Baccarat is one of the oldest card games around today. Believed to be first played in Italy in the 15th century, it has a long and relatively rich history. But, with this heritage comes many misconceptions and “baccarat wisdom” that can empty your bankroll if you aren’t careful! Here, we’ll be looking at some common fallacies in baccarat and analyzing why you should steer clear of these at all costs.
1. There’s a Trend You Can Follow To Win
It’s deeply ingrained in human nature to try and make sense of the unfathomable. And so, we turn to trends, believing they are present everywhere, and we only need to identify them. In baccarat, many casinos are powerfully current and subtly reinforce this belief. That’s why one standard error of most baccarat players is to seek alternations between bankers and players. For example, if they see a session play out as BPBPBPBP, the average baccarat player will bet on B next as that has now become the order of things. Casinos encourage this notion with visual representations of the shoe on scoreboards. Yet, the fact remains that the cards in the shoe are entirely unaware of the hands dealt. Therefore, there is no way to establish that the trend will continue.
2. Regression to the Mean Applies In Baccarat
We’ve all likely heard that if you toss a coin enough times, the number of heads will equal that of tails. Similarly, in baccarat, players can often fall under the illusion that frequencies will balance themselves out. But, just as the coin is unaware of whether it turned heads or tails, the cards are ignorant of the number of player and banker bets that have occurred. So logically, there’s no way they can make up for any deficit. Again, scoreboards may play a subtle role in misleading players here as it will show the raw number of times a shoe has turned banker, player, and tie bets. It can lead players to bet against the tide, believing that “regression” will soon occur.
3. Believing Baccarat Traditions Influence The Game
From betting with the big players to turning the cards, verbalizations, and wearing a red element of clothing when you bet, there are dozens of baccarat traditions out there today. However, none of these things influence the outcome of the game. The only thing these practices do is give you an illusion of power. It, in turn, clouds your judgment and might impair the betting options you choose.
No Hot Tables, No Fallacies
In the end, there are no hot tables or proven baccarat traditions. For better or worse, this is one of those games where an excessive number of outcomes are directly dependent on chance. It isn’t to say that there isn’t a way to beat baccarat. However, you must ensure that the system is fact-based and proven genuine. Otherwise, there’s no point.
