Most casino games and betting games that involve a degree of skill usually also involve an element of mathematics or statistics to give a punter an edge. Other betting events that mainly involve skill may or may not require a punter to understand math or the mathematical strategies behind a particular wager. Some of the most skilled and profitable bettors in history have used mathematical or statistical methods in their bets. Several betting strategies were developed over the 17th to the 21st century by Paroli, D’Alembert, Labouchere, Martingale, and other prominent punters and publishers. Today, punters use several of these strategies based on the names of their creators, which have mathematical foundations.
Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game that punters can place wagers on online. A baccarat game is played between a player and a banker, and several punters can place bets on one out of three outcomes simultaneously. A punter can place a wager on a win, loss, or draw. A punter must accurately predict which three victories to win the bet.
Mathematical Facts About Baccarat
Some of the mathematical facts about baccarat include the return to the player, the probability of drawing results, the likelihood of future events, skill or luck-based events, and using math to bet size wagers.
1. RTP
Also called a return to player is the total percentage a punter stands to win when making wagers on a particular outcome in the long run. Return to player is calculated based on statistical rates and requires a punter to have adequate statistical knowledge. For example, wagers on the bank result at 98.9% because it deducts up to 5%—wagers on the home result in a total payout. However, the house has a slightly higher edge of winning a bet. The RTP on a player’s hand is 98.7%.
2. Draw
For the house and the player to draw, they have to have the same points, i.e., 9 or 9. In the event of a draw, a punter can expect a payout of 8x the wager placed. However, the probability of winning a draw is the lowest when compared to a bank or a chance. An appeal also gives a punter a different outcome when making a wager. Punters can make the most out of bets on correctly predicted draw results with an 8x reward. However, the risk associated with such a wager is also extremely high.
3. Past Predicts Future
Each round is independent of the future in a baccarat game, and results don’t depend on what happened in previous rounds. However, the next card may rely on each band’s cards already dealt on the table. For example, if two high cards come out, the probability that the next card will be increased is low because the deck has slightly more low cards than high cards. Counting cards can be highly beneficial to someone who can master quick counting, statistical calculation, and math.
4. Skill Or Luck
Baccarat is a game that leans to an equal probability of luck and skill. The element of skill includes how the cards are drawn and the results of each game. The part of luck comes in because a punter has to navigate between three potential outcomes being a draw, win, or loss. With three effects, punters have a lower probability of making an accurate prediction than even-odd outcomes such as odd or even in roulette wagers.
5. Using Math To Bet Size
Punters can use mathematical betting strategies to estimate bet sizes for each baccarat wager. Bet sizing calculates how much a punter should stake on each wager based on their level of risk tolerance, betting funds, and expectation of profit. A punter can set up a sheet in excel, fill a set of cells with the total amount to wager, and establish a conservative bet size percentage such as 1%. A punter can then track each round, the result, and the profit/loss of the event.
