Lightning Baccarat

Last updated on July 12th, 2024

Lightning Baccarat

Lightning Baccarat is a palm-sweating live casino game produced by a studio that enjoys a reputation as the best software developer when it comes to live casino games, Evolution Games. In fact, we can confidently say that this iGaming behemoth is responsible for revolutionizing the industry by creating arguably the best live casino titles on the planet. This is why Lightning Baccarat is undeniably the most exciting version of the standard game ever created.

Based on the traditional Baccarat game, Lightning Baccarat is a combination of the “old” game and Evolution Gaming’s famous multiplier called “Lightning”, which is also implemented in a long list of their live titles, such as Lightning Roulette for example. What makes this “Lightning” multiplier so fantastic is that it can release boosted payouts and with that, elevate the excitement of this already-popular game to entirely new heights.

Features

The first thing you should learn about Lightning Baccarat is that although is very similar to standard Baccarat, it comes with three key differences:

• It comes with multipliers
• Tie Bet pays 6 times your stake instead of 9 times your stake
• You must pay a 20% upfront commission (surcharge)

Lightning Baccarat starts similar to the traditional version, where once the round begins, you will have to place a bet either on the hand of the Player or on the hand of the Banker. You can also bet on Tie, which is another similarity with the standard Baccarat, and you can also place an additional, optional side bet on either Player Pair or the Banker. This can contribute to a bigger payout, despite the outcome of the main hand.

As soon as you finish placing your bets, a Lightning Fee of 20% will be added to the total bet of the players.

Lightning Round – Multipliers

Once you finish betting, it is time for the Lightning Round to start. More specifically, between 1 and 5 cards will be randomly selected from 52 cards out of a virtual deck. Moreover, each of these cards will then be assigned a random lightning multiplier of either 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 8x your bet. The game will start right after the end of this procedure.

Now, if one or several of these “Lightning” cards are part of a winning hand (including the Tie bet and side-bets), then the payouts will be multiplied by the values of the Lightning Cards.

As we already mentioned earlier, Lightning Baccarat requires paying 20% commission, upfront. To give you an example, if you wish to bet $10 on the Banker, you will have to pay a $2 commission to the dealer. This means that if you want to bet $10, you will have to pay $12.

House Edge & Side Bets

The house edge in Lightning Baccarat for the three bets:

• Tie Bet: 5.49% (14.36% in standard Baccarat)
• Banker Bet: 1.41% (1.06% in standard Baccarat)
• Player Bet: 1.33% (1.24% in standard Baccarat)

Lightning Baccarat allows you to place side bets (Pair) on top of the initial, i.e. standard bet. This means that you will have to bet that the first two cards will be the same regardless of the suit. If you win, you get a payout of 9:1.

With that being said, let’s have a look at the house edge of the side bets in Lightning Baccarat:

• Side Bet Bank Pair – 11.65%
• Side Bet Player Pair – 11.65%

Final Thoughts

Evolution Game took an all-time classic live casino game such as Baccarat and made it even more interesting, if you ask us. Especially if we consider the Lightning Multipliers, the crown jewel of the game and why we have no trouble recommending it.

Sure, you may feel obliged to pay 20% commission upfront, being that you cannot opt-out. However, if a Side Bet appears, then we guarantee you will definitely have the last laugh. All in all, the “Lightning” mechanic absolutely makes this version of Baccarat worth your attention.

If you don’t want to pay the 20% commission, then you can always go for the standard variation of Baccarat, or even play some of Evolution’s top online slots. Yet we strongly believe that once you try this exciting variation of the game, you will never go back.

Lightning Baccarat

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)