Play Online Baccarat at These Top Casino Sites

A timeless card game, baccarat has gone a long way from being a game played only by high-rollers into one of the sought-after games of casino players of all types. At casinomole.com, we’ve done all the hard work so you don’t have to, and compiled the top Irish sites offering top-quality baccarat games. Play baccarat online in Ireland at any of the awesome casinos in our top list with exciting variations and dedicated baccarat bonuses as well!

Our Top-Rated Irish Baccarat Online Casinos

If you are the kind of player who doesn’t like too many rules, then playing baccarat is for you! A relatively simple game to learn and play, baccarat is also known as one of the games with the most generous payouts when played right. Read on to learn more about baccarat, and when you’re ready, simply head on to our top-recommended Irish-friendly baccarat sites for the ultimate baccarat gaming experience.

What is Baccarat?

The easiest way to define baccarat is as a card game where you’ll be dealt with 2 or 3 cards. The hand with the higher score will win. Baccarat, a classic game recognized for being featured in the James Bond series, is one of the simplest card games to bet on. It’s strictly a game of luck, with just a little amount of savvy and strategy on the side, but one with a low house advantage, as low as 1.06%.

Baccarat was traditionally a high roller gambling game, played only by the aristocrats back in the day. However, recent versions of the game cater more to players of all types of budgets, including those who are playing for lower stakes. And, despite having several variations, including mini-baccarat, punto banco, baccarat squeeze, and speed baccarat, the aim of the game remains the same, to have the hand with the highest score up to 9.

What to Consider When Choosing the Best Baccarat Online Casino

Choosing your casino wisely when playing baccarat online can make a huge difference to your overall internet gambling experience. Nowadays, there’s no shortage of casino sites as there are hundreds, if not thousands, of choices available for Irish players. On the downside, finding the right casino from such a sea of options might not be so easy. And, it isn’t.

When choosing the best casino for you, you should, first and foremost, check whether the casino site meets the most important parameters, such as accepting players from the country where you live in and if it has the appropriate licenses to operate legally, as well as the reputation of the casino for fair gaming and prompt payout of winnings. Secondly, you can decide which casino to join according to how appealing their bonus and promotional offers are, the availability of their customer support in your language, the variety and quality of the games they offer, or based on how vibrant and attractive the casino’s website design is.

At casinomole.com, we consider several important factors, based on our industry knowledge and experience as players, in order to come up with our list of the top baccarat online casinos for Ireland. Feel free to use our list of the top Irish casino sites to help you easily find the right online casino for you.

Comparing Baccarat vs Blackjack

Baccarat is sometimes confused with blackjack. And, yes, it is true that these two games do have a few similarities. For one, they are both card games, and the house edges of these two are among the lowest in the casino world. Baccarat and blackjack also share the same gameplay characteristic in that in both games, your goal will be to create a specific total. Despite these common features, the two games have major characteristics that set them apart, which we’ve outlined below:

• Unlike blackjack, it would be impossible to bust in baccarat.
• Face cards count as ‘zero’ in baccarat, while in blackjack they are worth 10 points.
• Baccarat is more about chance, whereas you need to combine luck and strategies to actually beat the game of blackjack
• Hands can be split in blackjack

Online Baccarat Rules

Before you begin playing baccarat at your preferred online casino, there are a few important rules you need to familiarize with. But, fret not because baccarat rules are fairly easy to grasp, which is one of the main reasons why the game has earned a loyal following throughout the years.

The aim when playing baccarat is to achieve a hand total that’s as close to 9 as is possible. Typically, two hands are dealt with, with both cards dealt face down. As a player, you can choose to bet for the banker, the player, or for a tie. Then you decide how much to wager. The ultimate winning hands are 8 points or 9 points. If these numbers are dealt in the first hands the round comes to an end. For any other total, the dealer can give you a third card, depending on your hand’s total value. Basically, the decision as to whether a third card will be dealt with is made automatically by the online game’s software. The hand with the highest value wins, and the player who predicts the outcome correctly goes home with the prize. Meanwhile, if the outcome is a tie, this will also end the round, and bets on both the banker and player are returned.

Card Values

Among the first things you need to understand when playing baccarat is the value of the cards. The face cards (King, Queen, Jack) and tens are worth 0. Aces are worth 1 and cards from 2 through 9 keep their face value.

When playing baccarat online, your score is calculated based on the total of the cards in your hand. The best hand is a natural 9 or 8, with 8 referred to as ‘le petit’, while 9 is called ‘le grande’. If your hand’s value is more than 9 (as in double figures) only the right-hand number counts. For example, if you get a 9 and an 8, the total will be 17. But dropping the first digit, only the ‘7 ‘counts as your score.

How to Play Baccarat: Step by Step Guide

Step 1: Select a baccarat game/variant at your chosen casino site.

Step 2: To begin with, you have to decide whether to bet on the Bank or the Player. Essentially, you are deciding which hand, you think is going to win.

Step 3: Both the player and the banker will be dealt with two cards each. Depending on your hand total, you may be dealt with a third card.

Step 4: If you get a total of 5 or less, you will receive a third card.

Step 5: However, if you get a 6 or 7, you won’t be receiving a third card, and you win if you’re holding  8 or 9 (also called as a natural). It’s that simple!

Playing Live Baccarat Online in Ireland

Besides being able to play baccarat online virtually anywhere and anytime you want, there’s also something in store for those who want to enjoy a more real-like experience – live casinos. Live casinos provide an authentic gaming experience with the use of advanced technologies.

Here the game is broadcasted from purposefully-built studios and professional dealers interact with the players real-time, operating tables and taking the players’ bets.

Superb live dealer games also allow players to play and communicate with one another, keeping the socialization and interaction aspect of the game. The best Irish casino sites boast an excellent portfolio of baccarat games that can be played in live dealer settings. If you want to take your baccarat gaming online into a new level, then live baccarat is the way to go.

A Glance at the History of Baccarat

Baccarat isn’t only among the simplest card game to bet on but it is also one of the oldest casino games. While the origin of baccarat remains unclear, the game is believed to have originated in Italy, in the 1400s, created by a man named Felix Falguierein. Falguierein called the game ‘baccara’, which is Italian for ‘zero’, such that all the tens and face cards have a value of zero.

Falguieren’s baccara is thought to have been based on the ancient Etruscan tale of a young virgin who must throw a nine-sided die to determine her fate. Rolling an 8 or a 9 signified she’ll be elevated to the glory of being a priestess. A 6 or 7 outcome will see her allowed to live but could not take part in any future religious or community events. And, anything below 6 would cost her life as she’d be forced to walk into the sea and drown.

The original baccarat has a slightly different gameplay than what we have come to know today. Cards used to be dealt with by four different dealers with each player having an opportunity to be the banker. Players can also place bets against other players and against the house. Today, there’s only one dealer, in general bets are placed against the house, and the house also serves as the banker.

Through the years, baccarat has changed a lot, spawning different variants, with fast-paced gameplay, as well as additional side bets and features, taking the excitement of the game up a notch.

Quick Baccarat Tips and Strategies

Baccarat is one of those casino games where luck is everything. There is very little that a player can do to influence the outcome of the game. While you may have heard of baccarat strategies they can be viewed only as systems that can be applied to reduce your losses but not necessarily to increase your winnings. Below we have a run-down of some tips you may want to apply so you can make the most out of your online baccarat game:

• Bet on the banker
  A bet on the banker has the lowest house edge for the casino. Therefore, there’s a bigger chance it will return positive results, about 50% of the time. Betting on the banker is one of the most efficient and easiest baccarat strategy tactics and can pay off the most in the long run.
• Knowing the odds of the baccarat game and the specific variation is crucial
  Each variation of baccarat comes with slightly different odds. That said, make sure to take time to understand the differences between the house edge as well as other changes in the game’s features before playing a particular baccarat game variation to optimize your gameplay.
• Progressive baccarat betting strategyA progressive betting strategy can be favorable particularly when you’re in a winning streak depending on the amount being bet. Progressive betting strategies typically involve increasing your stake until such a time you win and then decreasing your wager and starting over. Remarkably, this strategy can be considered high risk such that losing hands can have a negative impact on your bankroll for when they are at the higher end.
• ‘Follow the shoe’ Strategy

Quite well-known among baccarat players, the ‘follow the shoe’ strategy is a very simple baccarat betting strategy in which you’ll place your next bet on the hand that previously won the game’s round.

The idea behind this baccarat strategy is to be able to take advantage of a winning streak, and it takes into consideration the fact that winning hands typically come in lumps. Thus, a hand might win repeatedly over a few rounds. With this, you make a mental note of the winning hands say for example, in the past three rounds of the game. If the banker’s hand won on the first round, then the banker again, and then finally the player’s hand. Using the ‘follow the shoe’ strategy, your next bet will be on the player hand. This baccarat strategy is considered less aggressive and may work best for players with smaller bankrolls.

Time to Get Playing!

Baccarat game has gained a substantial following since the inception of online casinos, and it’s easy to see why it has remained popular.  This classic card game has a favorable house edge, with a number of exciting variations, and yet a game with straightforward rules and gameplay. And, now that you’ve learned everything there is to know to get started with playing baccarat online, the only thing left for you to do is find the most suitable casino to play at. Be sure to head on to our top list of the best Irish online casino for baccarat players for a fantastic baccarat experience online.