Most people associate card counting with blackjack, which is understandable considering savvy gamblers have been using this technique to beat the game of twenty-one for over half a century. Blackjack is hardly the only casino game susceptible to this form of advantage play, however.
Baccarat is also countable but most gamblers are either unaware of this or consider counting the game a waste of time because it yields a shockingly low value when applied to the two base wagers (Player and Banker).
On the positive side of things, baccarat offers a proliferation of exploitable side bets that can produce better results in terms of long-term profits. But before we get there, let’s examine what makes baccarat susceptible to advantage play and what are the prerequisites for counting baccarat side wagers.
What Makes Baccarat Side Bets Susceptible to Card Counting?
Considering you are reading this, we take it you probably already know the basic rules of baccarat. If this is not the case, we suggest you go back and familiarize yourself with the card values, the main betting options, and the drawing tableau.
Back to the topic, advantage play opportunities arise with baccarat side bets due to several peculiarities inherent to this card game. We cover them briefly below.
Key Cards to Track When Counting Baccarat Side Bets
As we wrote earlier, baccarat side bets can potentially provide great opportunities for the advantage player because they are based on certain key cards. You stand better chances of placing a winning side bet if the remaining shoe is rich in those key cards.
The key cards differ depending on the type of side bet you are looking to place. Here are a couple of examples that come to mind.
Conclusion
Before you head over to your favorite online or landbased casino to test these strategies, we would like to remind you that they yield satisfactory results only when certain playing conditions have been met. You need sufficient enough penetration to earn healthy profits from counting side bets in baccarat.
The shallower the cut-card placement is, the less expected value you can anticipate in the long term. Do not bother attempting to count side bets at online live baccarat tables that use continuous shuffling machines as these give you no penetration whatsoever.