Before you play for real money you must understand the rules of baccarat and have some time playing the game itself. There isn’t much strategy involved, but it’s important to be comfortable with the game and to know what is going on to help you make the right bets, and so that you enjoy the game a bit more as you play along. That’s why you should try a free version of the game until you get the hang of it. This is an opportunity for you to become comfortable with the game, and to learn what you should expect as you play baccarat.
Once you understand how baccarat works you’ll see that the game is purely luck. There isn’t any decision that you can make to really improve your odds, other than placing a bet on the dealer and nothing else. If you make any other move you are essentially making it more difficult for you to win more than you lose, because all the other options have a higher house edge than the dealer bet.
There are three betting options in baccarat, yourself, the dealer and a tie. The tie is a terrible bet every single time, and it’s something that you should never rely on. If you bet on a tie and win you’ll receive 8 or 9 times your original bet depending on the casino. That may seem like a lot, and that it would make the bet worthwhile, but it doesn’t. In order to receive that large payout you have to be willing to deal with a House Edge of 14% every single time that you place the bet. If instead you bet on yourself or the dealer, you’ll still receive your bet back each time that a tie occurs, making a tie even worse of a bet to place since it will help you for free as well.