Live Baccarat offers a relaxed and dignified approach to gambling where all you’re required to do is place a wager and sit back for the results. There are strategies adopted with the likes of Blackjack and Poker, but not so much so with Baccarat as there is no trickery of bluffing required, just you squaring up to the banker to see who has the best and winning hand.
Generally speaking, Baccarat players have the means to bet big as this high roller game returns big stakes for winning hands. The risk is far greater to the player than say spinning the reels of video slots, so the reward is high too, but only if you manage to beat the dealer.
In case you feel like you can beat the live baccarat dealer, here are the top live baccarat sites we recommend:
Live Baccarat Casino Sites
Live Baccarat overview
Baccarat has long been a popular table game but one that was given a huge boost when fictional 007 agent, James Bond, took up the game. But what is Baccarat? Baccarat is a gambling game where players have a two or three-card hand, but the value is only found when dividing the hand by 10! The winner will be the person with the highest remainder once the division has taken place. It was the early James Bond movies that introduced fans to the exciting game of Baccarat when the late Sean Connery took up the role of the cunning MI6 agent and just like 007, many a punter dresses for success – but what you wear shouldn’t matter when you play live Baccarat, what with not having to leave the home.
There are two types of Live Baccarat online; a live dealer type and a first-person format, the former being in a studio setting with a real dealer and instant results beamed directly to your device through HD quality streaming, while the latter offers more of a relaxed gaming experience where it’s just you and a virtual host – so no rushing to place silly bets. Live Baccarat aims to offer a more personalised gaming session with the ability to get involved with chat whereas, first-person Baccarat is simple with more of a recreated atmosphere. As with all gambling games, the results will always be random and fair. Whether you’re playing the live version or a first-person version, Baccarat dealers have no influence over who wins or loses.
Live Baccarat Bets and Pays
To place your bets with Live Baccarat, first, you must choose a table. Once you’re comfortable with your seat and your dealer, you can place bets by dragging and dropping the pre-set value chips from your screen and onto the betting cloth. The value of the bets will vary from operator to operator, however, as a rule of thumb, minimum bets will start at just £1. Once you’ve selected your preferred value by clicking or tapping the corresponding chip, you can release it onto the table by performing the same action. Every click tap of the betting spot will increase the bet by the initial value, so a £1 bet with four taps of this same spot will increase the bet from £1 to £5.
The double (x2) button will highlight once you have placed your bets, and each tap will double your existing bet up to the maximum stated table limit. This button is a handy feature for those who find tapping the betting cloth repetitive. Want to play your previous bet in the next round? There is a button for that also, the re-bet button which instantly places your bet for you. Placed a silly bet? Why not make use of the undo button which will clear all your bets. It’s important to note here that when placing multiple bets, the undo button will only remove one chip at a time, so for the total elimination of bets, you will need to repeatedly tap this before bets are accepted.
How to Play Live Baccarat
Baccarat can be played with many decks of cards, usually, eight standard 52-card decks are used per game. The card values for the deck are as follows:
- Cards from 2 to 9 carry their face value, so a 7 of diamonds would be worth 7 points
- Aces are the lowest of all cards and carry a point value of 1
- Tens and picture cards are worth 0 points.
The game begins with cards being burnt after each shuffle. At the start of a new shoe, one card is produced from the shoe and placed face-up. The number of cards to be burnt in each round will be determined by the value of the first drawn card, so a 10 of any suit will result in ten cards being burnt. For Baccarat, the suits are irrelevant to what with being a casino game based on numbers only.
The aim of the game is a little like Blackjack; you need to beat the dealer to win only in this popular casino game, the winner will be the dealer or the player who has a hand value closest to 9 instead of Blackjack’s 21. Bets must be placed prior to the game commencing on what you think the outcome will be: player win, banker win or a tie. When all bets are placed and no more bets accepted is announced, two cards are dealt to both the player and the banker. If both the player and banker have a hand of equal value, the round will be a tie and bets on the player and banker are pushed (returned).
Pays are:
- 1:1 for Player Win
- 1:1 for Banker win or 0.5:1 when Banker wins with 6
- 8:1 for a Tie
- 11:1 for either a Player or Banker pair
- Perfect Pair of One Pair pays 25:1
- Perfect Pair of Two Pair pays 200:1
- 5:1 for Either Pair
- 15:1 for a Super 6
Other pays include a Player/Banker Bonus:
- Bets returned (push) on a natural tie
- 1:1 on a natural win
- 1:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 4 points
- 2:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 5 points
- 4:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 6 points
- 6:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 7 points
- 10:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 8 points
- 30:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 9 points
Return to Player (RTP) Percentages of Live Baccarat?
The optimal return to player percentage for Baccarat is 98.76% however, the RTP will vary with the various side bets, of which are as follows:
- Banker Pair: 89.64%
- Player Pair: 89.64%
- Perfect Pair: 91.95%
- Either Pair: 86.29%
- Super 6: 86.18%
- Player Bonus: 97.35%
- Banker Bonus: 90.63%
What are Scorecards in Live Baccarat?
Scorecards are an effective way of showing the game outcomes and in Live Baccarat, streaks and trends for both the player and banker when using a particular shoe, will be recorded on various boards. A visual representation of the previous rounds combined with additional statistics could go a long way to helping players achieve a winning outcome.
- The Bead Road: Each cell in the bead road (scoreboard) will display the outcome of the previous rounds – the most recent being displayed to the top left of your screen. To get a better understanding of this, you need to read from left to right in an up to downwards motion. A solid red cell indicated a win for the banker while a solid blue represents a player win. A green solid cell will show a tie between both the banker and player. Should a cell happen to display a red dot in the upper left corner, this simply means the banker had a pair of cards in that round. If there is a blue dot in the lower right corner, this indicates a player pair.
- Big Road: The results of the earliest round are recorded in the upper left corner in the Big Road and when the banker’s streak changes in favour of the player (or vice versa), a new column is created. A red-outlined cell indicates a banker win while a blue cell indicates a player win. Again, a tie is shown in green only this time as a line and when the result is produced, a banker (red) or player (blue) circle will be stamped over the green.
- Derived Roads: A more complex view of gaming results comes with Derived Roads, and a system that is loved by many a true Live Baccarat fan and consists of three displays; the Big Eye Road (uses outlined circles), Small Road (uses solid circles) and the Cockroach Road (uses slashes). With this formatting, the Derived Roads do not begin at the beginning of the show, they begin with the hand following the first hand in the second, third and fourth columns of the Big Road, and once started, an additional red (or blue) symbol is added per round.
Players can recognise winning outcomes for both the banker and the player on the Scorecard by using the following terminology guide:
- B = Banker and this will display the number of banker wins thus far
- P = Player and this will display the number of banker wins thus far
- T = Tie and this will display the number of rounds that have tied so far
- Banker Pair is the number of banker pairs thus far
- Player Pair is the number of players pairs thus far
Live Baccarat FAQ
Q: Can I Play Live Baccarat on Mobile?
A: Absolutely! Live Baccarat can be enjoyed on any device with internet capability.
Q: Do I Need to Download Any Apps to Play Live Baccarat on Mobile?
A: There are no specific apps required for Live Baccarat, however, for a more immersive gaming experience and quicker access to the games in future, many online casinos offer a free app, which can be downloaded directly via the app store on your device.
Q: What is Live Lightning Baccarat?
A: Live Lightning Baccarat is a live casino vertical from Evolution and works very similar to that of the usual game of Baccarat. Once bets are accepted, a lightning round occurs, and one to five random lightning cards are drawn from a virtual 52-card deck. Each card is then randomly assigned a multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 8x. If you bet wins and contains a lightning card, your bet will be multiplied according to the value shown on that card.
Q: What is Meant by the Term Burn Cards or Burnt Cards in Live Baccarat?
A: Burn Cards is a terminology used to describe the removal of the top deck of cards. When this occurs, the ‘burnt cards’ are placed into the discard tray and which means they are not used. Burning cards add an extra layer of randomness to the game.
Q: What Does Super 6 Mean in Live Baccarat?
A: A bet on whether the total score or either the Player or Banker will be 6.
Q: How Many Seats Are There in Live Baccarat?
A: Live Baccarat offers an unlimited number of players, however, seats vary from 7 to 14, depending on the type of game being played.
Q: Baccarat Side Bets – Are they Worth It?
A: There are many a side bet offered to players in Live Baccarat and hitting a winning outcome can produce big payouts of up to 200:1 -combine that with a multiplier of up to 8x in Lightning Baccarat and this makes side bets all the more rewarding.
Q: What Are the Pays of Live Baccarat?
A: There are various ways to hit a win with Live Baccarat and the value of your win will depend on not only your stake but the outcome too. Pays offered include:
- 1:1 for a Player Win
- 1:1 for a Banker win or 0.5:1 when the Banker wins with a 6 point hand
- 8:1 for a Tie
- 11:1 for either a Player or Banker pair
- Perfect Pair of One Pair pays 25:1
- Perfect Pair of Two Pair pays 200:1
- 5:1 for Either Pair
- 15:1 for a Super 6
Player/Banker Bonus Pays are:
- Bets returned (push) on a natural tie
- 1:1 on a natural win
- 1:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 4 points
- 2:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 5 points
- 4:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 6 points
- 6:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 7 points
- 10:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 8 points
- 30:1 when a non-natural hand wins by 9 points
Q: What’s the Perfect Strategy to Beat the Dealer in Live Baccarat?
A: To win, you need to beat the dealer by having a better hand without going off a point score of 9.
Q: What’s the Minimum Bet on a Live Baccarat Table?
A: Minimum and maximum bets for Live Baccarat will be determined by the operator, usually, the minimum bet is £1.
Q: What is the Difference Between Live Baccarat and First-Person Baccarat?
A: Live Baccarat is in a live studio setting with real-time results and a real-life dealer, both of which combine to produce a realistic bricks-and-mortar style environment. First-person Baccarat is a game where the player is in complete control, so no countdown timer and no rushing when it comes to deciding on where to bet. Graphics may be a little more animated than you’d expect, but the way the game is played is identical to that of its live counterpart.
Q: Can I Interact with the Host and Other Players When Playing Live Baccarat?
A: A chat feature and customisable camera angles allow you to experience a real casino floor setting without having to leave your own home and social interaction is encouraged via way of a chat feature. It’s important to note here that foul language and any abuse towards the host or other players will not be tolerated and will result in you having your chat privileges restricted.
Q: What Are the Advantages of Playing Live Baccarat Online?
A: Live Baccarat advantages include being able to dip in and dip out whenever the mood takes you as tables are open 24/7. Own a mobile? Baccarat Live on mobile allows you to pick off where you left off wherever you may be, providing you have access to a reliable internet connection.
Q: What is Baccarat Squeeze?
A: Baccarat Squeeze adds an additional layer of excitement with the gradual unveiling of small sections of the card, but why is this even a feature? Many player superstitions are based on specific cards; some believe specific cards can deliver a good or bad outcome so the aim of this Baccarat game is to reveal the value of the card very slowly in a bid to ramp up tension and excitement.
Q: Is Dragon Tiger a Variant of Live Baccarat?
A: Dragon Tiger is a fancier way to play Baccarat only instead of betting on the Player or Banker to win, you bet on Dragon or Tiger and in this game, only the one card per option is drawn. The aim of this quick-paced game is to predict whether the Dragon or Tiger section of the table will have the higher value card with pays of 1:1 on Dragon or Tiger, 11:1 for a tie or 50:1 for a suited tie. Ace has no points, cards 2 to 9 are worth their numerical value and picture cards and tens are worth 0.
