Baccarat isn’t typically known as a target for casino cheaters. Instead, blackjack, craps, roulette, and slot machines grab the headlines regarding cheating.

1. How Many Decks In Baccarat
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3. How Many Decks In Blackjack Casino
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5. How Many Decks Are Used In Baccarat

But you may be surprised to find that baccarat also draws its fair share of scammers. Baccarat cheats use a variety of means to gain an edge on casinos and win big.

The house edge for baccarat does depend on how many decks of cards the house uses and we’ll compare them both in this article. What you should also remember is that nearly every casino has a 5% commission on all winning bets on the banker. Like most casino table games, baccarat uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards, with a varying number of decks. Usually, six to eight decks are used in a game of baccarat. The banker and the player side get two cards, regardless of how many players there are in a particular game. The Default Baccarat Strategy and When to Deviate. Let’s assume that we have an eight-deck game since that is the most common. The default strategy for Baccarat will be to place a bet on the banker’s hand while looking out for certain conditions that will indicate to us that we should switch to the player’s hand. With around 80 hands in a 8-deck baccarat shoe, you claim you went 53 shoes before hitting a losing streak. This is n = 4240, with an estimated probability of 1 in 277 trillion. Your odds of doing that again (if ever) are astronomical. On average, you should hit one of these losing streaks every 1.5 shoes.

But I still find any type of casino cheating to be an interesting subject. The same holds true with baccarat, which has its own unique cheating methods.

I’m going to discuss each of these techniques below. I’ll also cover baccarat edge-sorting incidents involving famed gambler Phil Ivey and why the courts felt that he was cheating.

False Shuffle

Richard Marcus, a former baccarat dealer and all-around casino cheat, introduced false shuffling to the gaming world.

The gist is that the dealer shuffles the cards so that they follow a pre-arranged order.

The accomplice can then raise or lower their wager based on the upcoming order. Here are the steps to performing a false shuffle:

1. The accomplice(s) records a group, or “slug,” of cards during a baccarat shoe. The slug will feature 40-60 cards that are recorded in the order that they’re played and put into the discard tray
2. When the 6- or 8-deck shoe has been dealt, the dealer will fast shuffle the cards. The idea is to keep the slug together through a series of convincing but fake shuffle actions
3. The accomplice uses the list of recorded cards to spot the slug cards as they’re dealt. They signal other players (if applicable) at this point
4. The cheaters can accurately determine 8-10 hand results once they identify the slug coming into play
5. They’ll bet on either the banker or player hand, depending upon what cards are coming next
6. Players often bet the table max to take full advantage of their insider knowledge

False shuffling is harder than it sounds because a perfect mix of factors must come together. But a dealer and their accomplices can develop a solid system with enough practice.

Here are some pointers on making sure each facet of a false shuffle works:

• Recording cards– The accomplice marks down a group of winning hands (slug) on a baccarat scorecard. Casinos encourage players to keep track of winning hands, allowing cheaters to use this as a guise while they’re tracking the slug
• Choosing a card slug– The slug is almost always at the beginning or end of a shoe. This way the dealer knows exactly what group of cards to false shuffle and keep intact
• False shuffle– It doesn’t take a world-class dealer to pull off a false shuffle. But they do need to practice this technique to both keep the slug intact and avoid drawing casino suspicion
• Identifying the slug– With the slug recorded from the previous shoe, a cheater can look for a specific group of cards to come out in reverse order. For example, K, 6, 9, 10 would be dealt as 10, 9, 6, K after the false deal
• Making big bets– The recorder can either bet solo or signal a group of players to place larger wagers. Acting as a group is more profitable because there are extra players to take advantage of the positive expected value (+EV)

A cheating group can wager on the same outcome, whether it be the player or banker hand during the slug. They can also stick around after the slug and make offsetting bets to continue selling the scam.

Offsetting bets only cost the cheaters the 5% banker commission each hand if there’s equal action on the player and banker.

False Shuffling with Electronic Devices

Baccarat players can use a more advanced method of false shuffling that includes devices. The devices give cheaters a discreet way to communicate with each other about the slug and when to bet more.

A group of cheaters known as the Tran Organization used this technique to win millions from casinos in the mid-2000s. The Tran Organization also bribed dealers to perform false shuffles in mini-baccarat games.

This group worked like other false shuffling cheaters, including having someone record card slugs. But where they differed is by using a hidden transmitter (microphone) and mobile phones to relay the card slugs to the group.

The information is also relayed into a computer program to ensure more accuracy in identifying a slug. Players can then hear the slug order through an in-ear cellular communicator.

Note:

Involving electronic devices makes this a more complex operation. But it paid off, because the Tran Organization made $7 million over a five-year span. One occasion saw them earn $868,000 in just 90 minutes.

The Tran Organization also used techniques to avoid drawing attention to themselves. For example, most of the group members would cash out less than $10,000 to avoid having to report winnings to the IRS.

The group was eventually caught when trying to bribe an undercover agent in 2006.

19 members of the Tran Organization were charged with counts of conspiracy to steal money and conspiracy to travel in interstate in aid of racketeering.

In all, 31 defendants pleaded guilty to either directly participating in the ring or aiding and abetting.

Swapping Cards

Big baccarat tables give players the chance to handle cards, which makes for the possibility of swapping cards. This scam can be pulled off by a group or solo player.

In either case, a player needs to obtain a card from the deck when it’s their turn to cut. They can do this using double-sided sticky tape underneath their sleeve, allowing them to take a card off the top without everybody noticing.

Another way to do this involves putting a thin container inside of a long-sleeve shirt. A cheater can take their cards, conceal the hand, and then slip one into the container with precision.

Anybody using a container must also take a card from the deck during the cut. They then rotate the card into their hand and remove one when it benefits them.

Card swappers must be good at cupping their hand to conceal the hidden card.

Card Marking

Marking cards is one of the oldest cheating techniques in gambling.

This is used to define baccarat card values, so you know what’s coming next when looking at the card backs. An example would be if you marked all the 8s and 9s in the shoe.

An advanced method of card marking involves using special contact lenses and invisible ink. This ensures that the cheater can see the markings, but the dealer can’t with their naked eye.

Casinos have caught on to this technique, though, and they use special equipment to check for invisible ink. That said, marking cards is risky no matter how complex your system may be.

Chip Dumping

Chip dumping is another old cheating technique that can be used in baccarat or any other card game. This requires a player(s) and dealer to work together.

Here are the steps to pulling off chip dumping:

• The accomplice makes their bet worth $10
• They win their bet
• The dealer discreetly places another $10 chip on top of the winnings
• The accomplice wins the double their bet

This method works best when the dealer is working with an empty table, or at least one with 1-2 players. Fewer players cuts down on the chances that somebody will notice the dealer giving their accomplice extra chips.

Past Posting

Past posting, which involves adding chips to your bet after a winning hand, is another simple way to cheat baccarat games. This technique can also be used by a solo player or a dealer working with an accomplice.

But the cheater must also be good at sleight of hand to avoid drawing suspicion from others.

Like with chip dumping, a dealer and their accomplice stand a better chance of pulling this scam off when there are few players at the table.

Card Cutting

A card-cutting scam requires technology to spot card values as a cheater is cutting the deck. This is another technique that can be used with one or more players.

Here’s how to cheat when cutting the deck:

1. The scammer is offered the plastic baccarat cut card
2. They have a small digital camera located inside of their sleeve or on a ring on their finger
3. The cheater places the plastic cut card into the deck
4. The player fans through a portion of the deck with the cut card, separating the edges
5. The camera films the card values as they’re separated
6. This info is relayed to a computer program, which processes the information
7. The processed info is sent to the cheater and their accomplices through in-ear cellular devices

This scam is exclusive to baccarat because this game follows a strict set of rules on when the player and banker hit for more cards. In contrast, the number of cards in a blackjack hand vary based on the actions players take.

Therefore, information relayed from the computer program tells baccarat players exactly how to bet based on the upcoming card order.

Note:

Like false shuffling, the advantage of card cutting as a group is that you can maximize +EV. More players betting with a built-in advantage means more overall profits.

This also allows cheaters to pull their money together and create a bigger bankroll. They can then play for higher stakes while knowing the order of upcoming cards.

Dealers can combat card cutters by holding the shoe in a manner that makes it difficult for cheaters to fan through cards. If a scammer can’t properly fan with the cut card, then the camera can’t record and relay the values.

Placing a Digital Camera in an Automatic Shuffling Machine

One more baccarat cheating method involves placing a digital camera inside of an automatic shuffling machine. This relies on the same technology used in card cutting, where the camera relays card values to a computer program and returns the analyzed data to cheaters.

A digital camera inside of a shuffling machine is more lethal to casinos than card cutting or false shuffling. After all, the cheaters are receiving info on the entire upcoming 6- or 8-deck shoe, rather than just a portion of it.

But a solo player or group can also place the camera inside of an automatic shuffling machine when the perfect opportunity arises.

This is especially the case during later hours when fewer tables are running and less personnel is on the floor. A cheater(s) can come back the following day when the table is running.

The cameras must be small enough to where they can’t be noticed with ease. Of course, casinos can still find a camera if they become suspicious and look hard enough.

Such was the case in Macau in the early 2010s, when several casinos couldn’t figure out why they were taking heavy baccarat losses. They discovered that players had installed mini cameras inside of automatic card shufflers.

The cheating ring, which consisted of 7 Chinese nationals, won US$3 million before they were busted.

Edge Sorting – Cheating or Legitimate Advantage Play?

All the baccarat cheating methods that I’ve covered up to this point are explicitly illegal. No gambling jurisdiction or courtroom accepts any of these techniques as advantage play.

But edge sorting, or the process of identifying flaws on the edges of card backs, is ambiguous.

Edge sorting has many characteristics of legal advantage play, making it comparable to card counting, shuffle tracking, sequencing, roulette wheel bias, and video poker (on +EV games).

Here are steps on how to effectively use edge sorting in baccarat:

1. Some card decks have small irregularities on the long-side edges
2. Study card decks to identify these irregularities and how they relate to specific card values
3. Example: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 have full-diamond patterns on the edges; 6, 7, 8, and 9 have half-diamond patterns
4. Train yourself to spot these irregularities
5. Realistically, you need the dealer to rotate cards 180 degrees to spot the imperfections
6. This requires asking the dealer to rotate cards for you out of superstitious reasons (possible in high stakes baccarat)

DeadSpin notes that a skilled edge sorter can gain a 20.8% edge over the casino. This means that you’ll theoretically make a $20.80 profit when betting $100 per hand.

The most famous instance of edge sorting involves poker pro Phil Ivey, who worked with Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun to beat casinos out of over $20 million.

Sun analyzed a specific Gemaco card deck and found design flaws on the card backs. She and Ivey used this info to crush Crockfords casino and the Borgata in baccarat.

They were gambling anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 per hand. Therefore, casinos allowed them to make special requests, including the following:

• A Mandarin-speaking dealer, so that Sun could make requests without the casino understanding them
• Rotating the cards at 180-degree angles
• Using a purple Gemaco deck
• Only allowing this specific deck during the game

Crockfords reviewed the matter and withheld Ivey’s £7 million ($11m) in winnings as a result. Ivey sued the London casino and lost the case.

The Borgata originally paid Ivey $9.6 million in winnings. But they later sued and won the lawsuit.

Judges in both cases deemed that Ivey didn’t knowingly break the law by creating an advantage for himself. But they believed that the methods Ivey and Sun used – notably requesting a Mandarin-speaking dealer and asking for cards to be rotated – constituted cheating.

Furthermore, making requests in a language that floor supervisors don’t speak isn’t considered reasonable advantage play.

Ivey argued that both Crockfords and the Borgata agreed to the requests. And he felt that they turned a blind eye to the matter, knowing that they would either keep his losses or sue if he won.

The edge sorters convinced the judges in both cases that they weren’t nefarious baccarat cheaters. But they couldn’t convince the courts that they deserved the winnings.

Conclusion

One reason why baccarat cheating isn’t as prevalent as in other table games is because there’s not much equipment involved. It’s not like roulette, where you can track wheel velocity with devices, or craps, where you can load the dice.

Combine this with how mini-baccarat players don’t touch their cards, and you can see why it’s hard to cheat baccarat. But there are still ways for motivated individuals to cheat.

Some of these methods are as simple as past posting, chip dumping, and swapping cards. Others incorporate technology, like card cutting and placing cameras inside of automatic shuffling machines.

Certain cheating methods offer both simple and complex methods, including card marking (with or without contacts/invisible ink) and false shuffling (with or without devices).

These aren’t advantage-play techniques like card counting or shuffle tracking. Instead, you’re using technology, dealer cooperation, and/or sleight of hand to remove random chance and guarantee yourself profits.

Edge sorting is the only advantage-play technique that courts consider cheating without being illegal. But given that both Ivey and Sun lost court battles over the matter, it hardly seems worth learning edge sorting if there’s nothing to be gained.

I don’t recommend that you use any of these cheating techniques in a casino given the legal consequences. But I still think that it’s cool to learn about how far cheaters will go to beat the casino.

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Contents

Before we begin with the basics, it is important to be aware that Baccarat offers the best odds in the house and an equal chance of winning. It’s a simple card game with a low house edge, which makes it one of the easiest games to rake in a tidy sum.

Online Baccarat Basics

Baccarat involves a dealer or banker, and two ‘punters’ or players. A game has three possible outcomes, either the player wins, the banker wins, or the game is a tie. The objective is bet on which of the two hands will come closest to or equal to 9. You will need to beat the banker’s hand to win the jackpot.

Play begins by deciding on which hand to bet on – the player, banker or a tie. After you place a bet the cards are dealt. The player is the first to be dealt a card followed by the banker. Depending on the starting total the player or banker will need to draw one more card. The card that comes closest to 9 wins.

For example, if a 5 and 7 is drawn, 7 wins. Face cards such as Jacks, Queens and Kings, and 10s are worth zero. Aces are worth 1. If the addition of the two cards is double digits then the first digit is dropped. For example, if two 8s are drawn equalling 16, then the 1 is dropped for a total of six.

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Players or bankers may draw a third card in certain situations. A player may draw a third card if the total of is zero-five. The banker pays out the winnings to those who bet on the winning hand, which attracts a 5% commission.

Our experts suggest that you remember these points to improve your chances of winning in online baccarat.

• A player’s and banker’s hand is dealt.
• Each hand has two cards.
• The hand closest to 9 wins.
• Cards 2 to 9 are known as pip cards and are worth their face value
• Aces count as 1
• 10s and kings, queens, and jacks along with the suits (spades, clubs, hearts, diamonds) are not worth anything
• Betting on the banker’s hand offers the best odds of 1.06%.
• The chance of a tie in baccarat is rare. The odds against one of the players winning are much higher so you would only be wasting your money of a tie.
• Begin betting with small amounts and if luck is on your side you could gradually increase the amount.

How Many Decks In Baccarat

Online Baccarat Strategy

The double down strategy is one of the most popular winning strategies that have stood the test of time. Make sure to pick the player hand and double your last best if you lose and the banker wins.

For example, if you bet $20 on the player hand and lose, then your next bet should be $40. The objective behind this is to make sure you get $40 if you win plus your $40 bet. Effectively, you have lost $20 in the first hand and won $20 on the second hand, which puts you $20 in the green. You can use this same strategy for a while. If you lose $20 on the first hand and $40 on the second hand, make sure to bet double on the next hand. The law of averages will finally catch up and you can cover your losses and win some as well.

Make sure to keep a close eye on table limits since some casinos put a limit on the maximum bet. There are several online baccarat casinos that don’t have any restrictions on the maximum bet. In addition, only use the double down strategy if you have the bankroll.

Now that you are acquainted with the game it’s probably time to head straight to one of the casinos listed right here at CasinoUSA.com.

Online Baccarat FAQ

If you’re new to Baccarat yourself and are in need of some help, check out the following answers to the most common questions about this classic card game:

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Does the Banker Hand Have Better Odds?

Due to being the more favourable hand, the banker hand is often believed to be the more profitable hand. However, this is a false belief as both the banker and the player hand have a 1to1 payout. The main difference between the two is that the banker hand is statistically more advantageous to the player in the long run.

Baccarat or Blackjack – What game has Better Odds?

Odds wise, the theoretical return to player is in favour of Blackjack. Namely, the theoretical Blackjack house edge of 0.5% is the best one around, with some liberal games even allowing it to be taken down to as low as 0.28%. Baccarat, on the other hand, has a house edge of 1.06% to 14.36%, depending on the hands you play.

However, keep in mind that the house edge is calculated over time and that it can vary wildly according to your skills. For example, if you’re a bad Blackjack player, hoping that you’ll stay close to that 0.5% house edge is a bit unrealistic. That’s why strategies are given such emphasis in Blackjack games.

What are the Best Bets in Baccarat?

The best bet to make in a Baccarat game is the banker bet. With an eight-deck game, this bet has a house edge that’s as low as 1.06%, which is much better than many other casino games. The player bet, on the other hand, has a house edge of 1.24%, while the worst bet is the tie bet, which has a house edge of 14.36%, but also the best odds (8 to 1).

Can you Detect Patterns?

Some players firmly believe that they can detect when a natural hand (a two-card hand totalling nine or eight) happens, thus allowing them to increase their wager and turn more profits. However, this is a big myth, as Baccarat is mainly a game of chance. This myth is especially illogical in online casinos, where random number generators determine the outcomes.

Is Online Baccarat Rigged?

Online casinos use Random Number Generators (RNG) which produce countless random card combinations. This way, no hand in Baccarat will depend on previous outcomes or resemble any previous scenario.

The idea that an online casino rigs its games is entirely false in the case of licensed casinos. To obtain a casino license, the licensing authority will inspect the RNG to ensure no interference is made from the casino’s side. That’s why you are always advised to play at licensed casinos.

Can You Count Cards in Baccarat? Will it Help You?

First of all, card counting is virtually impossible in online casinos, as they use a random number generator to produce card combinations. And secondly, unlike Blackjack, where card counting can be used to make strategic choices that can bring you more money, Baccarat is not a game where card counting can help bring profitable returns.

With Baccarat you have no saying as to whether you want a card or not, but the only thing you can really do is make estimates as to which hand will win. And while removing cards does change the odds, even in the most perfect of conditions this won’t bring any significant advantage to you.

How Many Decks of Cards are used in Baccarat?

The standard game of Baccarat uses eight decks, but there are also mini-Baccarat versions which use 6 decks. However, these are rarer in online casinos.

What are the Odds of a Tie in Baccarat?

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Normally, since it’s the most lucrative bet in a game of Baccarat, the tie bet is also the most statistically disadvantageous, as the probability of a hand resulting in a tie is 9.53%. And although this might not sound too bad to you for an 8/1 or 9/1 bet, try to keep in mind that the house edge on a tie bet is near to 15%, which makes betting on this hand the worst move in a Baccarat game.

Is Baccarat Profitable?

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Like with most casino games, whether you find Baccarat profitable depends on your personal views. Statistically speaking, the banker hand wins about 50.38% of the time and has one of the lowest house edges from all casino games – 1.06%. Whether you feel this is profitable or not is entirely up to you.

Is there a Best Baccarat System?

How Many Decks Are Used In Baccarat

There are many people who claim they have a sure system for beating Baccarat. However, if this was true, everybody would have been busy making money, especially with such a simple game. Still, this is not to say that systems can’t bring you any profits, but the truth is that no Baccarat system will be a 100% effective way of making money.