Baccarat Betting Systems: Do These Strategies Work?

Regardless of what casino game you want to play, you’re bound to find a clutch of websites peddling betting systems and strategies, and baccarat isn’t any different. You’ll find that many of the baccarat betting systems are the same as those applied to blackjack.

However, while you can, in theory, optimise your play in blackjack through practices like basic strategy, baccarat systems are at a much greater disadvantage because the card game runs on pure luck. The house edge remains persistent, and so, there aren’t any solid baccarat betting systems.

Regardless, you’ll find each of the most commonly-sought baccarat betting systems detailed below. This is for your information only, and Casino.com does not recommend using baccarat strategies in real-money games.

What are Baccarat Betting Systems?

Baccarat betting systems offer a standardised way of increasing or decreasing your wager based on if your bet wins or loses. These baccarat strategies are essentially just tools for payroll management and bet scaling, but are always subject to the house edge and pure randomisation. For genuine tips we recommend the post from expert Eliot Jacobson on optimal strategy for baccarat.

What is the baccarat Martingale system?

The baccarat Martingale system is a positive progression betting system that sees you double your wager after each loss on even-money – or near even-money – bets. (We take a closer look at the precise odds of winning in another chapter of our guide). In baccarat, you back either the Player or the Banker with the same value of wager each time; if you lose, you double the bet. You keep doubling until you win.

Here’s an example of the baccarat Martingale system in action:

The basis of the baccarat Martingale system is to recover from a loss with ever-increasing wagers. As you can see in the perfectly viable example above, losses quickly equate to large bets. As for applying this as one of the baccarat strategies, it should also be noted that a Banker win is also subject to the five per cent commission.

Many wonder whether using the baccarat Martingale system is any different to using it in blackjack. With baccarat, you get to pick between Player or Banker each time. In Blackjack, you can only bet on your hand, but you can skip one or more hands – the same way you can at a live baccarat table.

What is the Baccarat Paroli System?

The baccarat Paroli system is a positive progression betting system that works in the opposite way to the baccarat Martingale system. This is one of the baccarat strategies that aims to capitalise on a potential winning streak, with you doubling your bet with each successive win.

However, unlike with the Martingale system, using Paroli as one of your baccarat betting systems puts the onus on your judgement. A Martingale run ends positively with a win, but Paroli only ends positively if you cash out before a losing outcome occurs.

Here is an example of the baccarat Paroli system being used – keep in mind that Banker wins charge a five per cent commission:

In the example above, there are actually many more wins than losses, but because they didn’t cash out after a three-bet winning streak, it took another two wins to climb back into a net positive. The use of Paroli as one of your baccarat systems is entirely dependent on ending your winning streak before the luck of the draw does.

Paroli is used in the same way as a choice of baccarat betting strategies as it is in blackjack. As with the Martingale system, the main difference in its use between the two card games is that in baccarat, you can bet on Banker or Player, while in blackjack, you can only back the cards that you’re dealt.

What is the Baccarat Labouchere System?

The baccarat Labouchere system is one of following a sequence of numbers to create your bet in each round, with the aim being to complete the sequence. After you have your sequence of numbers, you combine the first and last to form your bet and then scratch those numbers off if the bet wins.

The caveat of the baccarat Labouchere system is that when you lose a bet, you need to add that bet’s value onto the end of the sequence. If you choose a particularly aggressive sequence, the size of the bets required to finish the sequence can quickly add up as you can only cross numbers off with a win.

Using a standard consecutive sequence of numbers from one to five, here’s an example of how the opening rounds of the baccarat Labouchere system can run:

• Start with a sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Bet £6 (1+5) on either Banker or Player
• It wins, so scratch 1 and 5 from the sequence to leave 2, 3, 4
• Bet £6 (2+4) on either Banker or Player
• It loses, so add 6 to the end of the sequence, leaving 2, 3, 4, 6
• Bet £8 (2+6) on either Banker or Player
• It loses, so add 8 to the end of the sequence, leaving 2, 3, 4, 6, 8
• Continue until you win enough bets to erase the sequence

The idea of the Labouchere system on even-odds games like baccarat is that completing the sequence will double your bankroll. As is the pitfall for all baccarat betting systems, wins on Banker lose five per cent, so the two options aren’t exactly even-money payouts.

What is the Baccarat Fibonacci System?

The baccarat Fibonacci system sees you following an established series of numbers that you treat as betting units, moving along the sequence when you lose and restarting when you win. It lends itself as one of the popular baccarat betting systems because the game has even-money betting, which the sequence relies on.

This is because the Fibonacci Sequence, which this baccarat strategy is based on, sees each consecutive number become the sum of the two that came before. It reads 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, and so on. With it being a negative progression system, it aims to recover losses through this method.

Taking the baccarat Fibonacci system by applying the same valued units to the sequence’s numbers, here’s how it can play out:

• Bet £1 on Player and win
• Bet £1 on Banker and lose
• Bet £1 on Player and lose
• Bet £2 on Player and lose
• Bet £3 on Banker and lose
• Bet £5 on Player and win
• Start the sequence again and bet £1 on Banker

Applying the baccarat Fibonacci system, and indeed the Labouchere system, is very much the same here as it is in blackjack, but with more betting options in baccarat. Fibonacci and Labouchere are negative progression systems, so by comparison to the Martingale, you don’t tend to lose as quickly – but it’s still hard to make a profit if your bets don’t keep winning.

Should I use any of the Baccarat Betting Systems?

Every single one of the baccarat betting systems is based on the idea that you’ll either go on a winning or losing streak, or that a streak will come to an end. However, what they don’t factor in is the house edge of 1.06 on a Banker bet and 1.24 on a Player bet. As baccarat strategies, they’re always at the mercy of the five per cent Banker commission and the chance for a tie.

Based on the above, Casino.com does not recommend using these systems and none of them are a fast-track to becoming a big winner. It’s also important to always be sure to implement a stop loss – such as 50 per cent of your bankroll – as well as a unit cap in profit to stop on.