Counting Cards in Baccarat

Because the game of Baccarat uses multiple decks, anywhere from 6 to 8 many players believe there is an effective card counting system to improve your odds of winning. In theory this is probably true, however it is near impossible to keep track of the dealt and un-dealt cards without detection. The most common Baccarat game involves 6 decks that total more than 300 cards, which would make it difficult to keep track of all cards without drawing attention from casino personnel.

The most important thing to remember before attempting to count cards in the game of Baccarat is that the cards have no memory, and therefore unable to compensate for certain cards not appearing frequently. Most gambling and casino experts will agree that there is no effective card counting system that will undermine the house advantage in Baccarat.

The most common card counting theory in Baccarat is by keeping track of the cards that have already been dealt to note patterns and take advantage of an alleged streak in favor of the player. In fact plenty of casinos hand out score cards to encourage this fallacy because they understand that no pattern exists to help determine who will win the next hand. In addition to providing unnecessary distractions, trying to find a pattern will lead you to make foolish bets you have no chance of winning. You can sit at a Baccarat table all day and there will be no pattern that exists to indicate the next winner.

The other common card counting theory is based on the idea that if you count the cards, by the end of the shoe you will have an idea of the remaining cards and can bet accordingly. There are several problems with this theory, the first of which is that even if you can determine what cards remain to be dealt, you cannot determine the order in which they are drawn. The other major problem is that casinos feed the cards into the shuffle at different points, not necessarily when the shuffle is empty. The faint possibility of this is enough to invalidate any Baccarat card counting strategy.

Other, more ridiculous card counting strategies exist, but they are based on unlikely events such as all the odd cards being dealt to leave only even cards. While there is a possibility that could happen, it is very rare and any strategy based on this is guaranteed to fail. If you don’t believe me, try playing Baccarat on your own with multiple decks and see how effective your card counting system is. Bear in mind that just because you win once in awhile with your system doesn’t mean the system works; eventually the banker will win. Nevertheless the best option is to bet on the banker.

Return to view more Baccarat Strategies