If you’ve visited popular live casino lobbies, you’ll notice that three casino games usually have far more tables than others. Those are roulette, blackjack, and, to a lesser extent, baccarat. The latter is a popular game due to its simplicity and low house edge, and it is SA Gaming’s live version of this popular table game that I’ll be looking at and reviewing today. Live Baccarat from SA Gaming is a card-based game involving 8 decks, 3 regular betting options, and 5 side bet options, and it is delivered in a live format. The game offers a 98.76% RTP for the Player Bet, 9894% for the Banker Bet, and 85.64% for the Tie Bet.
The first thing to understand about baccarat is that you’re not playing any hands yourself. You’re betting on the result of that hand, whether that’s the Player or Banker winning or the hand ending in a tie. You can also bet on either position winning by a natural or if their first two cards are a pair. In the later sections, I’ll break down the scoring system in more detail, but essentially, the winning position is the one with a hand value closest to 9.
It may take a few hands to understand how hands are scored, but once you have that down, you’ll quickly realise Baccarat is a simple card game. As you’ll see via the Live Baccarat demo below, while regular Baccarat has three simple bets, SA Gaming’s version gives you side bets, allowing you the chance to win up to 20:1.
| Provider | SA Gaming |
| Reels | 0 |
| Rows | 0 |
| Bonus Rounds | 0 |
| Bet Range | 1 - 20 |
| Volatility | Low, Medium, High |
| Max Win | 20x |
| Bonus Buy | No |
| RTP | 98.94% |
| Our Rating | 7.7 |
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Live Baccarat features theme, stakes, odds & pays
SA Gaming’s interface, once you load up the Live Baccarat game, is easy to figure out. Essentially, there is the live feed of the table, the live dealer, and the action taking place in front of you. Directly below are the betting options you can use to place your bets. Then, the table information and the hand history are to the right of both. The latter shows you the previous hands and which bets have won. Many players like to use this information when deciding which bets to place.
Now, let’s look at the payouts you’ll receive for the three different regular bets you can place.
- Player Bet: 1:1 is paid if you bet on the player position and it wins.
- Banker Bet: 0.95:1 is paid for winning Banker Bets (there is a 5% commission payable when this bet wins)
- Tie Bet: 8:1 is paid if the hand ends in a tie.
The size of the bets you can place on SA Gaming’s Live Baccarat depends on the table’s currently accepted stakes and the bets you want to wager on. On the demo version, you can bet between 1.00 and 20.00 on the Player or Banker or between 1.00 and 7.00 on the Tie.
Side Bets on Live Baccarat
There are also some side bets you can place which are independent of the regular bets. You’re not allowed to place some of these bets once a certain number of hands have been played – this is to prevent/combat card counting. The side bets available on SA Gaming’s Live Baccarat are:
- Player Pair: 11:1 is paid if the first two cards dealt to the player are a pair (Not allowed after 6 rounds of the shoe).
- Banker Pair: 11:1 is paid if the first two cards dealt to the player are a pair (Not allowed after 6 rounds of the shoe).
- Lucky Six: You’re paid 12:1 if the banker wins with a hand value of 6 without a third card or 20:1 if a third card is drawn (Not allowed after 50 rounds of a shoe).
- Player Natural: You win 7:2 if the Player wins with 8 or 9 from the first two cards (Not allowed after 50 rounds of a shoe).
Banker Natural: You win 7:2 if the Banker wins with 8 or 9 from the first two cards (Not allowed after 50 rounds of a shoe).
How to Play Live Baccarat
Okay, now it is time to discuss the hand-scoring aspect of baccarat and how a hand plays out. Essentially, aces are valued at 1, face cards at 0, and the rest at face value. The hand score is the right digit of the total number of cards. So, for example, if one position’s cards were 6 + 7 = 13, the actual hand value is 3.
Both positions are initially dealt two cards and should either have a score of 8 or 9; that position is the winner (of a natural), and there is no need for any more cards to be drawn. However, there are instances when either position could draw a third card. For example, the Player receives a third card with a hand valued at 0 – 5, and the Banker gets one with an initial hand value of 0 – 2.
Furthermore:
- The Banker receives a third card with a value of 3 if the Player is holding 0 – 7, or 9.
- The Banker receives a third card with a value of 4 if the Player is holding 2 – 7.
- The Banker receives a third card with a value of 5 if the Player is holding 4 – 6.
- The Banker receives a third card with a value of 6 if the Player is holding a value of 6 or 7.
Once the hands are calculated, winning bets are paid out, and a new hand begins.
Pros
- The SA Gaming lobby and interface are some of my favourites compared to other live casino suppliers.
- You can choose from several side bets as well as the regular Baccarat betting options.
- High RTPs if you play the safer bets
Cons
- The hand rankings and third card rules take a bit of time to understand.
Live Baccarat Review Final Thoughts
Of course, if you’re a regular player of Baccarat, you probably skipped through a lot of that, but hopefully, the breakdown of the game helped some others. If you are a regular player, I recommend you check out this particular live title from SA Gaming. As mentioned in the review, the betting interface is well laid out and easy to use, and the live dealers are professional, articulate, and friendly.
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