Whilst it could be argued that live baccarat play at online casinos is not as popular as blackjack and roulette, it is still an enjoyable game to play and if some basic principles are adhered to, it is also more than possible to walk away with a profit.
Before we get started
Before we go through a step-by-step guide on how to play live baccarat with live dealers, it is important to set yourself a limit with regards to how much you are prepared to lose when playing baccarat.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that I am taking a negative slant before we even get started because nothing could be further from the truth, but I see so many people playing any casino game, obviously with the aim of winning, ending up chasing losses and they end up losing so much money that they vow never to play at an online casino again.
Don’t be that person.
Set yourself a limit and if you go down to that limit, call it a day, it really is as simple as that.
Setting yourself up to play baccarat
OK, let’s get started.
The first thing that you need to do it to open an online casino account which offers live dealer games if you don’t have one already (any of the casinos on our recommended list).
Once you have opened and funded your account, be sure to take advantage of any bonuses which allow live baccarat to count towards any wagering requirements.
Don’t worry if you have never played a game of baccarat before because it is extremely easy to learn how to play because there are basically only 3 outcomes in the game which are player win, banker win and the tie.
When you take into consideration that the RTP on a game of live baccarat is 98.94%, it is not difficult to instantly see the profit potential of playing this game.
Playing baccarat to win
Weve already spoken about there being only three outcomes in a game of baccarat and to get as near to the almost 99% RTP figure when playing the game, it is important that you keep on betting on the same outcome which if you take my advice would be to keep betting on the player win.
Let me explain why.
A winning bet on the player win pays out at even money, a winning bet on the banker pays out even money minus a 5% commission which equates to odds of 19/20.
A winning bet on the tie comes in at 9/1.
Over the long term, betting only on the banker will get you as close to the RTP as possible but as I am sure you are aware, there will be fluctuations along the way.
Unfortunately, most new baccarat players just place their bets willy nilly.
They will start by betting on the player only to find that the banker wins the first few hands, so they start betting on the banker only to find that the tie comes up.
So, yes you guessed it, they start betting on the tie only to find that those bets are unsuccessful as well.
How to lock in a winning streak
We have already spoken about the importance of knowing when to quit, but due to the very nature of playing baccarat using the recommended method, you will often find yourself on various winning streaks which will obviously increase your bankroll.
The way to take advantage of these winning streaks is by putting in place what is referred to as a trailing stop loss.
Let’s say you have settled down to a game of live dealer baccarat and you find yourself £100 up.
Make no mistake, you could quite easily start seeing that balance go back down to zero so what you should do is set up a profit target and a trailing stop loss.
In the example of being £100 in profit, you could perhaps set yourself a profit target of £120 and a trailing stop loss of £80.
If your balance goes down to £80, stop playing and take your profit.
If your balance goes up to £120, either take that profit or put another set of targets in place, for example, £140 profit target, £100 stop loss.
Playing in this way will ensure you have locked in a profit that you are happy with and there is the added benefit of locking in further profits if you are on a winning streak.
Please, please be aware though, you must adhere to these targets which you have put in place because if you don’t, those winnings will soon be whittled away, and you will be left with that awful feeling of knowing that you didn’t have the discipline to see it through.