As one of Asia’s most popular table games, baccarat always draws a crowd. In more recent times, interest in the online counterpart of the classic has skyrocketed, thanks in part, to the new immersive (and authentic enough) experience players can dive into when visiting live casinos. Live dealer baccarat brings you a touch closer to the real deal, with the atmosphere, excitement and ambience of real brick-and-mortar casinos and human dealers providing a unique backdrop to one of Asia’s hottest card games.
Recommended Live Baccarat Casinos
These real money and crypto casinos accept players from all over Asia and Oceania.
Australia: The best online casinos in Australia support the Aussie dollar unless you choose to play with cryptocurrencies, which is possible at all the sites listed below except Westpoint.
India: All India casinos listed below offer the popular Andar Bahar and Teen Patti games. In addition, Indian rupees are supported at all betting sites except BitStarz and Bitcasino.
Indonesia: The following online casinos are recommended for players in Indonesia. By the way, Indonesian rupiah is supported at Bons Casino and Betmaster.
Japan: For detailed information on Japanese real money online casinos, please visit our Japanese language site.
Malaysia: See the best real money and crypto online casinos for players in Malaysia here. In addition, Happy Luke and Betmaster support Malaysian ringgit.
New Zealand: You can play with New Zealand dollars at all New Zealand online casinos, with the exception of crypto betting sites Bitcasino and Stake.
Philippines: Check out our recommendations for online casinos available for players in the Philippines. In addition, Betmaster supports the Philippine peso unless you choose to play with cryptocurrencies at one of the Bitcoin casinos (e.g. BitStarz).
South Korea: Gamblers in South Korea have good options when it comes to online casinos/sportsbooks that offer native language support and the Korean won as the base currency.
Thailand: These are the best real money and crypto online casinos for players in Thailand. In addition, Happy Luke, Live Casino House and Betmaster support Thai baht.
Vietnam: These are the best real money and crypto online casinos for players in Vietnam. In addition, Bons, Happy Luke, Live Casino House and Betmaster support Viet dong.
Quick Links:
Live Baccarat FAQ
You can play live baccarat for real winnings at any online casino, both with FIAT money and cryptocurrencies. Depending on the gaming site, you can deposit and play in your native currency or crypto. Alternatively, the currency of the player account is USD (unless additional currencies are supported). The same applies to withdrawals. Either they are processed in your currency or from USD into your currency. As already mentioned, you can also stick with cryptocurrencies.
Depending on the casino and where you live (essentially the address you provide when setting up your account), different payment methods are supported. Finally, you just need to make sure that you are playing at a reputable live casino - see the list here.
While we are at it. Live casino games cannot be played in free play mode. However, when you join the game, you can watch the action at the table if you wish.
Yes, online live baccarat can be beaten if you go on a lucky streak! With the obvious aside, it is extremely difficult to beat in the long run. The reason to this is the house edge.
There are circumstances where you can cut down the house edge though. One is by making use of the online casino bonus (although most recent bonuses require hefty wagering requirements for live baccarat, making it harder to profit from bonuses). Another way is if you count cards. Although the edge created is significantly smaller than in blackjack thus probably not worth the time and energy to be invested for most people, it still is a proven strategy.
That being said, if you're worried about being cheated or the game being rigged, no concern there - well, not at our recommended best live baccarat casinos at least. The reason to this is again the house edge. Casinos can always win in the long run without cheating or rigging the game, so it's in their best interest to maintain good reputation.
Some experts say counting cards in baccarat can work as a long-term strategy, but the edge created is almost negligible that it's probably not even worth trying. Bottom line, baccarat is a game of chance with house edge, just like roulette and most other casino games, so there is no real strategy to beat the game in the long run.
That being said, there are betting strategies that can be used to maximize the chances of meeting certain goals in the short run. For example, the Martingale strategy maximizes the chances of having a winning session. On the other hand, an anti-Martingale strategy can maximize the amount of winnings when on a lucky streak. See more about baccarat betting strategies here.
Yes, but these are hard to come by. A baccarat bonus can be a welcome (deposit) offer that can be used either for live dealer games or all casino titles including online slots. On the other hand, there are also promotions (e.g. cashback) that also apply to the live dealer games.
The easiest way to view the current baccarat bonus offers is here on our main live casino page.
Yes, there are. This again depends on the casino and the variety of baccarat tables offered. English is the standard language. However, there are also tables with Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Indonesian, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese-speaking dealers. If you prefer native dealers, stick to Asian game providers like Asia Gaming and SA Gaming. View the list of live dealer game providers by casino here.
VIP or high roller players are able to place bets of several thousand dollars (or currency equivalent) per round. This is already possible at the "standard" tables. Even higher limits apply at the VIP tables - see here. VIP tables are also exclusive, as you can only join if your bankroll is high enough.
Of course. It makes no difference whether you access the live dealer games or the online casino via your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop device. Just as you would visit your preferred online casino in the web browser, log into your account and launch a title, the same applies to the games in the live casino lobby. A casino app is not required either, though, some sites do offer them optionally.
Key Features of Live Baccarat Online
Like standard RNG (random number generator) versions of baccarat, live baccarat games can often come with slight twists on the rules. Of course, these enhance and add extra flavour to the game we already know and love. Common features of baccarat games include:
- A Live Experience: Playing live baccarat involves gameplay over an HD video stream. The gameplay is handled by a real-to-life human dealer, with all the user’s betting options displayed via a digital screen. The action is played out by the dealer, in an immersive baccarat experience complete with interchangeable cameras, and sometimes, cunning side-bets.
- 8 Deck Fixed Shoe: Most live baccarat tables are played with 8 decks of cards. They get shuffled and get fixed into the shoe. Some tables only use 6 decks and/or get machine-shuffled before every hand though.
- Commission or No Commission Baccarat: Keep an eye out for the rules of each individual live baccarat game you find. While a 5% commission is commonly paid out on winning banker hands, there are live baccarat games out there which do not charge such a fee. Payout on a banker win with a value of 6 is reduced to 0.5:1 on such No Commission variants though. While the RTP for player and tie bets remain the same as the regular variant, that number goes down very slightly for banker bets, although only a negligible 0.01%.
There are, of course, other baccarat variants out there and they all tinker with the rules in some way, shape or form. Some include VIP stakes, and others are designed for the penny pinchers amongst us. Some live baccarat games feature short delays between hands, and others contain side-bets, such as extra winnings for pairs. Explore what’s around before you decide to commit to one live baccarat game over another.
On-Table Options When Playing Live Baccarat
Like most live dealer games, live baccarat games can come with several on-table features, and these can include:
- Adjustable Cameras: These allow players to get right to the heart of the action.
- Side-Bets: Some baccarat games offer them, and others don’t. Even when they do, the types of side-bets vary from game to game.
- A Host of Interactive Tools: Interactive tools in live baccarat games can see you able to view the results of previous hands, access road maps to potentially predict future games, and more.
Note that live casino games are not available in fun mode. When you are logged into your casino account, though, you may take a peek at the action unfolding at the tables. However, gameplay is only possible in real money mode or with crypto.
Live Baccarat Games in More Detail
Asian players love to have a flutter at baccarat, so it bodes well that there are plenty of variants out there. Some of the more common live baccarat games you can play include:
Live Baccarat
The vanilla version of live baccarat games is also the most common and most popular of all. Unlike other live casino table games, players of most live baccarat are not limited to a certain number of seats at a table. Since you can wager on the banker’s hand, the player’s hand or a tie, everybody is entitled to have a crack at live baccarat, no matter how many people tune in to the stream. Of course, there are live baccarat games which do have set numbers of seats, though, in most games, this won’t be an issue.
Most live baccarat games come with several handy options, such as adjustable cameras, and past game history. Many also allow you to place side-bets (as mentioned above) and feature 8 decks. Streams tend to come from across the globe, although Macao-based streams are always going to be more popular with players from Asia.
Speed Baccarat
Speed Baccarat is one of several live baccarat variants you can sometimes find in Asian online and live casinos. As its name implies, there is a fast and speedy element to this game. Amongst the features which differentiate it from live baccarat are…
- Players have half the time to make their bet. Ordinarily, live baccarat games take 48 seconds or so. This is cut down to around 27 seconds with Speed Baccarat, with the betting time in-between games fixed at just 12 seconds.
- This baccarat game does not feature random shuffling.
- The streams for this game tend to come from Eastern Europe, rather than Asia.
Mini Baccarat
Live Mini Baccarat offers a unique way to play the game. This baccarat game also uses 8 decks and offers random shuffling. There are a few things which distinguish it from live baccarat, though, such as…
- This live baccarat game comes with a handy selection of side-bets, such as Pair Plus.
- There are seats at this table, with a total of 7 available.
- Offers roadmaps and bet/hand tracking to and help players “predict” future games.
Super 6 Baccarat
Super 6 is a variant of No Commission Baccarat (which only pays 0.5:1 on banker wins with the value of 6 but paying all other banker wins 1:1). Super 6 adds one key side bet to “insure” the banker win of 6:
- “Super 6” side bet is optional.
- Payout for the side bet varies, depending on the game provider (12:1 – 16:1, EVO version pays 15:1).
- On some providers, banker win of 6 is a push in the base game (obviously these are to be avoided).
Lightning Baccarat
Lightning Baccarat is one of the latest additions to the already-rich Evolution live baccarat table lineup. This variant features special “Lightning” cards that can multiply your winnings up to 262,144x! The base game is mostly played out the same as regular baccarat, but with these notable features (and some differences):
- “Lightning fee” of 20% will be charged to every bet.
- Up to 5 random Lightning cards will be selected by an RNG before the cards are dealt, each worth 2x, 3x, 5x, or 8x multiplier.
- Multiple Lightning cards multiply each other, meaning the winnings on player/banker bets can go up to 512x (or 8^3) theoretically.
- Optional Pair side bets (9:1 payout) are available and Lightning multipliers do apply.
- Payout for the tie bet is reduced to 5:1 because up to 6 lightning cards (as opposed to 3 for player/banker bets) can come into play for a maximum multiplier of 262,144x (8^6).
- Payout is capped at $500,000.
Live VIP Baccarat
Most live casino game providers have come up with their own versions of Live VIP Baccarat tables to cater to VIP high rollers, such as Evolution’s Salon Privé Baccarat being the prime example. VIP Baccarat tables are strictly one-player-against-the-dealer, and the table becomes private once a player is seated. Here are some key VIP-treatment features (and a requirement) of Live VIP Baccarat tables…
- Maximum privacy is provided with no other player even allowed to watch the game.
- There is no time limit on player’s actions, and a “deal now” button is usually available.
- Minimum bankroll of normally around $5k – $10k is required just to sit on the table, and minimum bet is set significantly higher, accordingly.
Squeeze Baccarat
Live Squeeze Baccarat is one of the more popular baccarat variants amongst Asian players. The most appealing aspect of this game is “squeezing” cards, which happens to be very popular amongst Chinese players. The ritual involves squeezing the cards before they are turned over.
- The dealer squeezes the cards (usually either the player or banker with the most total bet amount, depending on the provider).
- The squeezing of the cards is replicated by a close-up camera shot.
- This live baccarat game features arguably more adjustable cameras than any other live dealer game, with anything from 15-17 cameras used in the games, particularly for the “squeezing” aspect of the game.
Our Baccarat Favourite: Control Squeeze
Baccarat Control Squeeze by Evolution took Squeeze Baccarat to another level. It just might be the best live baccarat game out there, and is also our favourite. Here are the reasons:
- Instead of the dealer squeezing the cards for you in Squeeze Baccarat, each player gets to squeeze them as they wish in this “control squeeze” variant.
- Cutting-edge technology lets each player squeeze cards in their individual window mounted on the game screen by hovering the mouse or slowly swiping over the cards.
- Bet limits range from a minimum $1 to $90,000 (max bet amount may vary depending on the casino).
Hint: You can find Baccarat Control Squeeze wherever you can find Evolution Gaming titles, which is practically any online casino. If you can’t find the game using the search function, go directly to the Evolution lobby by launching one of their titles.
Supported Live Casino Software by Site
- Betmaster: BetGames, Evolution, Ezugi, Pragmatic Play, SA Gaming, Skywind, VIVO, XPro Gaming
- Bitcasino: 7Mojos, Asia Gaming, BetGames, Bombay Live, Evolution, Ezugi, Pragmatic Play
- BitStarz: Authentic, Evolution
- Bons: Asia Gaming, Bombay Live, EGT, Enjoy Gaming, Evolution, Games Global, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, Swintt, Tom Horn
- CoinSlotty: Absolute Live Gaming, Atmosfera, Authentic, Bombay Live, Evolution, Ezugi, Live Solutions, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, Swintt, TVbet
- Happy Luke: Asia Gaming, Bombay Live, Evolution, Ezugi, GamePlay Live, N2 Live, Pragmatic Play, SA Gaming, Skywind, SuperSpade, VIVO
- Kosmonaut: Evolution, Ezugi, Microgaming
- Live Casino House: Asia Gaming, Bombay Live, Evolution, Ezugi, GamePlay Live, N2 Live, Pragmatic Play, SA Gaming, Skywind, SuperSpade, VIVO
- LuckyNiki: Evolution, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, SA Gaming, SuperSpade, VIVO
- Stake: Evolution, Pragmatic Play
Recommendation: Betmaster Online Baccarat Casino
If baccarat and the other live dealer casino games are your forte, you can’t go wrong with Betmaster. The Curacao-licensed gambling site allows player registrations from any country in Asia and Oceania (except Australia). Their collection of live games are streamed from various top casinos and studios across Asia, with the likes of Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic and Ezugi providing the games, amongst others. Also keep an eye out for their selection of SA Gaming speciality casino games (see video below), if you want a taste of home when playing online at this site. Last but not least they also feature a dedicated section for slot games.
Note on Casinos Operated by the Dama NV Group
These include Kosmonaut and BitStarz, where players from all over Asia and Oceania can open a real money account. The reason lies in the Curacao gambling licence. Those who prefer to bet with cryptocurrencies instead of real money (or both) also have the option at Dama Casinos.
How to Play Live Baccarat Online
The rules and setup are exactly the same as the traditional baccarat game played at brick-and-mortar casinos. Here are the rules:
- The game is played between a player hand and a banker hand.
- Whichever hand that gets closer to 9 wins.
- Players can bet on either hand and/or the tie.
- Cards 2 – 9 are counted at their face value.
- 10s and face cards count as 0.
- A is always counted as 1.
- 2 cards are dealt to both player hand and the banker hand.
- Depending on the drawing rules, either hand/both hands will be dealt a third card.
- Drawing rules are pre-set so players don’t get the option to hit or stand.
- A player hand win gets paid 1:1, banker hand 0.95:1, tie 8:1.
Baccarat Drawing Rules
Whether the player hand and/or the banker hand draws the third card depends on pre-set rules (AKA the “baccarat third card rule”). In other words, nobody gets to “choose” to hit or stand.
Therefore, there is no need to remember them at all to start winning at live baccarat right away. The game becomes a lot more exciting if you do though!
- If the first two cards make an 8 or 9 for either or both of the hands, no third card will be dealt (this is called a “natural 8 or 9”).
- If the first two cards make a 6 or 7 for both hands, no third card will be dealt.
- If the first two cards make a 7 for the banker, only the player hand gets dealt the third card.
In all other situations, the hand continues according to the chart below:
Banker’s hand | Banker stands if the player’s third card is one of the below |
---|---|
0 – 2 | All cards (banker always draws the third card) |
3 | 8 |
4 | 0, 1, 8, 9 |
5 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 |
6 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 |
Baccarat Betting Options
Like most baccarat games, live baccarat has a set number of bets you can make. Just because you are taking a seat at a live baccarat table does not mean that you must bet on the player’s hand. Options you have open to you include…
- Banker’s Hand: You can choose to bet on the banker’s hand if you wish. Ordinarily, you can expect to pay a 5% commission on any winning banker’s hand you bet on. This means that the payouts are 0.95:1, unless you happen to be playing a commission-free live baccarat game.
- Player’s Hand: Betting on the player’s hand will generally see you pocket 1:1 winnings.
- Tie: You could also bet on a tie. This is the least likely outcome of the three main baccarat bets, which is why it comes with winnings worth 8:1.
- Side-Bets: Regardless of whichever type of side-bet you are aiming to play, side-bets must be placed before the start of each game. Perfect Pair side-bets pay out if the first two cards of either the banker or player hand form a suited pair. These result in wins worth 25:1. Other side-bets offer different pay rates.
Side Bets Explained
Baccarat may get monotonous at times, with the standard player/banker bets only paying up to a mere 1:1. Well aware of that player psychology, live game providers have come up with various baccarat side bets to spice up the game. Do note though that most (if not all) of these side bets have low RTPs, and that’s why we push Baccarat Control Squeeze as our favourite best live baccarat variant instead. Anyway, these are some of the “popular” side bets, just to give you an idea (payouts may vary depending on the live game provider):
Tie
The standard tie bet is essentially a side bet because it’s always optional. Although it pays out 8:1, it is notorious for its ludicrous 14.36% house edge.
(Either) Pair
You’ll be betting either (or both) on the player hand or banker hand to make a pair on their first two cards dealt. The hand itself doesn’t have to win. It pays 11:1.
Perfect Pair
Perfect Pair pays out 25:1 when the first two cards dealt to either the player or banker hand is paired with the same suit. If both hands turn out suited pairs, it pays a whopping 200:1!
Super 6
Super 6 is a variation of No Commission Baccarat, with one particular side bet added. The “Super 6” side bet is won when the banker wins with the value of 6. Payout varies widely depending on the provider, between 12:1 – 16:1 (Evolution variant pays 15:1).
Dragon Bonus
Dragon Bonus pays out when your hand “wins” by 4 points or more. A natural win of 8 or 9 also pays out 1:1 (natural tie will be a push). Typical paytable is as follows; however there’s a significant gap between the house edge between the player (2.65%) and banker (9.37%) Dragon Bonus bets:
- Natural win 1:1
- Win by 4 points – 1:1
- Win by 5 points – 2:1
- Win by 6 points – 4:1
- Win by 7 points – 6:1
- Win by 8 points – 10:1
- Win by 9 points – 30:1
The RTP in Live Dealer Baccarat
Live baccarat has a rather complex structure in place when it comes to the RTP (return to player) rate of games. The RTP varies depending on the type of bet you make. The RTP rate for a banker bet is 98.95%. RTP rates on player hands are 98.76%, and on ties they drop dramatically to 85.64% (8 deck baccarat), naturally making ties less favourable to players (85.68% in 6 deck baccarat).
Things get complicated when you introduce Perfect Pair bets into the game, with a Perfect Pair bet RTP rate set to 91.95%.
Ultimately, these are just theoretical return to player rates, and since each provider of live baccarat games has their own take on the rules, the odds are that the RTP rate of each baccarat variant will differ slightly from its counterparts. Find out more on the odds and variance in our baccarat betting strategy guide.
Live Casino Betting Limits
Smartphone users: To view the table below in full, please scroll sideways.
Game | Min. Bet | Max. Bet | Bombay Live Max. Bet |
---|---|---|---|
Andar Bahar | $0.50 | $25,000 | $5,000 |
Bac Bo | $1 | $50,000 | N/A |
Baccarat | $0.10 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
Baccarat Control Squeeze | $1 | $90,000 | N/A |
Blackjack | $1 | $25,000 | $90,000 |
Caribbean Stud Poker | $1 | $4,000 | N/A |
Casino Hold'em | $0.50 | $5,000 | N/A |
Craps | $0.50 | $25,000 | N/A |
Dragon Tiger | $1 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
Fan Tan | $0.20 | $25,000 | N/A |
Roulette | $0.10 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
Sic Bo | $0.20 | $25,000 | N/A |
Teen Patti | $0.50 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
Texas Hold'em | $0.50 | $2,500 | N/A |
Triple Card Poker | $1 | $25,000 | N/A |
How Do You Play Baccarat for Real Money?
Asian live casinos will often accept a decent enough selection of deposit methods for you to fund your live baccarat sessions, with known deposit methods including Neosurf, Skrill, MiFinity, DuitNow, TrueMoney, and conventional card payments, to name just a handful. Note, the choice of payment methods depends strictly on your place of residence.
Real Money Betting with Asian Currencies
As is the case in many online casinos, the USD will form the base currency of your account. However, depending on the betting site, Asian currencies are also supported. To see immediately if your currency is supported at your preferred site, check our baccarat casino listings. For example, at Betmaster you can play for real money winnings with AUD, CNY, IND, JPY, KRW, MYR, NZD, PHP, THB, VND and USD (to name a few).
Betting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge and Other Cryptos
Betting in online baccarat games with cryptocurrencies is also common (and most enjoyable at betting sites that are set up accordingly). Well-known names include Bitcasino and Stake. Not only is the selection of supported cryptocurrencies impressive. You can also use your coins at will on live baccarat and all other games.
If you have a crypto wallet with some BTC, ETH or USDT, you can already make a transfer to your casino wallet. As you would expect, each cryptocurrency at the gambling site is also held in its own wallet.
Buying Cryptocurrencies at the Casino
If you have neither a wallet nor coins, you can top up your account directly at the online casino through a third-party provider (e.g. Remik, CoinsPaid, MoonPay). In our opinion, however, the effort is not worth it, as you also have to verify yourself with the crypto payment providers. In addition, the fees are higher. Therefore, you should have organised your coins beforehand. If you already buy your coins at the casino, the better alternative is to do it with real money (FIAT), provided the site offers this option. You can find a detailed guide to betting at crypto casinos here.
Live Baccarat Bonuses
As with most live casino games, live baccarat bonuses are hard to find. At least, bonuses which are specific to baccarat are not commonplace. General live casino welcome bonuses can be found, though. These will typically only be valid on the most common live casino titles, of which live baccarat is one of them – further details on live casino bonuses here.
Aside from rather generic live casino welcome bonus or deposit bonus offers – which you can certainly use on baccarat games – what else is there? It is not impossible that you may find a cashback deal, whereby a site offers you cash back based on losses you have incurred playing live baccarat at their site. These offers are superb but rare, so don’t expect them to appear frequently. It is always worth digging around first, though, to see if you can spot an Asian casino which offers them before you decide to sign up and play at such a casino.
The History of Baccarat: One of the First European Gambling Games
Baccarat is one of the first European gambling games to appear in history. Just how old the game is, though, nobody can quite rightly say. Baccara (Italian for “zero”) first popped up in the Fifteenth Century, when Felix Falguiere allegedly created it. However, there are reasons to believe that the Etruscans (a pre-Roman, Italian civilisation) may have played the game with 9-sided dices up to a thousand years before. Baccarat was eventually exported to France, where it became known as Chemin de Fer, and then to England. Ultimately, settlers brought it to the New World relatively unchanged.
In more modern times, it debuted at the neon-lit casinos of Las Vegas, and eventually, as technology advanced, online casinos. Although not as popular as other card games in the West (where it is more fondly known for being the game of choice for one, James Bond), baccarat is one of Asia’s most popular casino gambling games.