Why Blackjack is Better than Baccarat
Blackjack or baccarat, how do you choose between the two staples available in nearly every casino? These two card games have a lot in common but also a few distinct differences that separate them.
Focusing on these differences, we’d argue that blackjack is superior to baccarat for most players. To prop up this argument, we’ve summarized the biggest advantages we see in blackjack.
Blackjack is Not All About Luck
The biggest difference and perhaps the most significant reason we think blackjack is better than baccarat which is super popular on Asian sites like UFABET, is that skill plays a role in this game. To be more precise, baccarat is an entirely luck-based game where you do not make any decisions. This means that you can’t do anything to increase your winning chances, as baccarat involves exactly zero percent skill.
On the other hand, while blackjack certainly still relies on a luck element, it also demands a good deal of skill. In the long run, players’ decisions greatly influence the outcome.
The ability to decide on your hands and take advantage of more favorable situations makes blackjack a better game if you want to have at least some control when gambling.
The Difference In House Edge Matters Over Time
Baccarat offers one of the lowest house edge percentages of all casino games. Even so, it can’t match the percentages that blackjack can deliver. The reason for this is simple. Blackjack offers the best house edge out of all casino table games.
To be more precise, an eight-deck baccarat game has a house edge of 1.06% on the banker bet, 1.24% on the player bet, and over 14% on the tie bet. As the tie bet is generally a bad bet that you shouldn’t partake in, we’ll only focus on the first two in the context of this blackjack vs. baccarat comparison.
By comparison, blackjack has a more flexible house edge, as it all depends on how well you play it. For instance, if you play it with an optimal strategy, you can lower the house edge down to 0.50%. This half-percent difference in house edge between the two games doesn’t seem like much, but the money it saves you can really add up over the months and years.
Blackjack Opens the Door For Many Strategies
As blackjack combines elements of skill and luck, it also allows you to learn different strategies and improve your decision-making abilities. There’s a lot to experiment with from beginner blackjack tactics to more advanced guidelines in the game, and you can even grab a blackjack cheat sheet when playing.
Moreover, if you’re feeling confident when playing blackjack, you can even try counting cards in blackjack. Just keep in mind that it’s practically impossible to do so in six and eight-deck blackjack games. You’ll have to play single-deck or at most double-deck blackjack if you want to test your card-counting skills.
In comparison, you can’t do any of this in baccarat. There aren’t any strategies apart from general betting ones, such as Martingale, you can apply in any casino game. When playing baccarat, you’re guessing the result and hoping you’re right. This makes the game rather one-dimensional, as you can’t influence the outcome in any way.
Baccarat Has A More Complex Scoring System
Even though blackjack is a deeper game in terms of playing cards, it’s very easy to learn. This is because you can quickly learn the basics and still be somewhat efficient with your bets as a complete beginner. The scoring system and the objective of every game are straightforward to understand.
On the other hand, baccarat has a very complicated scoring system, especially when you consider that it’s a luck-based table game. You can easily get confused as a beginner when it comes to the third card dealing rules in baccarat. Of course, the dealer will tell you if you lost o won a hand, but it is much more interesting to play when you understand all the game’s ins and outs.