These are the books most often recommended by Baccarat players as good references on how to play the game and generally interesting reads on the topic.

(1) The Baccarat Battle Book by Frank Scoblete - 1999

Scoblete’s book is by far the most frequently recommended and best selling of the Baccarat books. It offers a full discussion of the game and systems of play. It’s best known for its advice on how to maximize comps and lower casino commission as means of getting the most out of your baccarat purse. Experienced players may find it too basic, but it’s highly recommended for beginners.

(2) Baccarat For The Clueless (The Clueless Guides) - John May - 2000

May’s book explains the stats behind various bets and so when to place different bets. He puts forward a counting system that seems to be reasonably successful in the right circumstances. He also explains the history and culture of the game. Gets a bit technical in places but there’s enough here for experienced players to get their teeth into as well as those new to the game.

(3) 24/7: Living it Up and Doubling Down in the New Las Vegas - Andres Martinez - 1999

Mr Martinez was subbed $50,000 back in the 90’s to go play in Las Vegas and act like a tourist. Nice work if you can get it! He mainly played baccarat and blackjack – and the book is about his exploits, and what happened to his money. It’s not a ‘how to’ book so you won’t really learn how to play but it’s a fun read and gives an interesting view of Las Vegas and the gambling industry at that time.

(4) Lyle Stuart on Baccarat - Lyle Stuart - 2007

Lyle Stuart is a world champion Baccarat player who tells about how own experiences of winning and losing. Explains Baccarat odds, when and how to play and when to walk away. Doesn’t recommend any specific system. An entertaining read.

(5) The Winner’s Guide to Casino Gambling: 3rd Revised Edition - Edwin Silberstang

As the name suggests, this book covers a wide range of casino games not just baccarat, though the chapter on baccarat is very good. Silberstang’s essential point is, play the games with the lowest house edge (which includes baccarat), and then play the bets that minimizes your losses! The book tells you how. Good solid advice for beginners and intermediate players.

(6) Secrets of Winning Baccarat - Brian Kaysar - 2003

For more experienced baccarat players. Offers detailed strategies, but you really need to have a good grasp of the game first to use them well. Some question to validity of the strategies he puts forward.

(7) Guerrilla Gambling - Frank Scoblete

One of the most popular general gambling guides around, includes 2 chapters on Baccarat. No magical winning system, but masses of tips on how to make the most of your gambling budget by using clever betting, money management strategies and comps. A very entertaining read.

(8) Gambling’s Greatest Secrets Revealed - Benny J. Berry - 1997

This short book uses statistical analysis to show how best to win at craps, baccarat and roulette. Uses 3 systems - Flagship, Advanced Flagship and Point and Figure. Careful explanations of betting strategies and money management.

(9) Powerful Profits from Casino Table Games - Victor Royer – 2004

Explains how to play, the odds and house edge for various casino games, including a good section on Baccarat. Has an analysis of card-counting for Baccarat.

(10) John Patrick's Baccarat - John Patrick - 2000

John Patrick’s book explains the rules of Baccarat and, accepting the unavoidable house edge on the game, how to get the best enjoyment from it and avoid losing unnecessarily!

What's your favorite baccarat book?

Hi All Baccarat friends

Im a beginner in this fascinating game. Tried my luck at the casinos in Macau recently. I think its really difficult to win unless Lady Luck is on your side.

Having surfed the net for new reading material, I wonder if you can assist me to find this book "Power Baccarat 2 by Byron Hebert at a reasonable price. To those who have read this book please give your views on whether its worth purchasing it.

Good luck to all baccarat players.

Power Baccarat 2 by Byron Hebert needs to be in the top 10.....figure out which one needs to be replaced....maybe Silberstangs book should go.

Another one should go. John Patrick, #10. Patrick's integrity was severely compromised in the late 1990s. He had produced a blackjack card counting video that had been filmed inside a casino, to promote his system, using casino staff, table and chips. His book on blackjack is considered to have probably the worst BJ basic strategy chart ever devised. In the Blackjack community as a whole, nothing Patrick puts his name to is considered seriously as he was, and may still be, a casino mole.

While I'm at it, Uncle Frank Scoblete may very well be a good ol boy and prolific writer and seller of his books. Most all of the vast number he has already written and sold are great for learning the basics of how to play whichever game that book is about. However, Frank has been involved with another one of his ventures in recent times... dice control. If you talk to a craps pro, they'll tell you that not a great deal of credence should be expected from his $800 craps 'dice control' system. Some advice is passed on: Caveat emptor. As for his baccarat book, great if you want to learn the basics of how to play. Anything else... Caveat Emptor.
As for John May's book, counting the cards at Baccarat with a view to gaining an edge, should be seen as where many learned long ago to see it: a discredited concept. IMO

Now that I just unloaded that negative book baggage, I turn to the positive, and address this Q to Grab The Gold, Garnabby, Mike and any others here who may be aficionados of this game...
What are your favorite FOUR books you have read on Baccarat?

Yeah, right. You won't catch me playing anything online with those online bastards setting their House Edge on something outrageously greedy. And why wouldn't they, seeing as they are largely unregulated? Why would they take a chance that someone might get real lucky one day?

My strategy for the books thing was to get the oracles to list their favorite four and then we can cross-reference and come up with the best two in the world. You got a better idea? You can begin by listing your best.

How's things baccarat-wise up there in your neck of the woods?

IMO, governments have proved time and again that they are totally inept and incompetent at running anything at all. History shows this beyond doubt. They should be responsible for two main things, national security/military and tax collection. Anything else is better left to proved private enterprise. So what the hell are they doing getting involved in trying to run a casino industry? Dealers doing whaaaa? I never heard of that... What jerk behaviour is that? Private enterprise would boot them for that, quick smart. But just like government employees worldwide, it is rrrealy hard to fire them, even for outrageous stuff like you mentioned.

Your interesting post is of the type there should be a lot more of here. We know about Montreal's casinos being best avoided and the reason why. Now, as for baccarat, I get the impression you are of the school that believes the game can be beaten. Maybe even regularly and consistently beaten. Am I on the right track?

This book highly regarded by DMC:


Learn To Play Baccarat


A Look at Byron F. Hebert's Book "Power Baccarat 2"

There are advanced casino players who want to help others who are new to playing gambling games by writing books about the ways to get advantage or win in the games. Most of the books written by professional gamblers are highly recommended because their experiences about a particular game are mentioned in their writings. In addition, the facts mentioned in their books are credible and reliable so readers will not have problems researching whether the books are factual or not.

Byron F. Hebert is a casino player who has proven his excellence and expertise in baccarat during the times when he is still a frequent visitor to gambling facilities. Baccarat is a card game that is hard to beat if players are not knowledgeable about it. Most players who are new to baccarat have a hard time improving their stakes because this game is known to be a game of chance. No skill is required to win in the game, but there are methods to use to ensure that players have an edge when they play it.

Hebert's expertise in the game is manifested in the book that he wrote. "Power Baccarat 2: Beat the Casino Playing Baccarat," is a good book that tackles every important aspect that beginners should know about the game. There is a chapter in the book that is especially allotted for readers who want to know how baccarat can be played. Hence, the bulk of the book focuses on strategies to use to increase players' odds in the enticing and attractive card game.

If you would look at some Web sites in the Internet, you can see that it is the second top-rating book that deals with the game. Those who have reviewed it find the book amusing because the tips mentioned by the author are also useful for professional baccarat players. They also complimented the author because he was able to share his thoughts about the game in an exciting manner.

"Power Baccarat 2: Beat the Casino Playing Baccarat," is highly recommended to amateur players. This will provide great help when they get the chance to play baccarat in casinos. It will give them a background on the things that they should expect when they finally have the opportunity to try the game. The book highlights the effective methods to use to win in baccarat which is the main reason why beginners are greatly advised to buy and read it.

I had a similar experience with Blackjack, when I could not lose a hand and won eight grand of their funny money in a one hour time limit. What a bad joke that little hook-trick is. Your baccarat online experience and mine at BJ demonstrates clearly just how easy it is for them to CHEAT. It is as easy as pushing a few buttons. But they wouldn't cheat now, would they... Probably not, because they don't really need to, when the house edge is already set on something outrageous... which means they are gonna getcha money, pretty quick.

So, 60 - 75 days practice we will be ready for real time play huh? AND CONSISTENTLY WINNING?

So, only about 350 hours of dedicated, disciplined, patient, persistent, motivated, accurately-recorded effort might reward the devotee. Then, it goes without saying that he would have some meaningful, winning-type strategy or system in place after all that effort, so that he can apply all his revelations. Then, he can also apply the wisdom he has learned in the managing of his bankroll, betting and the like. Then he can tackle some of the really important stuff that could be an impediment or blockage to his onrushing success: his personal beliefs.

OK, you covered all these under Method, Mind, Money Management. Of course, we could go on forever about Mind - the ego's greed and emotional imbalances and the like; all the many possibilities that might present to an undisciplined mind. I'd suggest this: imagine someone who has a deeply ingrained belief from childhood days whereby his parents (for example) continually reinforced a belief in him that he was useless, worthless and would never succeed at anything in life.

25 years later, this guy decides to try his luck at baccarat. Is he likely to succeed with a deep-seated belief system such as that? I don't believe so. But of course, he could easily change his belief system over time into one more accomodating of his desires. You appear to have deliberately done something like some alterations.

Now who among us besides the dedicated few, can hope to demonstrate what it takes for 350 hours or more, for the kind of achievement that is possible? For most, it would probably seem easier to learn to play the piano in two weeks. Dedication has its own reward.

You forgot the most important one - SKILL! Everybody on this website seems to forget about that one. Without skill, the 3Ms won't be worth anything. First learn the skills, then learn the methods, then money management. If you do it right you won't ever have to worry about your mind.

Not necessarily. Just because you have a winning method does not always mean that you are skillful enough to make it work. I've seen it happen to many people in many different games. The vast majority of card counters don’t have the necessary skills or knowledge to have a reasonable advantage over the casinos. The majority of Three Card Poker players don't have the "money eyes" required to beat the game. And when you get into more advanced methods like shuffle tracking and sequencing that require much more skill you are even more likely to fail if you aren’t prepared. Many of the techniques used to beat live baccarat require incredible skill and many months of constant practice to master. Just because you know how to beat the game doesn’t mean that you actually can. Skill and method are two very different things. You need to have both if you expect to get an advantage.

Everyone in this thread,

Can any game be practically or practicably (do-ably) considered 'beatable' if only a very few players are thus equipped?

From my own "field-experience" i have discovered things theorists fail to include; and conversely, things which are often not workable, or not relatively important as other things then.

I think the former paragraph is the "trap" of the casino "games": to get everyone moving THEMSELVES down that path instead of looking for better strategies, etc, and/or better games.

Why not? Just because something is unpopular doesn’t mean it isn’t do-able. There aren’t many people who can juggle four balls while riding a unicycle but it is not an impossible task. Most people can’t do it because they either don’t know how, haven’t practiced enough, don’t have access to the proper tools or simply have no desire to do it. You can’t always judge the practicality of a task by the number of people who choose to do it. If baccarat is not beatable in any practical way, what are we all doing on this website?

I agree. The “trap” is exactly how casinos make their money. They cater to people who don’t have the skills or knowledge to be a threat to them. The “trap” is really only an issue for those gamblers. The stronger a player is, the less of a trap he is in. A skillful player will know how to find many opportunities. A knowledgeable player will know how to compare those opportunities and select the best ones. The “trap” is not an issue for serious players, only gamblers.

The problem with the “trap” is that most players aren’t capable of recognizing better games/strategies or even comparing them. How can players differentiate between a worse game and a better game if they aren’t properly equipped? Most people never learn how to beat one game in their lifetimes. How can they be expected to compare many games if they have no frame of reference? It gets even more complicated when you realize that certain opportunities will be worth much more than others. You may find one table with a beatable game but the next table has the same game but it is much more beatable. It is very difficult to put an absolute unconditional value on a game before you know exactly what circumstances you will find.

But, like juggling on a unicycle, I believe that most people just aren’t interested in these kinds of skills. They go to a casino to have fun and to hope for some easy money. They walk in with a few hundred dollars and their favorite betting progression system and hope for some good results. If you show them how much work is involved in becoming a strong player they will lose interest very quickly. This is not something that most people take seriously. They just want to have fun and take it easy. They don’t want it to feel like work. They don’t want to try hard. They don't want to study. They just want an easy way. That is probably a bigger trap than the one you described. These gamblers all have the ability to avoid the trap, they simply don't want to.

Yep, Savant, I go along with your unicycle and juggling ideas. I'll throw in the piano and guitar as well. How many people have the dedication, persistence and motivation to learn these skills? Modern life is about instant coffee, I want it, and I want it NOW. (Not after 2.5 years of intense practice.) I read several years ago that just 5% of casino patrons walk out winners. So with 95% losers, the smart idea is to own your own casino... right? You could say that the chances of an unskilled player winning today are around the longshot 20/1 against mark.

The other 5% contain a large proportion of skilled Advantage Players winners. These are the few the casinos round on and want to eliminate, so that they can take it ALL, the greedy bastards.

Here're some notes from John May's 'Baccarat for the Clueless'.

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Baccarat is beatable through card-counting by monitoring subsets of cards for a potential tie-bet towards the end of a shoe. Unfortunately such advantages occur infrequently, so you'll need a large-enough bankroll to profitably take advantage of those as arise.

Examples of such subsets and their corresponding advantages are given below:

Card subset name: 10's + 5's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 0 0 0 32 0 0 0 0 (of cards of he above value remaining, or the ratio of one rank to the others)
Tie Bet Advantage = 340.30936%


Card subset name: 10's + 6's + 4's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 0 0 32 0 32 0 0 0
Tie Bet Advantage = 152.01169%


Card subset name: 10's + 8's + 9's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 32
Tie Bet Advantage = 88.93232%


Card subset name: 10's + 6's + 7's + 8's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 0 0 0 0 32 32 32 0
Tie Bet Advantage = 47.61894%


Card subset name: 10's + 3's + 6's + 9's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 32 0 32 0 0 32 0 0 32
Tie Bet Advantage = 8.21853%


Card subset name: the even-valued cards,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 32 0 32 0 32 0 32 0
Tie Bet advantage =62.02323%


Card subset name: even-valued cards, with 5's,

Card Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 128 0 32 0 32 32 32 0 32 0
Tie Bet Advantage = 6.25045%"

Eg, the even-cards subset advantage is relatively easy to count, and a player can expect to gain a 62% advantage approx 1 in 10,000 decisions. You can detect such a situation by assigning a value of +1 to the odd cards. When (and if) your count reaches 160, you know that the average distribution of cards will give you a huge 62% advantage. The beauty of counting baccarat is that there is NO HEAT and although some other subsets are more difficult to monitor, you can record your count and subsets on the baccarat record sheet the casinos provide and no one will have a clue what you are up to! You can also sit out at will and use spreads of $10-$250K with relatively little heat attention. Also baccarat players are treated like VIPs at most casinos and can expect to earn more comps than BJ players which is an added bonus!



Here's John May's answer to Griffin's argument against a card-counting system for baccarat:

"While the greater part of what these highly respected theorists say is true, it is not impossible to create a card-counting system which can win to a greater extent on the tie bet.

For example, say there are no odd cards remaining in the pack. There are only 5 possible totals:-0,2,4,6,8. The odds of a tie are doubled. You have an advantage of 62% on average.

You can detect such a situation by assigning a value of +1 to odd cards. When (and if) your count reaches 160, you know that the average distribution of cards will give you a huge 62% advantage.

The optimal bet (the bet which best balances risk with returns) is 7.8% of your bankroll. The optimal bet size is so high because the bet is so favourable.

So, given initial bankroll of $50,000 you ought to bet roughly $3800. You would expect to win an amazing $2,356 on average each time you made this bet.

Unfortunately this very favourable opportunity occurs rarely. Assuming we make our last wager having seen all but a generous 8-13 cards we can calculate the opportunity by the following methods: The chance of 8 even cards appearing on the bottom of the deck is mathematically the same as 8 cards off the top. This is given by dividing 416 by 256 (total number of even cards) to determine the chance of one even card appearing, then multiplying this figure by the result of 415 divided by 255, and so on until we reach 404/244. Then take the probabilities of having this extreme subset occur for 8 through to 13 cards, add them up, then divide by 6. It turns out we will encounter an all-even subset roughly once in every 10,000 hands!

This represents an earning per hundred hands of roughly $24. Subtracting the effects of making 10,000 $5 (roughly 1% house edge) table minimum bank wagers, we see that the system earns roughly $19 per hour. Not bad perhaps, but not a particularly good return on investment when we consider the alternative earnings from blackjack and poker."



And another quote from John May:

"Simulation data on computer-perfect analysis of the tie wager shows that if you can find a game where the last hand will be dealt from a 10-card subset, you can obtain a 1% advantage with a 45-1 spread, assuming you can detect favourable situations accurately.

We can therefore deduce that the game can be beaten because baccarat, as a general rule, has nothing like the heat associated with blackjack. You can spread up to the table maximum and down again, indeed you can sit out hands, no one will care. As David Sklansky wrote in Getting The Best Of It "There is not yet any paranoia among the casinos regarding counting...Players can bet anywhere from $5 up to $50,000 at any time. " ($50,000 is actually pretty conservative for bac nowadays). Obviously, if you could only make one $50,000 bet a year with a 100% edge, your EV for that year is still $50,000.

Naturally, the combination of large bets, an absence of heat, and huge advantages on individual hands, can make the game very profitable."

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Here's an other guy hawking books... Episode 43 - Baccarat author Byron Hebert, craps author Mickey Day of the Gambler's Book Club interviews at http://gamblersbookclub.libsyn.com/i...post_id=471602 .

"The Winner's Edge" by the late Bruce Irwin was pretty good. The system he used for even money bets was not perfect but it was quite decent.

I don't read books any longer because the ones I have read include a lot of nonsense on how to play and a stupidly useless statement that one "needs to identify when a streak has started and when it has ended and to capitalize on those moments!"

I see garnabby has cited some interesting counting info above me here from one book. Are there any other passages within ANY of these books that offer similar - and rarely printed - information.

I'm going by memory here but isn't Scoblete the guy who included in one of his books many years ago that there's no such thing as the mafia and that Frank Sinatra was a great guy?

It may have not been Scoblete, but I did read this in a casino book - it must have been written in the 1960s or so - and after reading it, I trashed it. If a guy can outright lie about something, is he telling the truth about anything?

I have a ton of how to casino books ,but this book (Power baccarat 2 ) is the best for the b. game

Winning at Baccarat by Mike McGuire 109 pages 1983

ISBN 0913053007

This is a great book and you will learn things about Baccarat that you never knew before.

thx for sharing