Most of us have heard, read, or have been told why you cannot win at baccarat because of the house edge and that because of the house edge the casino will always win.
So, what exactly is the house edge? Is it really as powerful as people say it is? Does it affect you every time you play baccarat? Can it be overcome?
Let’s start by understanding the house edge in baccarat based on an 8-deck shoe.
The 3 primary bets will have the following house edge:
BANKER : 1.06%
PLAYER : 1.24%
TIE : 14.36%
Now then…
If you walked into the casino today with say $500 as your bankroll to play baccarat for a few hours, chances are you will either lose a good chunk, if not all, of that bankroll OR you come out with some winnings. Under these circumstances, regardless of the outcome, the house edge would have had absolutely minimal impact.
If you lose the $500, do you think it is because of the house edge? Not at all. You lost because you had poor bet selection that resulted in more losing bets than winning bets.
If you left a winner, say with $800, did you make the $300 profit because you beat the house edge? I guess you can say you did but primarily the reason was that you picked more winners than losers without even sparing a thought about the house edge!
Essentially, in short-term play, the house edge can be safely ignored. The house edge does not affect an individual’s play that much in short-term play to cause you to lose your bankroll.
As far as the casino is concerned, they are not deriving their income from you individually – they have to look at the big picture and take ALL bets into consideration on all baccarat tables in the casino and that is where they consistently make the established house edge.
If you believe that the house edge actually affects your outcome on each visit to the casino, then you might as well not bother playing baccarat anymore except for the entertainment value it gives you.
Professional baccarat players do not care much about the house edge – they know they do not need to mathematically beat the odds in order to make money playing baccarat.
So what is their secret?
The answer is “Superior Bet Selection”.
If you are able to pick more winners than losers during each session of baccarat to secure your session target, the house edge cannot touch you or affect your session play in any significant manner at all. So do not play with the fear that the house edge will somehow get you! That’s absolute garbage.
All the eBooks published here are focused on helping you with better bet selection strategies and when you combine that with a sound money management strategy, you will be able to make money consistently playing baccarat and not worry that the house edge will eventually get you. It will not!
Superior bet selection will trump house edge any day!