About the game
Baccarat is one of the oldest games of chance you’ll find in casinos and was once intended for the elite. In underground back rooms, few visitors were allowed to join the table game that was invented sometime in the 15th century. Things have changed in recent years and one of the main reasons for this is the introduction of online casinos. The game that was once meant for a select group of players is accessible to everyone, throughout land based, online, and live dealer casinos. We would even dare to say the game has really never been as popular as it is now. The main reason for the game’s global popularity is that it is all about luck taking away pressure from the players and leaving room for randomness and tranquility. Read more about live baccarat below, check out our detailed game rules and make sure to visit our recommended casinos. This Live Baccarat guide is meant for players in Canada.
Where to play it
Our website recommends a small selection of online casinos that are both worthwhile and offer live baccarat. These casinos are carefully selected by our casino experts and checked by our most experienced baccarat players to make sure we give you nothing but the very best options. All of the websites below are trustworthy, licenced and offer the live game:
Welcome Bonus: 100% up to C$500 +Free Spins!
C$1000
+ 200 cash Free Spins
C$1000
+ 50 Free spins
The rules
In general, live baccarat is played with six to eight decks. Because Punto Banco is the most standard version of Baccarat, we’ll explain the rules of this variant. The dealer gives both the player and the bank two cards and whoever gets closest to 9 is the winner. Other than that, you don’t have to make any difficult decisions during the game. All you have to do is decide in advance who you think will win: you, (Punto), the bank (Banco) or a tie (Egalité)? Live Baccarat also gives you the option to bet on side bets.
Who to bet on?
How to decide who to bet on? This is where Baccarat’s own points system comes into play. Every card has a value. For example, the ace is worth 1 point, the cards from 2 to 9 are worth the same as the number of the card and the 10, jack, queen and king are equal to 0. The house rules of the game can be a bit complicated and there are differences between the casinos, but normally the steps below should be enough to start playing live baccarat.
- Choose your baccarat variant: make a deposit and choose the standard baccarat variant. There are also other variants like Lightning Baccarat and Dragon Tiger Baccarat.
- Two hands are dealt: once you’re in the game, the dealer will hand out two cards. One for the player and one for the bank.
- Bank Wins, Player Wins or Tie: it’s time to bet on the outcome of the game.
- Two cards are revealed: when the bet is placed, two cards are dealt, one for you and one for the bank.
- The winning hand: the winning hand is the one closest to nine points. As mentioned before, you can bet on your own hand, the banker’s hand or a tie.
Furthermore:
- Only the number of a card matters in baccarat. The face value doesn’t play a role and it doesn’t matter whether it’s hearts, spades, clubs or diamonds.
- In case of double numbers, the numbers on the left are dropped. This means that, for example, 26 counts as 6.
Payouts
Anyone who plays Live Baccarat online knows that the standard versions have the same payouts. Normally the payment for the player is 1 to 1. When the bank wins, it’s slightly different, namely 0.95 to 1, although the house edge has already been added to the game. When you bet on a tie and this bet turns out to be a correct one, it’ll pay you out 8 to 1. Payouts are not always the same as the baccarat variant you play can make a difference.
How to win
We’re a big fan of everything that concerns live dealer casinos and the same is true for pretty much every variant of baccarat. Almost all of our casino pros have at least a few years of experience with baccarat which makes it quite easy to come up with a plan of how to win live baccarat for Canadian players. Any baccarat player in Canada can use these tips to increase his or her winning chances at baccarat. This holds for live baccarat as well as the main rules for other variants don’t differ a lot from traditional baccarat.
- Don’t bet on a tie: avoiding betting on a tie is actually one of the most important things of playing baccarat. It may sound very logical to bet on a tie, but do note this increases the house advantage to 14,36%. The validity of this tip doesn’t apply to all variants, please note we’re referring to the standard version of live baccarat.
- Instead, bet on the lowest house edge: then again, betting on the bank brings down the house edge to 1,06%. When you bet on the player, this increases to 1,24%.
- Watch out for possible side bets: you should always pay attention to how the side bets can affect your odds. Normally side bets lead to higher house edges but big payouts.
- Grab a bonus: although not every casino offers a live dealer bonus, at Vernons we make sure we include promos for live games like Live Baccarat as well. All of our promos are valid for players that are based in Canada.
- Withdraw your wins: baccarat is one of the table games that fully depends on randomness. Therefore if you happen to make a nice win, make sure to withdraw the money as soon as you can. You may want to leave some of it to make a new bet, but always secure the money you have won so you can’t lose this anymore.
How to play
What makes this game so interesting is that the relative odds of winning are much higher than with other casino games. This is due to the fact that the player can’t really influence the course of the game. Although some of the participants won’t experience this characteristic as pleasant, the vast majority of the players do feel comfortable about it as it takes away a lot of pressure. After all, once you’ve made your bet, you won’t have to worry about anything else. So go ahead and make your bet, sit back, and enjoy, but first make sure you pick the right casino and the right baccarat variant. Here’s everything you need to know:
1. Log in to your account or sign up for one
Login or signup for an account if you haven’t yet done so. In case you haven’t, make sure to stick to the casinos we have listed on our website as this only includes licenced casino websites where Canadian players are welcome to sign up.
2. Deposit some funds
Live baccarat generally requires a real money bet and sometimes even a minimum balance to be able to join a table. Make sure to deposit some funds and think of a budget before you join a table. This will make sure you don’t spend too much money.
3. Go to the live lobby
In the top bar of your preferred casino website. you will see a number of categories. Head to the live lobby by clicking on the live casino button that should be available in the navigation menu. Alternatively, you can head to the online casino and proceed to the live dealer casino.
4. Look up your favourite Baccarat game
Most online casinos have plenty of live games including Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, Live Poker and more. Baccarat isn’t as popular as roulette or blackjack, but a proper casino has a few options available. It’s time to stick to either standard baccarat or pick one of the variants.
5. Select a Live Baccarat game
Typically there should be quite some options to choose from and if you’re lucky you’ll have a casino that offers games from different providers like Evolution, Pragmatic Play, or Ezugi. If you’re still a beginner you might as well stick to the standard variant of the game and think of playing one of the other variants later on once you gain more experience.
The features
The standard version of Live Baccarat is the most played live baccarat game available online and is offered by different providers like Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live, Playtech, and BetGames. Whatever provider you prefer, their baccarat game will be optimised for the best possible live casino experience for desktop and mobile. The many baccarat variants make sure both novice and new players have some extra options that meet that personal preference. Pretty much every provider’s stream quality gets the most out of today’s technology and the dealers also make a huge difference as they’re available to make you feel comfortable and guide you through the game. A well-trained dealer will do everything to keep the table engaged, ensuring you’ll enjoy every second at the table. Live Baccarat is readily available in different languages like English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and German.
RTP
The RTP (Return to Player) of baccarat depends on the provider of the game and the variant you are playing, but we’re glad to inform you that the RTP of baccarat is among the highest you’ll find in any online or live casino. The RTP can depend on the game you’re playing as not every developer works with the same values. This is why we’ve put together some of the RTP’s the most popular live baccarat developers apply in their productions:
| Provider | RTP |
| Evolution | 86,29% – 98,95% |
| Playtech | 98,95% |
| BetGames | 95% |
| Pragmatic Play | 98,94% |
