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Table Games Baccarat - Your Approach

Discussion in 'Table Games' started by AnabelleT, Mar 27, 2014.

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  1. AnabelleT

    AnabelleT Tourist

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    I totally love Baccarat, it's my favorite casino game. Having studied yoga and meditation for many years, as well as Eastern Philosophy in general, I like to approach any game heavy on chance from an intuitive, spiritual perspective.

    I do pay attention to patterns and what "feels" right when placing a bet. I don't have a concrete strategy, but I'm working on one. I've heard many say Baccarat is pure luck, flipping a coin, but I don't see it quite that way, I believe (or like to believe) that there is more depth to the game. I'm not mathematically inclinced so I don't go deep into the mathematics of the game.

    I'm still up since I began playing Baccarat a few months ago. I've been playing more and more frequently and even though I will lose every now and then during a session, I have always been up before leaving the casino, sometimes just barely, but still a winner! I realize I will eventually come home with a loss, but that's okay because I know it won't happen frequently.

    How do I know? Well, I believe the attitude you bring to the game makes a difference. I don't intend to lose and I visualize winning.

    Here's a quote from a lovely little book that I think matches my gambling approach:

    A fledgling leaps because it trusts its wings.
    A lemming leaps because everybody else is doing it.
    One is an adventure into new dimensions.
    The other is suicide.​


    A couple of knowledgeable gamblers have told me to 'please be more realistic'. I understand they're trying to keep me from ruin, and that's sweet, so I will make sure I only gamble with what I can afford to lose, etc, but I think being completely "realistic" suppresses my deepest knowing, so I choose not to be too "realistic" (doing it responsibly of course).

    I could go on ... I'm not trying to teach anyone here, but I am interested in what your approach to Baccarat is. Do you use a specific strategy? Do you just guess? What is your approach to this awesome game?
     
  2. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I enjoy Bac and recognize that there is an element of "fate" to the game (I say fate because every hand is pre-determined with the shuffle, you cannot change the result of the coming shoe). I think that element is part of what makes the game appealing to eastern players.

    But all that being said, it's still just a guessing game. You are guessing which side will win each hand. There's no formula or equation that will help you beat the game. personally, I prefer the bank and I try to ride out streaks. I throw an occasional player bet in there to mix it up, or jump on the player if it hits a few in a row. But ultimately it is just a game of luck. Enjoy
     
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  3. exds

    exds Low-Roller

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    Now you've done it. I've always wondered about this myself , and this has been hashed out many times before to the point of spilling blood so I don't wish to start a war again. But I've always wondered about the concept of 'fate vs free will' as this idea is more evident in gambling. More commonly referred to as 'streaks' or 'luck'. Don't we all wish we could predetermine a streak, hot or cold! Or affect an outcome.

    Take roulette for example. We know this, that the ball will land somewhere, usually on a number or 0 or 00. After a spin the ball lands on the number 5. The second it landed on 5 we then knew it was going to land there. But what about 2 seconds before the ball landed there? Could it, or something change that outcome? What about say 15 seconds before while the ball is still rolling? Or before the dealer even rolls the ball? Or if the wheel was never spun for an hour, or week before that spin. Would the ball still land on 5 on the next spin? Fate.

    Now we have the gamblers, 'freewill'. Two gamblers, one chooses 4 and the other chooses 5. Lucky? Unlucky? Doesn't sound like it but I am a numbers person, in other words show me hard facts. So if we took a hundred, or a million people and had them all play roulette for their whole life using any strategy they wish. Then charted them based on their win/loss. They should all be clustered around the same theoretical mathematical loss. But what if there were straglers on the the win or loss side, outside of an accepted margin for error or 'chance'. Over a lifetime, how would you define/explain this? Fate? Intuition? Incredibly long hot or cold 'streak? Bad or good luck? I don't even want to mention 'strategy'.

    Does our choice influence the outcome? Or no matter what choice the outcome will not change? If so can all we hope to do is predict the outcome? Is it a human arrogance that makes us want to believe that we can affect our future?

    A perfect example is that missing airplane. Was it going to be missing only seconds before? Or before planes were even invented. Or was it 'choices that caused its disappearance.

    I had a strong image of the number 5 in my head one night. I even had a dream about it. The next morning I rushed to my roulette wheel, (yes I have one), and spun the wheel, and yes the number 5 came up. BS luck? Fate? I'm a 'show me person. I just look for the truth. Nothing else really matters.
     
  4. RorySF

    RorySF Tourist

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    I pray for streaks. A lot :eek:

    I also love baccarat. I do believe it's like flipping a coin, but what I do is just look at the pattern on the board and make a decision as to whether I bet that the pattern will continue or if it will not.
     
  5. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    uummmmm, ok. All I can say to that is, meow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroedinger%27s_Cat
     
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  6. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    What would gambling be without baccarat?

    I generally play streaks and patterns. It's hard for me to bet against a streak. My money hands are the following:

    P
    BBB
    P
    BBB
    P
    B

    Next hand, bet big on banker. Ultimately, it is a guessing game like the stock market or forex market. If you make educated guesses, then you have a chance to be profitable.

    The good thing about baccarat is that you cannot bust and someone jumping in and out does not mess up the shoe. Don't forget, a card is not burned when a they bring a new dealer.

    One thing I don't like is when someone is betting against the table. For instance, if it is a table of 5 people. All but 1 but banker, that bothers me. I like when the game is camaraderie, everyone betting the same, cheering, high fiving.

    Good luck and enjoy the wonderful game.

    :beer:
     
  7. AnabelleT

    AnabelleT Tourist

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    Thank you guys for the great responses!
     
  8. AnabelleT

    AnabelleT Tourist

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    The other night I sat with 5 Chinese men at a Baccarat table, there are a lot of Asians where I play, specially around the Bacarat and Pai Gow Poker tables (they're close to each other).

    When I didn't agree with the group's decision, I stayed out of the bet, otherwise, I was betting with the group. Everyone seemed to be following the one guy with lots of chips, so I did as well and came out ahead.

    One of the early times I played Baccarat I was sitting next to an older Chinese man and when I bet "against" him, he turned to me, smiled, and kindly asked me if I really wanted to do that. It was too late. He ended up being right. It was the first time I experienced this "play with the table" phenomenon. But it makes sense, it's fun when everyone wins together and less painful when the group loses. Of course, every now and then, someone bets the opposite way, and it's ok with me, I don't mind. It's also fun to see who's right and who's wrong.

    Love Baccarat!
     
  9. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    Some people don't like this "follow" the big chips guy, but I consider this proper baccarat etiquette especially playing with people with lots of chips. If I loose a bunch betting with the table, I'll get up and leave rather bet against the table.

    If you decide to play against the table, place your bet before everyone else does.

    I do the same when I don't agree, I'll watch the hand.

    It's good to see that you enjoy the game. :beer:
     
  10. sindustry

    sindustry VIP Whale

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    I do not play often, but when I do, I just bet on the hand that won the previous hand. I am basically hoping for streaks so I can get a chance to bump up successive bets. When the play keeps flip-flopping, thats when I get burned. By playing this way, i am often betting opposite the table, but those that have been playing awhile clearly know hiw I am playing. My way of playing the game is pretty much mindless...lol. Although, i do occassionally try to count for the dragon 7 on the EZ table, but usually my attention span is not capable of maintaining the count.
     
  11. exds

    exds Low-Roller

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  12. exds

    exds Low-Roller

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    If the hand is pre-determined then I don't understand where the luck is involved. Once the gambler makes a choice he is either right or wrong. Nothing will change. The best hope a gambler has is to try to predict what has already occurred.
     
  13. SelfMade

    SelfMade Tourist

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    Perfect Strategy:

    Bank.
    Repeat.
     
  14. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    And if the gambler predicts correctly, that would be considered "luck." What don't you understand?
     
  15. exds

    exds Low-Roller

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    The luck I was referring to was the luck of how the cards stacked in the shoe, or the number that the ball lands on in roulette. Not the luck of the gamblers choice. If we understand that the cards or number that comes up is pre-determined, or fate, then that might help the gambler make a better choice, based more on prediction than on luck or other strategies. This is in response to the OP asking about others approach, or strategy. I know I went about this in a round about way, but most people seem to have strong beliefs, or disbelief about 'the ability to predict' something. As my 'number 5' example in my first post.
     
  16. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Grosx is correct, the luck I referenced was the luck in picking which side to bet. There is nothing the gambler can do to change the outcome of a baccarat hand once the cards are loaded into the shoe.

    Bac is the only game in the casino that I am aware of where the outcome of each hand is pre-determined before the gambler places a bet. I guess I am not really following your point. Whether a gambler believes they can predict the outcome of the next hand is irrelevant to the outcome (although it might be very relevant to how much the gambler enjoys playing the game). The outcome of the next hand in bac is already set, although not yet known. The luck for the gambler is in guessing which side to bet before the outcome of the hand becomes known to the table.
     
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  17. WrongWayWade

    WrongWayWade VIP Whale

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    I think 3-card poker qualifies for this. No cards to draw. Just deal and see who wins. I suppose there is the variable of the number of players sitting down, but if that doesn't change, then you have this same 'pre-determined' idea. Mississippi Stud, Let it Ride, Ultimate Texas Holdem, maybe 4-Card-Poker would also qualify. The fact that you can fold in these games is a bit different than Baccarat, but the ultimate result if you stay in is still pre-set.
     
  18. AnabelleT

    AnabelleT Tourist

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    I know some of you guys will laugh at this, but maybe this is a good reason as any to bet together with the table, intention in unison.

    http://youtu.be/zJ08xjtBt3A

    And I don't know why I hadn't thought of it, but of course, the cards in the shoe are already there, waiting to come out in a predetermined order. But until we see it (observer) it could be any result, right? Am I getting the Schrodinger's Cat thing right? Maybe as observers, somehow, we can "intend" the results we wish for.

    Fun as an experiment with low stakes, but I wouldn't bet the house on it of course.
     
  19. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Wade, I have no doubt you are right. I'm just not as familiar with those games. I played a little LIR years ago and watched a friend play MS Stud once. Remind me, wouldn't someone folding in LIR impact what card is dealt to which player? Or are all the cards for the entire hand dealt before anyone makes a decision. It's been so long since I played! :blah:
     
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  20. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Yes, I think you are getting the Schrodingers Cat reference (even if I cannot spell it). But something tells me that every casino in the country would love it if we all based on our gambling on quantum physics theories. :faint: I guess that means in one universe I am winning on the bank, but in the other, I am simultaneously losing on the player :hmmm: I hope my next trip I am residing in the winning universe, lol.

    I guess all I am saying is once the cards are loaded in the shoe, there is nothing you can do to change what will come out and the result of each hand (all quantum physics aside). So play whatever pattern or strategy you are most comfortable with. personally, I hate going against a streak in bac. I think that decision probably reflects my optimistic nature. My best friend, he always bets against the streak. He is very pessimistic. So that betting strategy doesn't surprise me. Do whatever you most enjoy.
     
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