When we say “Baccarat” you think of Monte Carlo, the high rollers, sparkling drinks, and piles of cash. No? Ok, but you should, because Baccarat is among the most profitable casino games. Above all, it allows for one of the top gambling skills – card counting. Yes, there are feasible strategies and counting cards is one of them. But before you start counting, you should get acquainted with the game basics. To do so, we invite you to browse our blog and the Baccarat tips, tricks, and basics. As for the specific Baccarat card counting strategy, keep on reading.
Baccarat Card Counting in Short
If you are a fan of Blackjack, for example, you may have already tried card counting, but haven’t managed to bring down the house. The counting in these two games has certain differences, although the principle is similar. Let’s take a brief look at this skill.
Baccarat card counting, the same as counting in Blackjack, is a skill which may not be easy to attain. However, it is not impossible to become great at it. You will need a lot of practice, though.
The first thing you should learn is that there are a few techniques in Baccarat card counting. As you advance in your skills you will be able to choose the one that suits you best. By far the most popular technique rests on simple arithmetic. As you can guess, depending on the card value you will be either subtracting, or adding 1 or 2 or simply – do nothing at all. So, this is how to apply Baccarat card counting technique:
- When the shoe starts, you begin the count with zero.
- Should the Ace, two or three appear – you add 1 to the count
- Four calls for 2 added to the count
- When you see 5, 7, or 8 coming out of the shoe, you should subtract 1 from the count
- If a 6 comes out of the shoe, subtract 2
- As for the cards with the value of 9, 10, J, Q, and K – zero should be added, or in other words no mental action is required.
And here is the extra tip: divide the tally by the number of the decks remaining in the shoe. This allows you to see the true count, according to which you will be deciding on whether to raise the stakes. The lower number of the remaining decks, the higher the true count, which signals increasing the bet.
Baccarat card counting requires that you make mental notes. As the cards come and go, you should practice your grey cells and keep mental record of the cards and their score. How hard can it be, right?
How is This Different from Blackjack Card Counting?
Although counting cards in Baccarat and Blackjack seem similar, there are some key differences. For example, in Blackjack players favour low-value cards coming out of the shoe. In Baccarat, things are not that simple. A natural is the hand of two cards worth the 9. But there will be no bigger payout for the natural.
Many claim that all this makes Baccarat card counting less profitable than counting while playing Blackjack. However, if you manage to master this skill of card counting, you will definitely experience advantages comparing to the gameplay with no strategy in place.
To Ante Up or Not?
The question of all questions. When is the time to raise the stakes? Luckily, in Baccarat card counting the rule is simple. As explained above, it says: When the true count increases, raise the bet.
So, if you have done the previous steps correctly, when the time comes to ante up, take a deep breath. You are few steps away from the winning moment.
What About the Negative Count?
In Baccarat card counting, the absolute value of the count is what we are looking at. Therefore, in case your count goes into the negative part of the scale, but the number is high, it is time to bet more money. The pros say that the reason is that soon after this, the total must equalize. In other words, the statistics will be on your side.
Is Baccarat Card Counting Mathematically Based?
Have you ever heard of Dr Edward Thorpe? The man is the mastermind who laid the foundation of many casino games’ strategies. Back in the 60ies he published the first work on card counting which caused a lot of interest and continue to be the talked-about topic in gambling circles.
His original idea was that a player should start with zero and keep adding +4 for low-value cards and -9 for high value cards. Again, the higher the count, the bigger the bet should be. Contrary to the nowadays widely accepted rule, he claimed that if the count goes towards zero or negative numbers, a playerf should bet less.
Expectedly, this strategy was destined to go through several revisions, because it was originally applied to single-deck games only. The situation changes significantly when more decks come into play. It is important to note that Thorpe’s strategy inspired others to develop their own card counting systems which many use today.
There is no time to waste, people, because time is money, as we all know. Invest your time into practice and see if the counting strategy works. Good luck!
