As far as the rules and gameplay are concerned, Fiesta Baccarat operates pretty much the same as traditional baccarat tables and follows standard rules. If you need a refresher on how it all works, make sure to check out our tutorial.
The objective, as with all baccarat games, is to predict whether the Player or Banker will draw cards with a total value closer to 9, or if the round will end in a Tie.
Each side draws two cards, with the option for a third card based on baccarat third card rules. Most cards count as their face value, though all cards 10 or stronger simply count as a 0. Additionally, any hand total exceeding 10 only counts as its first digit. For example, a total hand value of 16 counts as a score of 6.
There are three basic bets in Fiesta Baccarat – Player, Banker, and Tie. As you might imagine, if you bet on the player side and it ends up closer to 9, you win. However, because of third card rules, the banker side has a slightly bigger chance of winning. That’s why all winning Banker bets in Baccarat pay a 5% commission. As such, the returns for player bets are 1:1, 0.95:1 for banker bets, and 8:1 for tie wagers. However, banker bets boast the highest RTP at 98.84%.
Lastly, there is a handful of side bets available in Fiesta Baccarat by Ezugi. These are fairly standard offers for top online baccarat games – Player/Banker Pair, Perfect Pair, and Either Pair. All have somewhat lower RTP than the base game, however, which is also standard fare.
Pairs Side Bets
The game features two side bets, though they can be more realistically described as a single side bet with two options. They’re called Pairs, and they’re some of the most common types of side bets in online baccarat.
As the name implies, Pair bets are all about predicting that Player or Banker will draw two cards of the same rank. For instance, the Player Pair bet wins if both cards drawn on the Player side of the table are of the same value.
Additionally, you can also bet on Either Pair. This wager wins if either the Player or Banker card piles draw a Pair. However, the payout is significantly lower because Either Pair is much more likely to win.
Last but not least, Fiesta Baccarat also offers a bet called Perfect Pairs. This wager predicts that the first two Banker or Player hands form a pair of the same suit. It pays the most out of all four side bets at 25:1, but is also the least likely to win.
Since the rules of Fiesta Baccarat are standard-issue, all of the usual baccarat strategies can be used here to improve your overall returns.
Although the game is almost fully based on luck, there are still some strategies players can employ to maximize profits and minimize losses. For starters, all players should manage their bankrolls carefully to make their cash last longer. Beyond that, here are some common strategies to win baccarat.
Betting on the Banker
Whether playing a live dealer version or a standard online version of Baccarat, it is always best to bet on the dealer. This is universally true in all cases unless you play no commission baccarat.
The reasoning is quite simple – the Banker bet has the highest RTP and lowest house edge in baccarat. It’s slightly better than the Player bet and significantly better than Tie and side bets.
Despite the 5% commission, repeatedly betting on the banker is the statistically optimal way to play baccarat.
Avoid Tie Bets and Most Side Bets
The Tie bet is universally seen as a terrible option in all baccarat tables, and Fiesta baccarat is (sadly) no different.
This comes down to the same issue as our previous advice – statistics. With standard baccarat odds, tie bets offer an RTP rate of 85.64%. This translates into a house edge of almost 15%, which is around 7 times worse than the Player or Banker bets.
All of the available side bets suffer from a similar issue, with RTP rates ranging from 86% to just under 90%. This makes them a terrible investment for your long-term returns.
To be clear, this issue is found in pretty much every live dealer Baccarat table out there.