When we first laid eyes on the Live Baccarat games in our lobby, we immediately thought of Burt: the legendary composer and songwriter of some of this wombat’s most favourite 60s’ songs including Magic Moments and What’s New Pussycat.
But that’s Bacharach, isn’t it? He can’t even spell his own name, the crazy crooner!
Live Casino Baccarat
Imagine our delight here at Wombat Towers when we realised that the games were in fact Live Baccarat – an online version of the rather glamorous table game, made famous by Ian Fleming’s 007 films. Do you remember the classic line from Sean Connery after has has cleaned up all of the winnings at the table? “Andre, I must pass the shoe!”
So it’s time to put your dinner suit or your best frock on my friends. We are going to turn up the glamour to level ten and head to the tables. Let’s walk straight past our Lightning Live Roulette which is another super premium game from Evolution Gaming and take a look at some Live Baccarat. Let’s see if we can’t beat James at his own game with a few hefty wins!
The reason why this game is so popular, as I am sure you know, is because the house edge on baccarat is approaching that of that other card game: blackjack. In might even be lower if you forgot to read our 10 blackjack tips page before you started placing your chips in!
Look and Feel
We have quite a choice of games on Wombat Casino, from Baccarat Squeeze (Evolution) to Dragon Bonus to Control Squeeze. The design of these Live Baccarat games is on point with clear images, extra-large icons and the choice between Casino View and Game View – depending on whether you prefer to look the at the dealer, or keep your eyes on the card action on the table. This is one of our favourite live games after Evolution Roulette – it really is top class.
Pick your avatar before you head onto the table and then place your bets in the time allocation allowed which is displayed clearly on the screen. You can chat to the lovely dealers and you’ll see other players who are alongside you (virtually of course).
Other great Evolution designs include their live blackjack game and roulette- one of their strengths is how these games play on mobiles- try them- you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise!
There’s a very detailed bet History section that lets you see how you’ve fared in previous games. It’s presented in the form of 5 scoreboards that show results for each round in the current set of cards. The stats are very clear too giving you a clear view of the history of the results – whether the cards came up trumps for the Banker, the Player or whether it was a tie.
For more info on how to play and to access the stats and settings Wombat Fans, click on the help icon.
Live Baccarat Game Play
Right then Wombat fans, you’ll be facing off against a rather good looking Live Dealer across the custom red table (on your device of your choice, this game is optimised for all of them).
The dealer can be a gentleman or a lady with one thing in common. They are likely to be easy on the eye.
The game follows the classic baccarat rules whereby you can place a bet on either the Player, the Banker and a Tie bet.
Low House Edge
If you’ve ever been to Macau, you’ll know that this game is especially popular in Asia (just look for the signs saying “场真人百家乐”, you probably won’t need to because the place will be swamped with baccarat). This is in fact one of the games of choice for high rollers in Asia and around the world? Why? Well, it’s all down to the speed of the game and the low house edge.
The dealer will distribute two hands, one to the Banker and one to the Player. Two cards each are offered to each. Once the two cards are dealt, points are calculated. Each card is worth its face value, except for 10 and the royal cards, which are worth zero.
In the case of double-digit scores, it’s the last digit that actually counts. For example, if you land 13 points, it’s only the last digit, 3, which will make up your score.
Live Baccarat also has an Autobet feature, which is perfect if you’re feeling a bit lazy or fancy making a cup of tea, so you can line up your play for a few rounds before stepping away from your device. Easy!
Double: If you have selected the REPEAT button you have the option of automatically doubling your bet on a Martingale betting profile.
Example of a Hand Total
8+7 = 15 =5
5+5+6 = 16 = 6
9+10 = 19 = “Natural” 9
You May Get a Third Card
After the Player and the Banker get their first two cards, you may see some further action according to the “Third Card Rule” (See Below). Three cards is the maximum you will see for each hand.
Live Baccarat – Third Card Rules
If the value of either hand on the first two cards is 0 to 7 inclusive, the hands shall receive a further card as follows:
For the Player’s Hand
– 0-5 Player’s hand must draw
– 6-7 Player’s hand must stand
For the Banker’s Hand
– 0-2 Banker’s hand must draw
– 3-6 Third card to Player’s hand determines draw or stand
– 7 Banker’s hand must stand
When the Banker’s third card decision is dependent on the third card drawn by the Player, the following rules apply:
If the Player’s hand stands on two cards (6,7), then a two card Banker hand totaling 3,4,5 must draw and a Banker hand totaling 6 must stand.
Payoffs for the Various Bets
“Classic” Baccarat:
Winning Player bet: 1 to 1
Winning Banker bet: 0.95 to 1 (you pay the commission).
Winning Tie bet: 8 to 1
“Super 6”
Winning Banker bet: 1 to 1
Winning Banker bwt is 0.5 to 1 if Banker wins with a score of 6
Winning Super 6 bet is 12 to 1 if Banker wins with a score of 6
At a “Pairs” table, you have two more betting options: you can bet on either the Player’s or Banker’s 1st 2 cards being a pair.
Winning Player Pair bet pays 11 to 1
Winning Banker Pair bet also pays 11 to 1
At a table with “Big Hand & Small Hand” bets:
If the game ends with 4 cards on the table:
A “Small Hand” bet pays 1.5 to 1
If the game ends with 5 or 6 cards on the table:
A “Big Hand” bet pays 0.5 to 1
On “Grande Punto and Banco”, games
A bet on “1” wager pays 85 to 1 if the winning hand is 1
A bet on “2” wager pays 45 to 1 if the winning hand is 2
A bet on “3” wager pays 30 to 1 if the winning hand is 3
A bet on “4” wager pays 16 to 1 if the winning hand is 4
A bet on “5” wager pays 12 to 1 if the winning hand is 5
A bet on “6” wager pays 6.5 to 1 if the winning hand is 6
A bet on “7” wager pays 4.5 to 1 if the winning hand is 7
A bet on “8” wager pays 3 to 1 if the winning hand is 8
A bet on “9” wager pays 2.5 to 1 if the winning hand is 9
Chat Away!
Look out for the chat dialogue box . Your message and those of other players will show on the screen, so don’t swear!
Live Baccarat RTP:
Do you want to know why this game is so popular with the high rollers? Well, as we have mentioned- it’s all down to the low house edge (or conversely the relative high return to player (RTP%).
A bet on Player returns 98.76% and a bet on Banker returns 98.94%.
Plus it’s fast. That’s why the Big Boys and Girls love baccarat!
Odds and Payouts Summary
Let’s just summarise those main bets again, shall we? If you place a Banker or Player bet and win, you’ll scoop 1:1 (minus a 5-percent commission on the Banker Bet). Winning a Tie bet will pay you out 8:1. And aside from the normal wagers, there are also the following side bets:
Player/Banker Pair. Bag an extra payout of 11:1 if you place a respective side bet and the Player or Banker’s hand is comprised of cards of the same denomination.
Conclusion
A good online version of this ever popular table game. As there are only twenty seconds between each deal, the pace is very fast and the ‘Live’ dealer element really does immerse you right into the casino vibe.
Wombat score: 4.5/5
A fast game with a low house edge. No wonder James loves it.