is to continually bet on banco. There is no advantage to mixing up your bets between punto and banco.

Punto has an RTP percentage of  98.76%.

Tie

Although banco offers better odds of winning that punto, there is admittedly not much in it. However, betting on the tie will throw your baccarat strategy out of the window.

The tie has by far the biggest odds of the three at 8/1, but also has the biggest house edge. It dwarfs punto and banco house edges at 14.36%.

Tie has an RTP percentage of 85.56%.

Baccarat strategies

If you’ve been paying close attention to our online baccarat strategy guide so far, you may have already figured out one of the easiest and most effective baccarat strategies around…just bet on banco.

Banco’s very small house edge is favourable to both punto and tie bets, has the highest RTP of the three, and requires no special skills to follow. Whether you’re playing for real money or free, baccarat strategies this simple are always welcome.

Martingale system

In addition to betting on banco, you can always use a baccarat strategy in terms of bet sizing and consistency. This can help add table time to your game, or even increase your profit.

One such baccarat strategy is the Martingale system. This is a classic betting strategy which can actually be used across several casino games including roulette and blackjack.

To use the Martingale system, place a bet of one unit on an even money outcome like punto. If it wins, repeat the bet. If it loses, double your bet. If you lose twice in a row, double your bet again, repeating this as many times as is necessary until you win. Then, reset to your original, single unit of stake.

The main issue with the Martingale system is that you can lose all of your money if you go on an unlucky run. Plus, you may get to a stage where the bet you’re required to make exceeds the table maximum.

Side bets

In addition to the baccarat strategy and odds discussed above, some casinos also offer side bets. For example, the unusually-named ‘UR Way Égalité’ lets you bet on a tie plus the specific value of a hand. Payouts range from around 45/1 for paired sixes or sevens up to 225/1 for paired twos.

Another interesting side bet is ‘Three giving eight’, or 3G8. It’s a very specific wager; the banco hand must receive a total of three from the initial deal, followed by the player hand drawing for a third card and receiving an eight. If all of that happens, you’ll be paid at odds of 200/1.

As unlikely as this sounds, the house edge on 3G8 is 8.68%, which is still much more favourable than simply betting on the tie. So, if you do feel like mixing things up, you could opt for a side bet with a better house edge than tie, rather than just giving the house that massive advantage uncontested.

By now, you should have a pretty solid idea about various baccarat strategies. If you’re ready to try them out, you can join up to any of the online casinos listed on this page. They all offer multiple versions of baccarat and are easily accessible to players in Canada.