Baccarat is a banking game available in casinos worldwide.

Baccarat is not only a popular casino game but one of the easiest to play. This is partly because there are only three possible bets and all the subsequent hand choices are dictated by fixed rules. You simply pace your bets and then watch the action unfold.

Game play

The hand value is determined in the following way. Every card is added according to its face value from 1-10; jack, queen and king are all valued at ten each. The unusual thing in Baccarat concerning the counting is that only the last digit of the total card count is used. So if your cards totaled to 15 points, the last digit is only counted making the value as five (5).

The winning hand is the one that is nearest to 9 points. Although there is a "player hand" and a "banker hand", your win is merely determined by whose hand you bet upon. In fact, the rules allow you to make three possible bets; wagering for the player's hand, the dealer's hand or on a tie. Unfortunately, due to the fixed rules, there is no strategy that can be employed to give a strong advantage to the player due to the fixed aspect of the game. The odds for the main three options in playing baccarat are fairly standard and are detailed below. The main advice to give, is never.

Bet on a "tie"; the house edge is just too strong for this play

When you play Baccarat you have three possible bets and the odds for those bets are shown below:

	Wager the Player Hand - house advantage of 1.29%.
	Wager the Bank Hand - house advantage of 1.01%.
	Wager on the Tie Hand - house advantage of 15.75%.

The house advantage basically shows that over a long run of games, the bankroll of the house will be slightly stronger than for the player. This is of course true with most casino games, but the house advantage of only 1.01% and the element of luck in any game, means there is still every chance of making money. These odds of 1.01% are after having to pay the casino commission of 5% on the bet, but the resulting odds are still only 1.01% in the houses favor after the commission. The "Tie" bet actually pays 9:1, which seems luring, but statistics show that overall the casino has over 15% advantage, so this is never a good play to make. Really, the only good bet in Baccarat is to bet on the Bank hand. Although, this may seem boring as the choices a player can make are limited, the small house advantage still makes this a good game to bet upon and enjoy the action.

Card decks and commission

As the odds table have shown, your chances of winning are dictated by choosing the best bets to make. You can lower the house advantage even further by looking for certain things. Namely, look around for casinos that use a lower number of card decks and also who offer a lower commission rate than 5%. If you can find a casino offering a six deck game with only 4% commission rate, this is already good. Then continue to bet on the banker hand, which has the very best odds.

Money management

Moving on from the general odds, it is essential to go into the game with some form of money management in mind. You must make the decision in advance of how much you can bet. I'm sure that you are well aware that many people approach the game and wager much more than they really have to spend. This is the way to go broker quickly and become disillusioned with the game. Rather follow some of the simple rules of basic money management, which will increase your potential and go easier on your pocket:

	Before you approach the Baccarat table, decide in advance what is the most you can afford to loose, if things go against you on that day.
	Keep the money for your betting separate from your other money and divide your wagering money between a certain number of rounds.
	Again decide in advance, that every time you win, you will pocket a percent of the winnings or pocket all. Then keep these winnings separate from your betting money.

For instance, imagine you were betting $750. You have decided to bet the $25 per round, which is the table limit. Each time you win, you put the winnings aside. After the completion of thirty rounds you have bet the equivalent of $750. This is what you decided you were going to risk in advance and any winnings you have are there for you to keep! Using this simple form of money management, you can stop yourself going broke, enjoy the thrill of playing for real money, and have the chance to walk away on top. You need discipline to do this, but following this type of strategy will definitely help you.

So, the best wager is always the "Banker's hand", bet on this, use sensible money management & may the luck be on your side!