The Different Types Of Baccarat Player from Onatrio Can Enjoy

The provincial government of Ontario recently opened the province up for online casinos all over the world, and this has paved the way for online casino newbies to try out some of the fantastic offerings. 

Now that online gambling is legal in Ontario, as of April 2022, many Canadians have been flocking to the top Ontario online casinos that are available to players residing in that province. One game that will be on offer is the mysterious online Baccarat. This often misunderstood game has a reputation for being quite complex. We’re here today to dispel that myth and gain some insight some of the most popular versions of the games, whilst maybe throwing a few tips in there for good measure. Let’s get to it!

The Different Types of Baccarat

Players can find different variations of Baccarat whilst searching around online casinos - all of them carry the same main principle though - betting on whether the banker's hand or the player's hand will be closer to 9. Each variation of the game will have small rule tweaks and added bets thrown into the pot - here are some of the most played versions:

3 Card Baccarat

This version of Baccarat is played with a single, 52-card playing deck. The rules for scoring are very similar to Blackjack, with cards being the numerical value and face cards being assigned the value of 0. 

In this version though, hands with 3 face cards are awarded the highest payout, followed by a score of exactly 9. A score of exactly 9 is awarded the highest payout in almost all the other versions. If the round ends in a draw, then whoever has the most face cards in their hand wins.

Punto Banco

Punto Banco is one of the most popular variations of Baccarat due to its almost identical ruleset and features of traditional Blackjack - Some people even refer to the main game of Baccarat by the name Punto Banco. The game is played with 6 decks, each deck having a full 52 cards. 

Punto Banco offers a very small house edge and is played with the standard set Baccarat rules we laid out above - betting on whether the dealer's hand or the player's hand will be closest to 9.

Baccarat Banque

Rising to popularity in casinos all across Europe, some Canadian online casinos are starting to have this version of the game in their game library. It has a wider scope of play than the Punto Banco version, allowing players to play as the banker whilst only using 3 decks. If players elect to play as the banker, then they can only wager on themselves to win, making the game a bit more strategic.

Chemin De Fer

The most popular variation to play in the country that birthed Baccarat, France, Chemin de Fer changes things up yet again. Here, players can again play as the banker - but also adds in competitive play where the banker can play against other gamblers who are sitting at the table.

Mini Baccarat

This variation of Baccarat shares almost all of the rules and features of Punto Banco aka regular Baccarat. But as the name implies, it’s just a smaller version of the game. 

In land-based casinos, the table is made smaller so there are fewer players. In online versions of Baccarat, this Mini version often has the lowest betting limits. As you can probably imagine, this version of the game is incredibly popular thanks to the simple rules and low wagers.

What is The Best Strategy For Baccarat?

In any version of Baccarat, your best bet is to bet on the banker. This strategy is statistically the best due to the fact these banker bets have a house edge of only 1.06% - it’s so small in fact that casinos have to take a small commission on banker bets to make sure they still make some money!

The main bet to avoid is the tie bet. The house edge is so bad on these bets - almost 15% - that many players refer to them as ‘sucker bets’.

Conclusion

Being the game that James Bond played in Casino Royale, Baccarat is quite a popular but often misunderstood table game. Many of the newest online casinos in Ontario will have different versions of this game to be enjoyed no matter if you’re playing on your iPad to android phone. All of these versions come with rewarding gameplay, unique features and a decent house edge - what’s not to love?