Baccarat Score Cards

Now that you know a little bit about Baccarat – its history, the variations, and the rules, it’s time for you to get started and play. When you’re playing Baccarat at a live casino, you’ll notice right away that it’s unique. The Baccarat tables are usually set apart from the rest of the casino games, either in a room of its own, or in an alcove. It’s usually reserved for the high rollers, and has a reputation as a game for the elite.

When you sit down to play, you might also notice something else a little different from all the other casino games. You get a scorecard (and possibly a pen or pencil) so you can record the outcomes of the games you play. In fact, you are not only encouraged to keep score, you are expected to. You can also bring your own notepad/paper if you wish to record additional notes. If you take a look at Chinese players playing the game, you will also notice that they may act or do things slightly differently. This is heavily due to chinese superstitions which they feel help to increase their odds of a positive outcome.

So why the emphasis on the scorecard? In Baccarat, it’s not uncommon for one round to use up to 8 decks of cards. That’s a lot of cards and combinations to remember! So, using a scorecard can help you see the trends that have been occurring. It also helps you to see what you’ve been doing, so you can fine tune your strategy and approach to the game based on those trends.

Also, if you’re employing a more complex betting system (like the Labouchere system, which starts with a numerical sequence and requires you to keep track of your wins and losses) your scorecard becomes your best friend so you don’t have to try and remember everything in your head. Writing down the results gives you a record you can refer back to, both during the game and afterwards.

Even if you’re using a simpler system like the Martingale system, keeping score and noting trends is still useful. For example, if your scorecard notes that your longest losing streak is 5 hands in a row, you’ll know that your bankroll needs to be large enough to at least cover doubling your original bet 5 times. You can then modify your approach accordingly if needed – either by increasing your bankroll, or by decreasing your original bet.

Other notations you might want to include on your scorecard include the number of decks played and the table limit. Basically, write down anything of note. You may not need the information at the time, but it’s better to write down something you don’t need, than ignore something as inconsequential, then later saying “I wish I remember___.”

The last thing to remember is not to let Baccarat intimidate you. Yes, there’s a mystique cultivated with its historical reputation, it being physically set apart in the casino, and the pomp and ritual involved with the scoring (something that doesn’t happen with any other game). But ultimately, once you can look past all that and just look at the game itself, you’ll see that Baccarat is very simple, and a game worth learning and playing.