Baccarat strategy: Follow the Shoe

Follow the shoe is one of the oldest and most common used baccarat strategies. This betting system is preferred by both older players and novices. The biggest advantage is the small bankroll needed to implement it.

The basic idea behind follow the shoe betting strategy is to bet on the last result. This way you can benefit from a streak, on either part banker or player. For example if the last outcome was the Banker, you bet on the Banker and vice versa, if the Player was the last result, you make the bet on the Player.
The idea behind the follow the shoe strategy is to be able to catch a winning streak when it comes. As an example, you make a mental list of the winning hands in the previous three rounds of play. For instance you find that the pattern goes like the banker hand won on the first round, then banker again, then finally player. If you use follow the shoe, your next wager will be made on the player hand.

This baccarat strategy takes into consideration the fact that winning hands usually come in clumps where a hand might win repeatedly over a few rounds. This baccarat strategy is less aggressive and is perfect for those who have smaller bankrolls.

Players often see success by adopting the Follow the Shoe strategy when playing casino games. It is certainly possible to turn a modest initial stake into a large sum of money. As with all betting systems however that are played in casino games where the odds of winning are 50:50, these betting systems by no means guarantee success in the long term. The recommended action would be to walk away once a pre-decided profit had been made and thus safeguarding the profit in that way. This is preferable to relying on a betting system to keep winning money as the betting system itself has no effect on whether a player will win or lose.

Baccarat Strategies and Systems

The search for a successful Baccarat strategy is somewhat like the search for the lost city of Atlantis. Many people have heard legends about it and occasionally some circumstantial “evidence” is found, but in the end, no one really knows if it exists.

Baccarat is a game of luck. Much like a slot machine, there’s little for a player to do other than place a bet and let the game run its course. However, the house’s advantage is different for a Player bet, a Banker bet and a Tie bet. In addition, the house’s edge changes slightly depending on how many decks are left in the shoe. Players who exploit these edges may increase their odds of going on a hot streak and gain some short-term winnings. But in the long run, the house will always win in Baccarat.Baccarat Strategy

For those of you who want to try to buck the odds and win some money in Baccarat, here are some strategies that gamblers swear by:

Streaking

This strategy involves riding streaks. The reasoning behind the Streaking Strategy is that you can lose many times betting against a streak, but you can only lose once betting with a streak. You’ll see followers of this strategy with a pencil and paper at the Baccarat table faithfully recording the results of each hand.

The problem with this strategy is that streaks are an illusion. Even if the Banker were to win 8 times in a row, the chances of the Banker winning the next hand would be the same as if the Player were to win 8 times in a row. Streaks don’t change the odds of a hand.

About 5 years ago “I was at a casino playing with a family member at the flamingo in Las Vegas. We where both up around $300. He got a feeling that the banker would go 13 in a row and called it out loud to the full table. The next 13 hands of baccarat are forever burned into my memory. Around 8-9 bankers in a row we had about 30-40 people watching the table since the excitement was go great. At hand 13 yes you guess it banker again” Now I only made about $350 on that rush (banker run) but my father in law made thousands. Now I am only telling this story to let you know just because Baccarat is a game of chance and not total skill it can be a game that is not only fun but profitable also. So whatever people say about Baccarat you can win.

Bet And Bank

People who follow the Bet-And-Bank strategy have a system for escalating their bets and banking part of their winnings. An example of this strategy would look something like this:

Hand 1: Bet $10 if you win, move to hand two.
Hand 2: Add $10 ($30 total bet) if you win, bank $40 and move to hand three.
Hand 3: Play the remaining $20. If you win, add $20 more and move to hand four.
Hand 4: Play the $60. If you win, take the money and start over at hand one.
Anytime you lose a hand, you start over at hand one.
This is another illusionary system that requires a player to “run hot” in order to be successful.

Card Counting

Card counting is probably the most futile Baccarat system of all. This method requires you to add and subtract large numbers quickly to keep track of the house’s edge. Even if you are able to keep an accurate count, your edge would only be advantageous once every 345 hands. No casino is going to allow you to stay at a table if you’re only playing 1 in 345 hands.
Blackjack may be a countable game, but Baccarat is not.

Statistically, the best move is to always bet on the banker as the house’s edge is smallest here. That is especially true as the shoe reaches its end. The house’s edge on the Banker gets smaller as the number of cards remaining diminishes. This strategy, however, gets rather dull.

Pick the strategy that you like best and head for the Baccarat tables. Your goal should be to have fun rather than to make money. And who knows? You might go on a hot streak and cash out as a winner.