Play Live Dealer Baccarat

The game of Baccarat has been played for hundreds of years. It was popular with the French nobility during the early 19th century, and 150 years later it became the game of choice for James Bond. These days you can find games of Baccarat in every major online and offline casino, and here at Casino.com New Zealand you can also find a range of Live Dealer variants.

Whether you’re an experienced player looking to brush up the rules and features, or a brand-new player keen to learn the ropes, this Live Baccarat overview is for you.

• Number of Live Dealer Baccarat Games Available: 13+
• Platform: Playtech.
• Min-Max Bet Limits: $1 to $5,000.
• Watching Mode: Yes, you can watch games without betting.

There are several different Live Dealer Baccarat games at Casino.com New Zealand. All of these use the Punto Banco format and unlike games of Roulette and Blackjack, there aren’t that many differences with regards to rules, side bets, and additional features.

However, the aesthetic of these games, in addition to the accessibility options and stake levels, are all a little different. So, take a look at the table below, read the descriptions, and see which game appeals to your style and your preferences the most:

Live Dealer Baccarat offers a level of engagement and immersion that you won’t get from traditional games played against an automated dealer. This is the closest you can get to taking a seat at a real Baccarat table, only you don’t need to wear your Sunday best - you don’t even need to leave your home!

Live Dealer Baccarat can be played during a quiet night at home, on a train ride to work, and pretty much any other time you have a few minutes to spare. Take a look at these pros and cons to better understand how it compares to virtual Baccarat games, which you can do find at Casino.com NZ:

Pros

• Complete Immersion.
• A Real Dealer and Table.
• Other Players Can Join in.
• Fast Streams and High-Quality Cams.
• Chat with the Dealer and Players.

Cons

• Can be a Little Slower.
• Much More Personal.

There are three variants of Baccarat, but Punto Banco is by far the most common and the one you’ll find on all our Live Dealer Baccarat titles. Punto Banco translates as “Player Banker”, and the goal is bet on either one of these (or a “tie”). There are very few rules to learn and nothing too confusing.

Take a look at these Baccarat rules to learn all you need to play this game for yourself:

• The Layout: The Baccarat table uses a very simple layout. There are spaces for multiple players and in front of each one, there is an option for three different bets. If the game has any side bets then you’ll also see spaces to bet on each of these as well.
• The Values: The winning hand is the one that gets closest to 9. All cards are assigned a number based on their face value, with 10s and picture cards counting as 0. Once the cards are dealt, the total score is tallied and then the second digit is used to determine the final number. For instance, if a hand shows two 7s, that’s 14 in total, with a final score of 4.
• The Rules: There are three possible bets for every hand of Baccarat, with different odds for each. There is also an additional rule to consider.
  • Banker Bet: This bet returns the best odds of any Baccarat bet.
  • Player Bet: The odds for a player win are only slightly worse than a banker win.
  • Tie Bet: The Tie may seem like a sensible bet if you can’t decide between the Player or Banker, especially when you consider that it has a much higher payout. However, the odds for a tie are smaller than the two other bets and return a House Edge of more than 14%.
  • 3^rd Card Rule: Baccarat is played with two cards, which are dealt to both the player and the banker. However, there are also multiple occasions when a 3^rd card may be dealt to either player, such as when neither of them secures a score of 8 or 9.

There are three possible outcomes in a game of Baccarat: Player, Banker, and Tie. Generally speaking, the odds are 44.62% for the Player bet; 45.85% for the Banker, and 9.53% for the Tie. The Banker and the Player bets both return the same payouts, but the Tie offers a payout of around 8 to 1.

In simple terms, this means you get an 8:1 payout for something that has less than a 10:1 chance of occurring. This is why many players choose to avoid the Tie bet and focus on the Banker or Player bet. Once you take the Tie out of the equation then things begin to even out. On average, over the course of 100 Baccarat hands, there will be 51 Banker wins and 49 Player wins, once the Tie has been removed.

There is no guaranteed way to win in a game of Live Casino Baccarat. However, there are some strategies that can help you and some bets that have a much lower house edge than others. Take a look at these three top strategies for playing at Casino.com NZ:

Betting on the Banker

The Banker returns the best odds. These odds can differ slightly from game variant to game variant, but they are nearly always above an RTP of 98.5% and regardless of the type of game or the rules it uses, this bet will return better odds than the Player or Tie alternatives.

This is why many Baccarat players often choose to bet on the Banker, only switching to the Player on occasion to add a little variety to their play.

Avoid the Tie

A player can switch between the Banker bet and Player bet at will and still return good odds. However, the same can’t be said for the Tie, which is why most players avoid it and all strategies recommend staying away. It may return the highest possible win in a game of Baccarat, but it also returns the highest odds.

To put this into perspective, the RTP for a Tie bet in a game of Baccarat is lower than the odds of winning with any Blackjack, Roulette, or Poker bet, and it’s also lower than the bets used in many variants of Craps, Sic Bo, and other popular Online casino games nz.

Bankroll Carefully

Whatever system you use and however you approach the game, you need to make sure that you always budget carefully and keep your bankroll under control. We have a number of tools that can help you with this, including deposit limits, self-exclusions, and an extensive guide with details on how to spot and stop problem gambling.

Generally speaking, if you start losing more money than you intended to, if you start getting angry and chasing your losses, or if your gambling is impacting your life, you may have a problem and should look to address it. Baccarat is about having fun, and as soon as it stops being fun and starts affecting your life then it’s time to call it a day.

Casino.com NZ utilises the Eurolive platform, which was developed by Playtech and is regarded as one of the best and most trusted platforms in the industry. Eurolive provides all Casino.com NZ players with a wide selection of Live Dealer NZ online Casino games, all of which are streamed live from high-tech studios across Europe.

Eurolive ensures that every player can benefit from a fast stream, a crystal-clear cam connection, and a range of fun games.

Baccarat isn’t a complicated game, but if you’re new to it you may still find yourself struggling with some of the nuances, especially with the more unique variants. In such cases, simply use one of the following help options to get the assistance you need.

1. In-Game Files: There are help files available on all Casino.com NZ games. These files can show you everything from the Pay table and jackpot to the rules and more. If you have a question pertaining to the game and the way that it is played, you should be able to find it here.
2. Chat: Live Casino games often feature a chat box that you can use to talk with the other players and the dealer. There is a certain casino etiquette at play here, but you’re free to use this feature to ask questions and get some clarity on the things you’re not sure about.
3. Support Team: If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the game itself, then our customer support team may be able to help. They can answer any technical or account-related questions that you have and can be contacted via Live Chat, phone and email at any time of the day.

There is always a bonus to collect and a promotion to enjoy for players based in New Zealand at Casino.com NZ. One of the biggest of these, our Welcome Package, is offered to all new players. Just sign up, make a deposit, and if you meet the qualifying criteria then you can get bonus credits that you can use to play slots, table games, and even games of Live Casino Baccarat.

To see what bonuses are available right now, click onto our Promotions and our Casino Bonuses pages.

Once you’ve had your fill of Baccarat, you can test your skills in several other live dealer games. There are multiple variants of Live Hold’em Poker and Live Blackjack, games that rival even Baccarat for its popularity and history; and you’ll also find a large selection of Live Roulette titles, with French, American, European, and Multi-Table versions all available.

These games can be enjoyed on mobile and desktop and are available to all Casino.com NZ players.

From the early days, when it was played in opulent palaces by French nobility, to the 1960s, when it began to make its way into Las Vegas casinos and was popularized by James Bond, the game of Baccarat has captured the attention of the gaming public. It always manages to draw a crowd and Live Dealer Baccarat variants are no exception.

The best of these variants can all be found in the Casino.com NZ games room, alongside a host of other table games and hundreds of top slots. If you don’t have an account, then sign up today and take advantage of our Welcome Package. This is the perfect stepping stone to introduce you to Casino.com NZ.