When people first start playing baccarat, they might be a little intimidated. After all, there are several different bets you can make (banker hand, player hand, tie wager), and the point system for determining winning hands can be confusing.

However, the truth is that baccarat is actually one of the easiest casino games you can play. You don't need to worry about how winning hands are determined; instead, you only have to think about making the three aforementioned bets. And as for baccarat strategy, you can take care of this by following the simple tips listed below.

1. Bet on the Banker Hand Every Time

When it comes to three available wagers, there's only one smart choice: the banker bet. By wagering on the banker hand to win every time, you'll only be dealing with a 1.06% house edge. Now the player hand bet is fairly close in house edge (1.24%) as well. However, there's really no reason to give the casino an extra 0.18% advantage just because you have a hunch about the player hand winning. 

2. Avoid the Tie Bet

In the above section, we didn't get into the tie wager much. And the truth is that the tie bet isn't really worth discussing because it carries one of the highest edges out of any casino wager. By betting that the banker and player bets will tie, you're facing a 14.4% house advantage. Seeing as how this is such a bad proposition, you shoudn't even consider the tie bet an option. About the only worse things in the casino are keno, certain craps prop bets and drinking too much alcohol while playing.

3. Avoid Risky Betting Systems

One more tip that's important for baccarat success involves avoiding questionable betting systems. This is especially true of the Martingale, which calls on players to double bets following every loss. The problem here is that you can really lose some major money by continuing to double wagers after losses. So we highly advise that you stay away from risky progression betting systems.

As you can see, it's not overly-difficult to use optimal strategy in baccarat. The only step that's left after following these three tips is to properly manage your money and hope that you get some along the way.