Low-stakes bets in online baccarat can keep you playing for a long time. At the same time, they can’t deliver the same thrill of anticipation that riskier wagers offer.
Baccarat side bets are the best at providing those moments when high-value returns are at stake. However, those thrills have a financial cost.
People learning how to play baccarat discover how quickly a baccarat side bet can deplete their bankroll when luck isn’t on their side. BetMGM Casino is the best place to ascertain the true value of these wagers.
What Are Side Bets in Baccarat?
If you’ve played standard versions of baccarat like Punto Banco, you might have experienced one of the downsides of the traditional betting structure. The three normal betting options can get kind of monotonous.
That repetitive status of the game is one issue that side bets in baccarat address. It’s an exciting way for bettors to diversify their plays.
As the name suggests, these wagers are in addition to your main bet on each coup (synonym for hand in baccarat). Baccarat side bets are independent of your initial wager, too.
Many baccarat strategies will incorporate these bets as a way to provide some potential for making a profit if luck is on your side. It’s possible to become a better baccarat player when you grasp the array of options and the accompanying odds.
Popular Baccarat Side Bets and Their Odds
An important fact about side bets in baccarat is that not all options may be available in every game you play. While live dealer baccarat gives you an authentic casino experience, you still need to check the rules of each game before you play to verify your betting options.
With that in mind, the great diversity in the most exciting baccarat games at BetMGM includes a wide scope of side bets. Different baccarat variants have produced some truly exciting options.
For example, the Dragon Bonus Baccarat bet allows you to bet on the gap between the banker’s and player’s hands. In most variants, the larger the gap, the better the payout.
Some games will also offer a host of ways to bet on the composition of the banker’s and/or the player’s hands. Pairs bets of various types, plus the Lucky 8, which hits if either the banker or the player wins with a total of eight, are among your options.
Other side bets hinge on the color or suit of the cards dealt to participants. There are also combined value bets, which act as a kind of over/under for the combined score of both the banker’s and player’s hands.
With these wagers, you’re looking at returns as high as 200:1 based on the bet you place and the rules of the specific variation of baccarat you’re playing.
Understanding Probability In Blackjack
Baccarat is more a game of luck than skill. That’s even more so the case when considering baccarat side bets.
If you want to try for the previously mentioned 200:1 payout, your bet is the Double-Suited 3-Card 8. For this to hit, both the banker and the player have to hit a total of eight with three cards of the same suit, with an allowance that the banker’s hand and the player’s hand can have different suits from each other.
As you would imagine, that’s a rare circumstance in most baccarat games. In a standard game with eight decks, this combination happens in 0.0000008% of coups, or once every 1,250,000 coups.
Conversely, the Lucky 8 Bet has a far lower standard payout of 4 to 1 but a much more forgiving normal probability of 10.98%. Whether you choose to try for the ultra-rare bets or stick to the shallower end of side bets, your baccarat bankroll management will make all the difference.
Are Baccarat Side Bets Worth The Risk?
The casino you play with sets the baccarat odds for each wager, but you control whether you pay that price. Evaluating whether side bets are worth it begins with your budget and tolerance for risk.
A small budget doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t place side bets in baccarat. It simply means that you should be prepared for your session to end quickly if that’s how you choose to proceed.
A larger gambling bankroll doesn’t signal that the best use of your funds is chasing these long-odds wagers, either. If you want the best expected return for your money, the safer bets in baccarat represent a better value.
Ultimately, as long as you practice responsible gambling and stay within your limits, whether baccarat side bets are worth your resources is up to you. If you understand the risk, it can be fun to try for the bigger payouts.
The other part of gambling responsibly comes in if you do get lucky enough to hit these bets. There’s a lot to say for going out on top, and BetMGM is the best online casino for baccarat players who know when it’s time to walk away.
BetMGM offers bonuses and promotions for baccarat fans who want to get a taste of baccarat side bets, with the BetMGM Rewards program also available to people who register for BetMGM. Regardless of what your judgment call on baccarat side bets ends up being, playing with BetMGM is no lapse in judgment.
