The game of baccarat is straightforward and it bears many similarities with blackjack, which explains why people tend to focus on the same winning strategies. Some believe that by counting cards they can decrease the already tiny house edge, but this is easier said than done in both online and traditional casinos. If you have even the slightest intention of attempting something like this, you should make sure that you choose your baccarat table depending on how many decks of cards are used. The odds are better if the decks of cards are less numerous, although the percentages themselves don’t look impressive.
For instance, if you play baccarat with eight decks of cards the house edge will be of 1.06%, but if you decrease the number to a single deck the edge also drops to 1.01%. The drop is insignificant, although on the long run it compounds and there is absolutely no reason to increase the house edge even by a fraction of a percent. When it comes to counting cards players are even more interested in playing with a single deck of cards, because when you have over 400 of them in play it is very difficult to keep track.
The similarities between baccarat and blackjack don’t stop here, but it is worth taking a look at the differences as well and draw some powerful conclusions. The player can bet on his own cards, the dealer’s or the tie, although the latter is not called a sucker bet for no reason. Betting on the banker is the safest way to make money, but you need to pay attention to the commission that the casino charges. The goal should be finding online casinos that have a fee of only 4% for betting on the banker, and anything that exceeds 5% should be avoided.