Best Baccarat Strategies & How To Win at Baccarat – 2025 Guide

A baccarat strategy is basically a series of tips and tricks that have proven their efficiency over time for this popular card game. These are primarily designed to improve the player’s chances of winning, potentially lower the house edge, and increase the session’s duration. In our guide, we’ll show you how to apply these strategies on the top real-money baccarat sites, so let’s begin!

Getting Started: Why Use Baccarat Strategies?

Similarly to other games of chance such as roulette or blackjack, baccarat makes use of popular betting systems and mathematical concepts. Using a proper baccarat strategy can help you opt for the best bets in order to yield the best payout, avoid chasing your losses, and better manage your budget. The right approach will also enhance your ability to strategise, concentrate, and plan each move ahead.

Baccarat Strategies are never 100% Effective

Although many sources online — from independent forums to betting guides — promise you a baccarat-winning strategy, the actual truth is: no such thing exists. Even though this sophisticated card game involves some elements of skill, it’s largely a luck-based title. You can’t know in advance which cards will be dealt, as this is up to the croupier or the RNG algorithm. Not even the best baccarat strategy can guarantee a win 100% of the time, it can only help you avoid losses.

How To Play Baccarat

As one of the oldest comparing card games in the world, baccarat's exact origins are unclear, but they’ve been traced as far back as the 15th century. Today, it’s a staple in Macau casinos, and equally popular in the RNG and live-dealer formats.

To help you out, we’ve created an extensive guide on how to play baccarat that will take you from beginner to pro faster than the dealer can hand out the cards!

The Best Strategies for Baccarat

Each casino games strategy is adapted to the unique challenges posed by the title you’re playing. For instance, with skill-based games like poker, the goal is to gain the upper hand over the other participants, whether that’s through bluffing, slow-playing, or opting for an aggressive style.

Conversely, in games where your odds to win are mainly dictated by luck, the idea is to lower the house edge or bet in a calculated, tactical way. Many casino experts and high rollers have developed their own baccarat game strategy over the years. We’ve included the most popular ones below, but do keep in mind that none of these is 100% bulletproof.

The Martingale Baccarat System

If you’re a roulette fan, then our first baccarat strategy will certainly sound familiar. The Martingale betting system has been used since the 18th century for various casino games, including craps, roulette, and baccarat.

The main idea is to double your bet after each loss. As such, when a first win eventually strikes, it’ll recoup all previous losses, plus a small profit, which is theoretically equal to the original stake.

However, the core fault of the Martingale system is that it works over the long term and only if there’s no budget limit. In actuality, not even high rollers have infinite wealth, meaning that a prolonged losing streak can wipe out the entire bankroll.

This baccarat strategy can still deliver small net wins if used cautiously and with a manageable bet size, though. Moreover, you can implement it on both Banker and Player bets, considering they’re both even-money bets.

To use the Martingale strategy for baccarat, you must first choose a base unit, for example 10. Then, place it on either the player or the banker’s hand. Should you lose, double the bet, and continue to do so for each subsequent loss until you eventually win. Once you win, return to the base bet amount and repeat.

If you use a 10 wager and lose, the next one will be 20. If you lose again, you raise it to 40 for the next round. If you lose again, the next wager will be 80. Should you win on this 80 wager, you’ll have a payout of 80. As you can see, this final payout covers the 70 total of lost previous bets, and a 10 profit on top.

Our advice is to be very conservative with your wagers — choose an amount you can sustain over a longer session and be aware of table limits, as it’s easy to exceed them with the Martingale strategy.

The D’Alembert Baccarat System

D’Alembert is a popular baccarat betting strategy that’s also used extensively for other casino games including blackjack and roulette. Developed by the 18th-century French mathematician Jean-Baptiste le Rond D’Alembert, the system works for virtually any game that offers bets with a 50/50 chance (win or loss). For baccarat specifically, you may use it for bets made on the player’s hand or the banker’s.

D’Alembert is a negative progression system and, first, you must set a desired bet unit. If you’ve lost, you raise the next bet by one unit, whereas if you win, you lower it by one unit.

Let’s say our bet unit is worth €10 in real money. Should we lose, we increase our next bet by another unit to €20. If we lose again, our next bet will be €30. If this one is also unsuccessful, we add another unit, so the next bet is €40. Now, if we register a win, we’ll have a €20 net profit (60-40=20). For the next bet, we’re decreasing by one unit, so we’ll wager €30.

D’Alembert is preferred by players with moderate to low risk tolerance because it’s less aggressive than Martingale, and it can also be used successfully with smaller bankrolls. As long as you set a lower starting bet size, those gradual increases will be entirely manageable. Consequently, this baccarat strategy can help you better protect the already acquired winnings.

As primary pitfalls to consider, overall, you’ll have lower returns compared to Martingale. Furthermore, never set a large sum per unit unless you’re a high roller, because this may result in a larger total loss if you’re unlucky.

Additionally, the logic of the D’Alembert strategy can easily be challenged. This system of odds and probabilities postulates that every outcome with a 50/50 chance to win or lose will eventually trigger an equal distribution of results. In other words, it would even itself out and generate the same number of wins and losses. The system also uses a false premise that every time a particular result is hit, the chances increase for the opposite result to occur in the next round.

In reality, you’re no more likely to win after you’ve lost, because both the RNG algorithm and the dealer provide independent card deals on every round. No game result is ever connected in any way with the previous one.

The Contra D’Alembert Baccarat System

This lesser-known baccarat casino game strategy, also known as Reverse D’Alembert, advises you to do the opposite of the traditional D’Alembert.

Here, you must once again set a desired bet unit. However, you increase your wager size by one unit after each win, and decrease it by one unit after each loss. In addition, every time you have a net loss of one unit, the progression resets, so you start over with one unit.

Because this system takes a contrarian approach, the logic behind it is to take advantage of winning streaks as they come, and double down on them. Moreover, given that you decrease the wager size after each loss, it acts as an additional bankroll protection tool.

Similarly to the other betting strategies we’ve mentioned, here you should also factor in the table limits of your chosen variation and your average budget. For instance, if you have a €1,000 bankroll, we’d urge you to keep your stakes small (€10) so you can spend more time in the game.

The contra D’Alembert strategy can also help keep betting more conservative. You can set a desired win target and stop once that’s achieved, without risking more.

One shortcoming to mention, however, is that if you have too many alternating wins and losses or an unfavourable sequence, you can lose more bet units overall. Here’s an example:

As you can see, in this instance, even though we had nine winning bets and seven losing ones, we still lost five bet units by the end. As such, for this baccarat strategy to work, we’d have to actually experience fewer fluctuations — for example more losses at the beginning to protect our bankroll, and relatively steady wins after we do the gradual increases.

Unfortunately, you don’t have any guarantee of a predictable progression, and there’s an inherent volatility and risk with any luck-based game, including baccarat.

The Paroli Baccarat System

Paroli (or Reverse Martingale) is another popular betting system that’s used extensively by roulette players, but one that’s also worth diving into as a potential strategy for baccarat. It’s a positive progression system that opposes the classic Martingale. When applying it to baccarat, you can only use it on even money bets — Banker or dealer, never a tie.

For this, you must double your bet every time you win and resume the initial bet size when you experience a loss. By this logic, you can maximise winning streaks, but avoid chasing your losses, as you would with the Martingale.

This system is widely applicable in the online casino sphere, not just for baccarat, but also for craps, Pai Gow, and roulette.

When employing the Paroli strategy for baccarat, your aim is to secure three consecutive wins. After each win, you double the stake, but if you lose or win three times in a row, you resume the initial wager.

The fault with this betting system is quite evident — wins and losses don’t follow a set pattern, they’re entirely random and don’t always come in streaks.

The 1-3-2-6 Baccarat System

Anyone who’s interested in mastering the topic of baccarat rules and strategy should definitely move their attention to the 1-3-2-6 system. These numbers signify the multiplier values that you have to use on the set bet unit after you register a win.

Let’s assume you have a starting wager of €10, which corresponds to one unit. In the first round, you bet €10 and, if you win, you increase your bet to three (€30) units in the next round. If you win again in the third round, you’ll bet €20 (two units). Finally, if the winning streak continues, the last bet will also be the riskiest one, namely €60 (six units).

Remember that this system was solely designed for even-money bets or those that have a roughly 1:1 payout (banker or dealer’s hand at baccarat, simple bets in Sic Bo, red/black in roulette, and so on).

The 1-3-2-4 Baccarat System

Our next pick is another baccarat pattern strategy, because, similarly to the previous one, it involves wagering in a particular order or sequence. Here, you must once again increase your bets every time you win a hand using multipliers of one, three, two, and four.

Theoretically, this will help you retain your profit and manage losing streaks much better. However, as opposed to the 1-3-2-6 pattern, on this one, the last bet is less aggressive or risky.

For brevity’s sake, we’ll keep the original stake of €10, which corresponds to one base unit. Then, we’ll follow this pattern for a winning streak, as below:

If you’re interested in how to win in baccarat strategy, your top priority should always be to decrease risk. In this sense, 1-3-2-4 is a much more conservative and safer pattern to use compared to 1-3-2-6 and here’s why.

If you opt for the 1-3-2-6 pattern and keep the same base unit we mentioned, you win €10+€30+€20=€60. However, if the fourth wager is unsuccessful, you lose all your winnings.

On the other hand, with the 1-3-2-4 strategy, for the first three bets, you’d also win €10+€30+€20=€60. That being said, if the last wager is a losing one, you still retain €20 in profit.

The Fibonacci Baccarat System

Our following baccarat strategy is based on the Fibonacci numbers sequence, elaborated by Leonardo Pisano, a skilled Italian mathematician from the Middle Ages. In the Fibonacci sequence, each number is the sum of the two previous ones, so an example would be 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on. This betting system is prevalent in many online casino games that allow even-money bets, like roulette, baccarat, and craps.

To implement the Fibonacci numbers sequence in baccarat, you must treat each number in the sequence as a unit and give it an equivalent in real money, for instance, one unit is €10. Then, the basic idea is to increase the size of your bet following the Fibonacci sequence after each loss, and go back two numbers in the same sequence after each win.

So, what would it would look like in practice if we stick to a €10 bet? First, you’ll have to bet €10 and, if you lose, you must repeat the €10 bet, given that the second number in the sequence is also 1 (0+1).

If this second €10 bet is a losing one, you go to the next number in the sequence, so you wager €20. If you lose on the €20 bet, you move up the Fibonacci ladder and wager €30 next. Lose again, and follow the same principle, so now you have a €50 bet. If this one wins, you go back two steps in the sequence from 5 to 2, bet €10 and the cycle continues.

Unfortunately, the Fibonacci baccarat strategy shows its shortcomings when there’s a losing streak, as you can see from our table above. Irrespective of the bet size used, it’s impossible to recoup all these lost funds with a single win.

The Labouchère Baccarat System

Labouchère is a famous betting system used primarily in roulette. It was created by a British journalist and politician, Henry Labouchère. However, since it was designed to provide results for even-money bets in general, it works just as well in baccarat if you wager on the dealer or the player’s hand. You can also find this strategy under different names like the cancellation system or the split Martingale.

The basic idea behind it is to set up a profit goal or a fixed sum that you wish to win. Then, you split the amount into a list of positive numbers. After each win, you cross two numbers from the sequence and add one after each loss. The initial stake is formed by adding the first and last numbers of the sequence.

So, let's say we aim to win €40, we can use a progressive sequence of 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. That means our first bet will be 6+10=€16. If we lose, we add the lost amount to the end of the sequence. Below is an example with alternating wins and losses:

Labouchère is a flexible betting system for baccarat, as anyone can set their desired profit target and sequence. It’s also easy to remember (even for beginners), may extend your session, and help with bankroll management. However, you’re at a greater risk of going over the table limits.

The James Bond Baccarat Strategy

Baccarat was the card game of choice for Ian Fleming’s charismatic and mysterious spy, alongside Texas Hold ‘Em poker and roulette. That’s why the James Bond strategy was tied to many gambling classics along the years.

However, we must make a slight correction: it’s not so much a strategy — it's more like a particular distribution system for your bets. When applied to baccarat, it goes like this:

• 70% on the banker
• 25% on the player
• 5% on the tie

The aim is to spend the bulk of your budget on the banker’s hand, which, as you may know, provides the highest odds of winning (45.86%). By combining these bets, you cover as many outcomes as possible in the hopes of boosting your chances of a positive return.

So, if we had a €200 bankroll, we’d have €140 on the banker’s hand, €50 on the player’s, and €10 on the tie.

This approach is quite calculated and methodical, meaning it will appeal to risk-averse and conservative players the most. In addition, as an advantage, it can work with any budget size as long as the general proportions are kept.

The Oscar’s Grind Baccarat Strategy

Oscar Grind’s betting system is generally applicable to all wagers with a 50/50 chance, like flipping a coin to get heads or tails. The first mention of it was made in a 1965 book by Alan Wilson called The Casino Gambler’s Guide.

You can use this system for a wide range of even-money bets on various games like baccarat, craps, blackjack, and craps. When it comes to baccarat specifically, the great news is that you can also apply it to other variations like Punto Banco and Mini Baccarat, as long as you bet on either the player's or the banker’s hand.

The core principle of Oscar’s Grind is to divide your play into sessions. By session, we’re referring to each sequence of consecutive bets in which you win at least one unit of profit. Your unit can be set to any real-money value, for example one unit = €10.

If your initial wager wins, you end the cycle, because the goal is achieved. Then, you start again with another identical unit. If you lose, the bet remains the same. However, should you win, you increase the bet size by one unit. Once again, you continue and only end the cycle when you’ve reached a one-unit profit.

Oscar’s Grind is a positive progression betting system like the Martingale and the Labouchère. However, its main pitfall is that it would theoretically require an infinite amount of money for every session to end in a profit.

The Mikki Mase Baccarat Strategy

Mikki Mase is an influencer and poker player, known for appearing in the Hustler Casino Live Youtube stream — a poker show hosted at the luxurious Hustler Casino in Los Angeles.

He rose to internet fame when he claimed he could beat a game of chance, namely baccarat. While he didn’t disclose his exact strategy, he explained that he performs “reverse engineering” or tries to recognise game patterns.

Basically, he uses this knowledge to figure out how the casino created the house edge in the first place, and then tries to beat it. For this purpose, Mase mainly focuses on Banker bets and changes the wager patterns based on the previous results. He’s so sure of his method that he even proclaimed himself the “King of Baccarat”.

However, we can pinpoint the flaws in this so-called strategy from a mile away: baccarat is a game of chance and, when playing it online, the results are solely decided by the RNG algorithm (Random Number Generator).

When playing live, the card deals are also 100% random. In both instances, the result of the previous round is in no way connected to the current one. Therefore, Mase’s claim that he can find “patterns” where there aren’t any is simply a ploy to gain attention and celebrity. This is also backed by the influencer claiming he was banned from Vegas casinos because he won too much.

In reality, he most likely had a sizable bankroll and got lucky, which isn’t the result of a wonder baccarat strategy. If you place $200k per hand, it is entirely feasible to win millions indeed, but it’s not a recipe for any novice casino player to follow.

The Pair Bet Baccarat Strategy

Some baccarat tables allow participants to use optional bets or baccarat pairs. You can bet that the first two drawn cards for the banker or the player’s hand are of the same number or suit (e.g. 2-2 or King-King). These pair bets provide a generous return, namely a 11:1 payout if you’re correct.

This baccarat strategy urges players to focus exclusively on Player and Banker pair bets. Because they provide high potential returns (11x your bet for each win), it’s believed that each of these wins can offset any previous losses.

To see whether this baccarat pair bet strategy suits your budget and play style, you can also consult our payout table for a more accurate overview:

However, tread with caution, as this is an unproven and insufficiently tested strategy. Once again, there are no win guarantees.

The Back-the-Banker Baccarat System

As the name suggests, this baccarat strategy is incredibly simple and involves consistently betting on the banker. To clarify why there is some merit to this betting system, we need to explain the baccarat bets and how they tie to house edge and your win potential.

As you can see from our table above, the banker’s bet is the most advantageous and has the lowest house edge of all. From a statistical standpoint, it would make sense to wager on this outcome exclusively. In theory, it can lead to more frequent wins of higher value over the long run if you remain patient.

However, the main problem is that the house always takes a 5% commission on all winning Banker’s bets, which inevitably dips into your total profit.

Which Baccarat Betting Strategy Should I Choose?

To create a successful baccarat strategy, you must take your budget restrictions into account, as well as your profit goals, risk tolerance, and desired play style (e.g. aggressive or conservative). Then, further look at the following:

• Betting Limits: Each baccarat table and variation has fixed limits in place. A ballpark range would be €1 to €100,000, considering that it’s a high roller’s favourite title. However, with a bit of digging, you can also find low-roller options. Calculate your budget and choose your next table accordingly. Also, consider that some strategies like Martingale increase your odds of exceeding the table limits.
• Your Betting Choice: All baccarat bets have an inherent house edge and payout potential. Always remember that some strategies only work for even-money bets (Player or Banker). In addition, if you attempt to wager solely on the banker’s hand, factor in the 5% commission deducted by the house when setting a profit target.

How To Win in Baccarat Strategy – Our Top 10 Tips

If you want even more workarounds for this card game that we haven’t yet covered, our section below provides you with 10 additional baccarat tips and tricks.

1. Go off the beaten track and explore other baccarat variations — We advise trying out three-card baccarat, Punto Banco, Baccarat Banque, Mini Baccarat, or Chemin de Fer. With each one, there are slight differences in terms of bet types, table limits, and the number of cards used. Covering all your bases can help you better pinpoint the right game for you: for example, Mini Baccarat is perfect for low rollers because it has smaller table limits.
2. If you’re on the hunt for the lowest house edge, always bet on the banker — This bet will give you a clear statistical advantage, given its incredibly low house edge (1.06%). On the opposite end, the tie bet tips the scale in the casino’s favour (14.36% house edge).
3. Play free baccarat games first — The baccarat demo format uses fictional credits with no monetary value, so there’s no financial risk. This allows you to practise and understand the basic rules of the game and be better prepared for real-money play.
4. Practise responsible gambling — It’s wise to set aside a fixed budget and never exceed it, whether you win or lose. Many baccarat strategies also require you to set a bet unit. Our advice here is to keep it small and manageable, for example 2% of the total bankroll.
5. Don’t try to look for patterns — This is a major mistake with luck-based games in general, as it’s impossible to tell the outcome of the next round based on the previous ones. Don’t fall prey to the common gambler’s fallacy!
6. Consider keeping your sessions short — If you’re comfortable attaining smaller profits, a good idea is to play for shorter periods, so you’re less affected by the house edge.
7. Factor in the house’s commission — Usually, the Banker’s bet is subject to a 5% commission taken by the house on all successful wagers. However, some casinos and tables may have different commissions in store, so you should inquire about this on the live chat or check the informational menus for details.
8. The size of your bankroll matters in any baccarat strategy — If you’re a high roller, the Martingale will be easy to manage and sustain over time. However, low-budget players should consider more conservative strategies like the 1-3-2-4 system.
9. Baccarat games with fewer decks can reduce the house edge even more — This is especially true if you bet on the banker’s hand exclusively.
10. Take your profit — If you’ve had a fantastic winning streak, step away from the table and cash out. Don’t be tempted to stay in the game chasing the same highs, because, as we mentioned, there’s no guarantee you’ll keep winning. The house edge is still present and the game rounds are independent of one another.

Best Baccarat Strategy — Our Verdict

This high-roller darling is among the most popular card games in the world. Preferred for its low house edge and straightforward rules, it’s posed a challenge along the years for casual players, writers, and mathematicians, who all raced to find a recipe for success. Although there are many great baccarat strategies to explore, remember that none can guarantee a payout — they can only assist you on your journey.

Baccarat Betting Strategy Sources

1. 888casino — A pioneer in the online casino world, established in 1997.
2. Betway — One of the most well-known European online betting and gambling operators, launched in 2006.
3. Wikipedia — The largest free encyclopedia in the world, with millions of active contributors.
4. Wikihow — A popular online website dedicated to providing step-by-step guides to learning various things, including how to play casino games.
5. PlayOJO — An MGA-licensed casino brand, offering fair bonuses for players and multiple breakdowns of useful strategies for card games, like baccarat.