Baccarat Strategies

Baccarat is a game of chance. There is no skill and while strategies may help you in deciding how to bet, there is no strategy that really works for Baccarat. For example, while card counting may work for Black Jack, and get you kicked out and barred from a casino, it does not work for Baccarat as the cards are added back to the shoe a majority of the time. Card counting may cause you more harm then good by throwing you off the rules. While there are several strategies listed on gambling websites, the 2 common betting strategies are the 1-3-2-6 option and the Martingale thought system.

The Martingale thought system is system where you double your bet every time you lose, so you make up your losses. This is the simplest of systems, but there are a couple problems with this system. You will need a large cash budget in case you have a long losing stream. Also, most casinos have a maximum bet which will stop a player from doubling their bets indefinitely.

The 1-3-2-6 strategy is a strategy where you track your bets for four rounds of Baccarat game. First round you bet 1 unit, if you win, you add one unit to your winnings to equal 3 units. If this round wins, you will have 6 units and you take away 4 units and bet 2 units on the 3rd round. If you win again, you will add 2 units and therefore bet 6 units on the 4th round. If you win this 4th round you will see a profit of at least 12 units. The unit or amount of the bet is insignificant. Well we know that you are not always going to win. If you lose the first round, you only lose one unit. Say you win the first round and then lose the second round; you are only down 2 units since one of the 3 units is your winnings from the first round. Say you don't lose until the 3rd round, since you are up to 6 units at the end of the second round and you lose 2 units, you are still up 4 units. Now if you don't lose until round 4, you are actually at break even since you only lost the 6 units won in the previous rounds. While this strategy will not increase your winning rate, it is touted to lower your losses and allow bigger wins.

Other popular, but less frequently used systems include the Reverse Martingdale, D'Alembert, Reverse D'Alembert and progressive betting. With the Reverse Martingdale instead of doubling your bet when you lose like in the Martingdale system, you double your bet when you win. D'Alembert system is where you raise your bet by a fixed amount when you lose and lower our bet by the same fixed amount when you win. As you may have already guessed, the Reverse D'Alembert you do just the opposite from the D'Alembert. With progressive betting you begin with an initial fixed bet and each time you win, you increase your current bet by the initial amount. Conversely, each time you lose you will decrease your current bet by the initial amount. As far as these systems are concerned, there are just as many websites that say they won't work, as there are that recommend them.

All this may sound confusing to a new player, but after practicing, it is not as difficult as it appears. Obviously, whichever strategy you use of the ones listed above, you will need to also track your progress. Remember to check for casino limits and maximums, and to stay within your budget. Of course, the most important rule is to have fun.