Bought in on a $5 table at the Tropicana last week. Started out betting $5 and upped it one unit per win, capping at 5 units. My plan was to play the streak, and hope for a good run. Hopped back and forth from player to banker for a while, stayed about even. Then it came. An 11 player streak! I capped out my betting at $25 per hand. But during that streak I was able to bring in 5 green chips. I continued playing the streak but the most I ever got my bet back up to was 4 units. Played out the rest of the shoe and probably made $15 to $20 more. That one streak was enough to more than double my buy in.
The streaks are what make baccarat fun! I know its an almost fifty/fifty game, but moreso than anything else I have ever played, I seem to encounter longer streaks at bac. Just this past weekend, hit a shoe with 48 bankers and only 16 players. Made a ton off that one!
It sounds like you were playing Mini-Bac. If you can afford a $100 min, go over to Bellagio or Caesars and play real Baccarat. That's the one where the players get the handle the shoe, deal the cards, and squeeze them. My favorite game! Squeezing the cards in Baccarat is the best part because it really adds to the excitement of winning.
Rio, Gold Coast, Palace Station, Palms, and Flamingo (sometimes) have midi bac games at $25 table min. A guy playing $5 is not likely to jump to $100.
I agree that the 'big' game (or 'midi') is the way to go, because it is so much slower and adds the fun of the players handling the cards. (Of course, you'll usually have to play at $50 or $100 a hand.) But overall, I find Baccarat just too silly to enjoy. It's not much more than guessing a coin-flip. Nothing for my mind to engage in other than pointlessly looking at past results for some 'trend', which unfortunately doesn't help AT ALL. It is a good game for trying out progression betting schemes, if you find that fun. It also can be pretty social, as people seem to be involved in how everyone else is doing, and often try to go on good winning streaks together, like craps. But again, the intrinsic game itself is too trivial for me. That's why blackjack and Pai Gow Poker are my favorites; I have something to think about, not just waiting to find out if I won or lost.