Online Baccarat Gambling Guide
While recent years have seen the growth of online poker and blackjack in Canada, real money baccarat is showing signs of being the next must-learn Internet gambling game for Canadians.
- Why playing online baccarat is so much fun
- How to play online baccarat like a pro
- The top online baccarat sites for Canadians
Spin Palace voted top casino for baccarat games in 2023.
Baccarat online gambling games are often played for high stakes, with people betting and winning large amounts. Baccarat for real money often conjures up images of glamorous European casinos, and there is plenty of fun to be had and money to be won at many a baccarat casino online.
TOP ONLINE GAMBLING SITES FOR CANADIAN PLAYERS
How to play baccarat online
The rules of the game at a baccarat casino online are fairly simple on the surface. The banker (the baccarat dealer) and the player are each dealt two cards and add their value together to create a points total from the second digit of the addition of the two card values. If a gambling online baccarat player is dealt a five and a three the total will be eight, but if they have a five and a nine their total is four rather than fourteen - only the second digit counts.
When gambling with online baccarat, the most common form of the game for real cash is called Punto Banco. Players can bet on their own hand ('punto'), the banker's hand ('banco'), or a tie between the two ('standoff'), while the dealer will always be betting on banco.
The aim of baccarat online gambling is to get as close to nine as possible with the hand that you're betting on, and if only one of the starting two card real money baccarat hands is an eight or a nine then that hand wins. If neither does, then the dealer may deal another card to one or both of the two hands.
Player's rule and banker's rule
The player in online gambling baccarat games will stand pat on a 6 or 7 (i.e. draw no extra cards), but draw on anything from 0-5. This real cash online baccarat rule is called the 'player's rule'.
The 'banker's rule' is slightly more complicated. If a player stands pat then the banker follows the 'player's rule', but if the baccarat online casino player draws a third card then the banker follows the following set of rules:
- If the banker total is 2 or less, then the banker always draws a card, regardless of the player's third card
- If the banker total is 3, then the bank draws a third card unless the player's third card is an 8.
- If the banker total is 4, then the bank draws another card if the player's third card was 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
- If the banker total is 5, then the bank draws a third card if the player's third card was 4, 5, 6, or 7.
- If the banker total is 6, then the bank draws a third card if the player's third card was a 6 or 7.
- If the banker total is 7, then the banker stands, regardless of the player's cards
Online Baccarat variants
While punto banco is the most common baccarat online gambling games, and some online casino sites will sometimes just call Punto Banco 'Baccarat' in their lobby, there are some other variants for real cash baccarat players.
Chemin de fer (or 'chemmy') is the original French version and sees the role of the banker passed around between the players. When an online gambling baccarat player is designated as the banker, they can only bet on their own hand. Some real money baccarat games will allow players to pass up their go as the banker, but this varies depending on which baccarat online casino you play at. When learning how to win at baccarat it makes sense to check this out before starting to gamble for real cash.
A third variant, Baccarat banque, is less common in baccarat online gambling sites. While in Chemin de Fer sees the role of banker pass to the next player as soon as the banker loses, real cash Baccarat banque usually uses three decks of cards the same player stays as banker until they 'retire' as banker or until all the cards have been dealt.
For more information on where to play different variants of baccarat for real money, check out our recommended baccarat casino online section.
How to win at baccarat
When playing baccarat for real money you might be tempted by the standoff bet - betting on a tie between the player and banker - as this pays out 8:1 or 9:1 compared to the even-money punto and banco bets. However this is mathematically the worst long-term bet for baccarat online gambling players.
Banco has a slightly better chance of winning when playing baccarat for real money, and while both punto and banco pay out even money (1:1), players must pay a 5% commission on winning banco bets. However even with this commission accounted for, the house edge on banco is lower than on punto.
The payouts are not huge in relation to real cash baccarat bets, but in online gambling baccarat is one of the games with the lowest house edges. Once you've worked out how to play baccarat you can give yourself a decent chance of winning when you play baccarat for real cash.
Baccarat FAQ
Where can I play for real money?
There are hundreds of sites all over the web where Canadians can play baccarat for real cash. Fortunately, we've done a lot of the hard work for you and found the best places to play.
Although legislation prevents any online casinos from operating within Canada, many top international casinos have made it very easy for Canucks to join the action by allowing deposits and withdrawals in Canadian Dollars and offering the same range of bonuses and promotions they do to other players from all over the world.
Is online baccarat rigged?
No. It's easy to see why some people think this might be the case, as the selection of the winning card(s) takes place out of the view of players. This leads many players to believe that online casinos operate by selecting whichever option will lose them the least money.
This couldn't be further from the truth. All cards are dealt using a random number generator, which isn't even built by casinos themselves. Additionally, all random number generators used by casinos are subject to third party inspections by independent auditors. The odds for online baccarat are exactly the same as playing the game in a land-based casino.
Can I play for fun?
Yes, all the best casinos offer a 'play for free' option when you first sign in. Choose this instead of playing for real money and you can spend as long as you want playing baccarat, or any other casino game provided it doesn't involved a progressive jackpot, without spending any cash.
It's worth noting that the odds in 'play for fun' games are exactly the same as their real cash equivalents, so there's no danger of the game suddenly skewing in favor of the house if/when you decide to start betting on the action.
Where can I play on a Mac?
Some casino sites offer Mac specific casino clients, which will take the form of a .pkg or a .dmg file instead of the .exe associated with Windows. However, the vast majority of Mac users play casino games in their browser using no download, also known as instant play, casinos.
Although the graphics are sometimes slightly more basic in a no download casino, many Canadian Mac–and PC, for that matter–users prefer them as it means they don't have to download anything, can use their account on any Internet-enabled computer, tablet or smartphone and can be sure they're always playing the most up-to-date version of baccarat offered by the casino.
Is it possible to employ a strategy online?
In a word, no. Using a betting system online, such as doubling your bet with every loss as dictated by the Martingale system, is dangerous because it only takes a few unlucky bets before you're wagering very large sums of money to make only a small profit.
Also, betting limits employed by most online casinos make it difficult to rely on a betting system as you're not always able to wager the amount you need to be able to in order to recoup your losses. Baccarat is best treated as a game of chance; stick with the banker and player bets, avoid the tie and try to have some fun.
