What is Baccarat Without Sidebets?

How to Play Baccarat Without Sidebets

Baccarat Without Sidebets is a baccarat variant that uses six decks of cards. The game follows the same rules as standard baccarat without offering players the chance to place any side bets.

The aim of the game is to build a hand of cards with a value of 9, or as close to 9 as possible. Players have the choice of two main betting positions, the Player and the Banker, as well as the Tie.

In Baccarat Without Sidebets, a round typically lasts around 10 seconds. Players will first have to place their stakes. Once the players have bet, a round starts.

Initially, two cards are dealt to each position. In Baccarat, Aces count as 1, the number cards 2 to 9 count as their face value, and tens and face cards count as zero. If the sum of the two cards is ten or more then the first digit of its value is ignored. For example, a hand of 7 and 6 is worth 3 not 13 and a hand of 4 and 6 is worth 0 not 10.

Once the round starts, the dealer serves two face-up cards to the Player position and two face-up cards to the Banker. The cards are served from the shoe, which holds 6 decks of cards. Before each round, the decks are shuffled.

The hand with the closest value to 9 wins. If you bet on the Player and the Player position wins, you are paid out according to the pay table. If you bet on the Banker and the Banker wins, you are paid out, although a commission fee of 5% is taken. If both positions have the same round, you are paid if you bet on a Tie.

In certain scenarios, a third card will be dealt. The third card rules for the Player and Banker position can be found below. However, the Player or Banker position will never draw a third card if their hand value from the initial two cards is either 8 or 9.

Player Third Card

• If the Player position has a total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, a third card is played to the position.
• If the Player position has a total of 6 or 7, it will stand.

Banker Third Card

• If the Banker position has a total of 0, 1 or 2, it will draw a third card.
• If the Banker position has a total of 3, it will draw a third card, unless the Player’s third card is an 8.
• If the Banker position has a total of 4, it will draw a third card, unless the Player’s third card is a 0, 1, 8 or 9.
• If the Banker position has a total of 5, it will draw a third card, unless the Player’s third card is a 0, 1, 2, 3, 8 or 9.
• If the Banker position has a total of 6, it will draw a third card, unless the Player’s third card is a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 9.
• If the Banker position has a total of 7, it will draw a third card, regardless of the Player’s third card.

Baccarat Without Sidebets Payouts & RTP

The payouts in Baccarat without Sidebets are the same as in other baccarat games. That means, a winning Player bet pays 1:1. A win on the Banker position pays 0.95:1 (even money but a 5% commission). A winning Tie bet pays 8:1. The reason why the Banker position has a commission fee is because it has a slight statistical advantage over the Player position.

The RTP of these positions are as follows:

• The Player Position has a theoretical RTP of 98.76%
• The Banker Position has a theoretical RTP of 98.94%
• A Tie has a theoretical RTP of 85.56%

Basic Strategy for Baccarat Without Sidebets

Baccarat strategy is simple. The best strategy that you can use for Baccarat Without Sidebets is to wager on the Banker position the majority of the time. The statistics show that the Banker position is the most likely to win each round. This is due to the third card rules that favour the Banker position.

The probability of the Banker position winning a round is 45.8%. This is a slight statistical advantage of the Player position, which wins 44.6% of rounds. A Tie will win 9.6% of the time.

Hence, the suggested approach would be to continuously bet on the Banker position. To keep things interesting, some players will opt to switch to betting on the Player position if the Banker has lost twice in a row. They will then bet on the Player position until it loses at which point they switch back to the Banker position.

To Conclude

If you are a Baccarat enthusiast who knows that they will never place a side bet, then this game is ideal for you. It offers all the features you need and fast paced Baccarat action that is sure to provide you with hours of fun.