Bakaraa (Baccarat) — a card game with a famously low house edge
Bakaraa, known internationally as baccarat, is one of the oldest and most respected casino card games, and thanks to its simple rules and favourable maths it has earned a firm following among Estonian players too. Unlike many table games, baccarat demands no complex strategy or mental arithmetic — the player's only job is to decide which outcome to back. There are three possible bets: on the player hand, on the banker hand, or on a tie. A common source of confusion is the word "banker": it does not refer to the casino or to an opponent the player competes against directly. It is simply the second hand dealt at the table, and you can bet on its result exactly as you would on the player hand.
The flow of the game is entirely dictated by fixed rules, which makes baccarat unusually transparent. Each hand is first dealt two cards, and the winner is whichever total lands closest to nine. When counting, tens and face cards are worth zero, an ace counts as one, and the remaining cards carry their face value; if a total goes above nine, only the last digit matters, so a seven and an eight together make five rather than fifteen. Whether a third card is drawn is decided by strict, predetermined rules rather than by the player's choice, which means a player cannot influence the result any further once the bet is placed.
This is precisely where baccarat's greatest appeal lies for the disciplined player. The house edge on the banker bet is roughly 1.06%, one of the lowest figures anywhere on a casino floor. That means that over the long run the casino retains only a small slice of every banker stake, even after the modest commission that is typically deducted from winning banker bets. The player bet carries a slightly higher edge of around 1.24%, and these two wagers are the ones experienced players favour.
The most persistent misconception concerns the tie bet. Although its payout looks temptingly large, its house edge is many times higher than that of the banker or player bet, so it drains a bankroll far more quickly over time. Another myth is the belief in streaks and patterns: because every deal is independent of the last, past results never predict the next one, and keeping score of outcomes gives no mathematical advantage. There is likewise no system that removes the house edge from baccarat entirely.
In Estonia, baccarat is offered only by licensed operators holding a gambling permit from the Tax and Customs Board (EMTA), and play is permitted from the age of 21. While its low house edge makes baccarat one of the mathematically friendlier choices, no bet removes risk completely. Always play only with money you can afford to lose, set yourself time and deposit limits, and use your operator's responsible-gambling tools. If the game stops being entertainment, reach out to a support helpline.