Online Casino Baccarat Games in India

There are plenty of great games that you can find across online casinos in India, and baccarat is one of them. This title has very simple rules and straightforward gameplay with one of the lowest house edges in the industry, meaning you have high chances of winning. Before you start playing this game, we recommend you read this article until the full stop to learn more about baccarat, its rules, main variations, and other important aspects.

Baccarat Standard Rules

One of the most popular baccarat games is the American version, or Punto Banco. Therefore, hereinafter we are going to refer to this variation as the basic one. The titles are played with six or eight decks of cards. This rule is relevant for all the variations that you can come across, including those that you can play in land-based casinos.

If you are new to baccarat, below you can find the main steps that the game process includes:

1. First and foremost, you need to place a bet on one of the hands that you think will win the round. Later, you will learn that there are three main types of bets that you can choose from.
2. The croupier deals two cards to the player and two cards to the banker. Later, the cards are turned over.
3. Each hand of cards is calculated. If one wins, the game stops. Otherwise, the game allows a player to ask for another card to be dealt.
4. The main idea of this table game is to bet on a hand with a value of nine. The hand having the closest value wins.

Card Values in Baccarat

Before you start playing the game, you should also learn the card values. It should be mentioned, that baccarat for real money is a very simple game and the card values are very easy to remember:

1. Cards from 2 to 9. These are cards that have their face value. If a hand gets five hearts, it gets five points.
2. Ten and face cards. All of these cards have 0 value, i.e., if a hand gets a ten, Jack, Queen, or even King, it adds no value at all.
3. Aces of all suits. Aces are worth one point.

It should be mentioned that baccarat is a game with some interesting and strange features. Unlike blackjack, where you can have 22 or more and lose a round, in baccarat, a hand can’t have more than 9. If it has a combination of 6 and 9, for instance, it makes 15 in total, but only the last digit is taken into calculations, meaning the hand has 5. As for suits, they are not taken into consideration.

Additional Activities

In addition to all the abovementioned, you can also choose whether to draw a third card or to stand. If you choose to draw a third card, it will be added to both hands. If you choose to stand, no additional cards are dealt to both hands, and the game continues with two cards in each hand.

With all these additional rules in mind, you can easily understand how the game flow takes place. If a player’s hand has five or fewer, you can draw a third card. If the player’s hand has six or even seven, you need to stand.

When it comes to the banker’s hand, it depends on what action will take place on the player’s hand. Meaning, if the player’s hand is dealt a card (in a draw situation), the banker’s hand will also receive an additional card. On the other hand, if the player’s hand stands, the banker’s hand will also stand.

Types of Bets in Baccarat

When you know the basic game flow, it is time to dive deeper and see what type of bets you can make when playing this game. When playing baccarat, there are three types of bets that you can deal with. In addition, there are also several side bets that we will also describe further in this article.

First, we are going to describe the player’s bet. When betting on this hand, you expect it to get a value that will be closer or equal to nine. If it happens, you win. For instance, if you bet on the player’s hand and it receives 8, while the banker’s hand receives 7, you win. The player’s hand pays 1:1 as the house edge on this type of bet is 1.24%, which is slightly higher than the house edge on the banker’s hand.

If you bet on the banker’s hand, things are going almost the same way except for the payouts. Betting on the banker’s side will give you better expectations when it comes to winnings. The house edge in this case is 1.06%. When it comes to a single deck game, the house edge is even lower.

You might think that this is the Holy Grail of this game. However, if you choose to bet on the banker’s hand when playing an online baccarat game, you will pay a 5% commission. With such a commission, the casino also equals the chances.

The last type of standard bet is called a “tie”. With its huge eight-to-one payout, this type of bet is considered the most attractive among players. However, a tie situation is very rare, as both hands should have equal value. The house edge in this case is 14.44% when you play a six-deck game. Your chances will be slightly higher if you choose an eight-deck baccarat table.

Side Bets in Baccarat

Along with the main types of bets that you can place when you are at baccarat tables, there are some other bets that are available in most versions of this game. The list of side bets that you can find in most online casinos includes:

1. Big and Small bets. This type of stake is available when you bet on whether the banker or player will hit or stand. If the player stands, this means that there will be four cards on the table in total. Therefore, the small bet wins. However, if the player hits, meaning he or she wants a third card to be delivered, then there will be more than four cards in total on the table and the Big bet wins.
2. Dragon Bonus. This type of bet allows you to win on the disparity between the two hands. The higher this disparity is, the more you can win at the end. The disparity may reach 8 points, which will give you the highest reward.
3. Even or Odd. You can also bet on whether the result of two hands will be odd or even.

You can also find a pair bet on most gambling sites. The idea of this bet is to guess whether a player’s or a banker’s hand will have a matching pair. You can also bet on them both having the matching pair. There is no difference in the exact value the cards will have. Moreover, suit does not matter in this type of baccarat bet. Therefore, if you are betting on a pair, you will see if there are two matching values when the cards are dealt. This type of stake can bring you 11:1, which is a relatively high payout. However, you should never forget that the house edge of this type of bet is significantly higher.

Baccarat Variations

There are a lot of variations of baccarat that you can find across various casino sites. Some of them are very popular, while the others are rare. We are going to describe the most interesting of them below.

Mini Baccarat

This is one of the most popular baccarat variations. The dealer handles all of the activities in this game, and the player only has to place bets. This is an excellent opportunity for novice gamblers to try this game. Mini baccarat is played on a small table with only seven players that can join it. Another feature of this game is the size of bets. Unlike classic baccarat variations, online gambling sites allow you to play with a smaller stake amount.

What makes this game really popular with players is the fast-paced gameplay and simplicity. Gamblers only choose bets and follow the outcomes.

Three Card Baccarat

This is another version of the popular card game. In Three Card Baccarat, you are going to play with a single 52-card deck. As you can guess from its name, the round starts with three cards dealt to each hand. The value of all cards is the same, meaning if you have face cards they are worth zero. Numerical cards have their face value.

When you have a hand of three face cards, you have the highest value, which is different from the classic baccarat game, where such a combination is worth nothing. The next opportunity to win is to score nine. If the player and the banker have a tie, the hand with more face cards wins.

Baccarat Banque

This game is very popular in Europe. It is played with three 52-card decks and allows you to act as a banker. Unlike the Chemin de Fer variation, in Baccarat Banque you can’t play against the others or cover their bets. They also have to wager on the banker’s side.

Other players mostly bet on the player’s hand. However, the game variation allows other gamblers to bet against the banker’s hand. A player who wins can act as a banker during the next round.

Chemin de Fer

In this game, you can fully act as a bank, meaning you can play against other gamblers. This game is played on a table with up to 14 rivals. This variation of the game is mostly found in land-based offline casinos.

Punto Banco

This version of baccarat is mostly played in online casinos. We can say that Punto Blanco is considered a traditional game where the whole process is driven by the dealer. This means that your responsibilities are limited to placing bets.

If you compare Punto Banco to Mini Baccarat, you will see that the first uses three dealers, while the latter is played with one croupier only. The idea of the game is to guess which hand has a value that is close to nine.

Live vs RNG-Based Baccarat

One of the advantages of online casinos is that you can choose between playing baccarat against a live dealer and, therefore, live rivals, or enjoying the game against the computer. Live versions of baccarat look very attractive as they allow you to feel the atmosphere of land-based casinos when you stay in the comfort of your own home.

Moreover, when playing live, you can interact and communicate with the dealer, which makes it look even more like you are visiting one of these famous offline gambling sites.

RNG-based baccarat is played against a computer. RNG means random number generator, a special function that defines everything in this game, from card dealing to round results.

One of the advantages of playing RNG-based baccarat is that you don’t need to wait for free places. You can join any table at any time and enjoy your favorite card game. Another benefit of playing random number baccarat is that you can try it for free using a special demo mode.

Baccarat Bonuses in Online Casinos

Most gambling sites in India, as well as their rivals that offer services worldwide, provide gamblers with special rewards called bonuses. These are promotions that allow you to receive additional money that you can spend on various games, including baccarat.

Casino bonuses can be of various types. The most popular and lucrative are welcome promotions that allow you to grab 100% of your initial deposit amount and even more.

Apart from the welcome promotion, you can also enjoy various reload bonuses that are offered by most online casinos. They always come in smaller amounts, but they are still very attractive as you can receive additional funds while playing your favorite games.

Author: Varuun Singhan