
Calling all live baccarat fans because we have a tell-all guide that explains all the ins and outs of this table game. We’ve gone through how to play baccarat, why it’s popular, and tips for playing this game.
And that’s not all; we’ve also included the best sweepstakes casinos to play live baccarat as well as other table games. Baccarat is one of the most sought-after table games mainly because of its simplicity, which makes it ideal for beginner and seasoned players. And thanks to its popularity, many major social casinos have the game available.
It’s only right we begin this guide by delving into how to play live baccarat online.
Baccarat is a popular table game on sweepstakes casinos that involves one trying to guess which hand – the dealer’s or the player’s – will have cards that are closer to nine. If you’ve played live blackjack, you’ll probably find these rules familiar.
The cards used to play baccarat have assigned values:
That being said, let’s get straight into how to play live baccarat.
I mentioned earlier that baccarat involves trying to predict which hand between the dealer’s and player’s hand will have cards whose values add to 9 without going over. Well, you can also predict that both hands will tie. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to play this game:
This is how a game round in live baccarat ends. However, there are some circumstances that may occur during the game that you still need to take note of.
For starters, it’s important to point out that if a player or dealer’s hand has cards whose values add to more than nine, then the first digit of the value is dropped, and the second one becomes the final value of the cards. For instance, if the player’s hand has cards whose value adds up to 10, then the 1 will be dropped, and the final value of the cards will be 0.
Now, if the player’s hand value is between 0-5, the dealer will give them a third card. On the other hand, if the player’s hand value is 6 or 7, they stand and do not take a third card.
The dealer also gets a third if the values of their first two cards add up to 0-5. The dealer stands if their hand value is 6 or 7.
In the event the player gets a third card, the dealer also gets a third card. However, this depends on what the value of the player’s third card is. To understand better how this works, let’s look at it from the dealer’s hand value with the first two cards:
While this may look a bit complex, baccarat is quite a simple table card game to play.
Now that we’ve gone through how to play live baccarat let’s talk a bit about why it’s one of the go-to table card games for many table card game fans.
Baccarat is famous for being one of the easiest table card games to play. The simplicity of live baccarat is what makes it highly popular, especially among beginners.
Another reason baccarat is popular is that it has a low house edge percentage of about 1% depending on the hand you’ve selected. This means the odds of winning are high.
Many table game enthusiasts prefer baccarat because it only involves the dealer and the player, unlike other table games, like roulette which involves several players. This removes the pressure of competing against other players.
Baccarat also has shorter game rounds, which makes it a more interesting game to play.
Let’s now get into some valuable tips for playing this casino game.
The most important tip for playing and winning live baccarat is understanding its gameplay and rules. While this game is pretty simple, not knowing how it works and its rules will make it difficult for you to play. Luckily, we’ve already gone through all you need to know about how to play baccarat and its rules.
This is probably the most popular tip for winning live baccarat. Choosing the dealer’s or the player’s hand is considered better as they have low house edge percentages.
The dealer’s hand has about 1.04% house edge percentage, while the player’s hand has about a 1.24% house edge percentage, which means the odds of these two hands winning are high. However, when it comes to the dealer’s hand, which is the best with the lowest house edge percentage, there’s another important factor to consider: the dealer’s commission.
The dealer’s commission is a percentage the casino deducts from your payout when the dealer’s bet wins (assuming you bet on the dealer’s hand). This commission is usually 5%. However, a good number of sweepstakes casinos offer no-commission live baccarat games, which don’t impose the 5% commission on the dealer’s bet.
This brings us to our next tip: hold off on predicting a tie. While a tie bet has a higher payout compared to the dealer and player hands, it has a high house edge percentage of about 14%. So, it’s best to pass on this option as much as you can.
If you’ve played online live casino games, you must have heard about or even tried the popular casino strategies. They include the martingale strategy, Fibonacci strategy, and D’Alembert strategy, to name a few.
These strategies may be effective, but it’s still best to be careful when using them to play baccarat or any other table game to avoid incurring huge losses.
Social casinos may give you tons of free virtual currencies, but their supply is still limited. You won’t be able to keep playing if you have no Gold Coins or Sweepstakes Coins left. Not without making an optional GC purchase, at least.
It’s also best to decide in advance how many baccarat game rounds you’re going to play.
Once you’ve decided, stick to those rounds and stop when they’re over, whether you’ve won or lost. This will prevent you from chasing losses, leaving you frustrated.
Sweepstakes casino sites work a little different from regular online casinos. Instead of using real money, these sites have virtual currencies, that is, Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins that players use to play games, including baccarat. Here’s a brief breakdown of how these virtual currencies work:
While Sweepstakes Coins aren’t purchasable, they can be redeemed for cash prizes. However, it’s important to note that only the Sweeps Coins that have been won through gameplay can be redeemed for prizes, including cash prizes. It’s also important to note that most sweepstakes casinos have a minimum Sweepstakes Coin limit when it comes to prize redemption.
Now that you know the basics of sweepstake baccarat, here are some recommendations on the best sweepstakes casinos to play baccarat online live as well as other live table games:
We consider Stake.us one of the best brands in the US sweepstakes casino industry for its comprehensive gaming experience. This sweepstakes casino has extensive features that make it an excellent alternative for players in states where online gambling is restricted.
Stake.us has a massive game library of over 1,200 games, ranging from slots to scratch card games, instant-win games, and, of course, table games, like live baccarat. We also like that Stake.us has several baccarat variations, giving players the benefit of choice.
Stake.us is popular for being very generous with its bonuses. This brand has a great selection of bonus offers that provide more than enough free Gold Coins and Stake Cash (Sweepstakes Coins) to play games like baccarat for free. We especially liked its sign-up bonus of 260,000 GC, 55 Stake Cash, and a 5% rakeback bonus, which you can get when you use our exclusive code JAXONSOCIAL during sign-up.
Stake.us is currently available in 43 US states.
MegaBonanza is one of the new sweepstakes casinos that has won over many players for its solid features. This sweepstakes casino has over 1,000 casino-style games, including slots, Slingo games, and a number of live table games. While MegaBonanza’s live table game selection doesn’t include live baccarat, it does have great alternatives, like live dealer roulette, blackjack, and poker.
MegaBonanza also offers its players some pretty decent bonuses, like its welcome bonus of 7,500 GC and 2.5 SC.
MegaBonanza is currently available in 36 states in the US.
RealPrize is another new sweepstakes casino that offers quite a decent casino gaming experience. The site has a little over 300 games, which isn’t much compared to other sweepstakes casinos, but it’s still a decent selection. RealPrize Casino’s game collection includes slots, instant-win games, bingo, and table games, mainly poker. It has several poker versions like video poker and Texas Hold’em poker, which are decent alternatives to baccarat.
RealPrize also offers decent bonuses, like its sign-up bonus offering 100,000 GC and 2 SC.
RealPrize is currently available in 45 states in the US.
Before we wrap things up, here’s a summary of our top 3 sweepstakes casinos for playing live baccarat and other table games.
🎯 Sweepstakes casino | 🎱 Number of games | 🎴 Offers live baccarat? |
Stake.us | 1,200+ | Yes |
MegaBonanza | 1,000+ | No, but has alternatives such as, live roulette, blackjack, and poker |
RealPrize | 300+ | No, but has alternatives such as video poker and Texas Hold’em Poker |
That’s all for our guide on live baccarat. We hope this guide has explained everything you need to know about playing live baccarat. All you need to do now is join a sweepstakes casino offering baccarat and enjoy playing this fantastic table game.
Once again, keep in mind the tips we’ve discussed in this guide, enabling you to play this game even better. And if you’re giving Stake.us a try, remember to use code JAXONSOCIAL at sign up to unlock the special welcome bonus.
When playing baccarat, the end goal is to predict which hand of cards will have the highest value without going over 9, or predict that they will tie.
Yes, baccarat is one of the easiest table games to learn and play. As we’ve explained in the guide, the game has three prediction options and two hands, which makes the game simple.
You cannot win real money playing baccarat at sweepstakes casinos. However, you can win Sweepstakes Coins that you can later redeem for cash prizes once you meet the playthrough and minimum balance requirements.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.