Lightning Baccarat Guide | How to Play, Payouts and Strategies to Help You Win

Fans of games like Lightning Dice and Lightning Roulette will already be familiar with the multipliers in Lightning Baccarat and how they make these kinds of Evolution games all the more exciting to play! But even if you've never played a Lightning game before, we've got you covered...

In our Lightning Baccarat Guide, you'll find answers to questions like 'how do I play Baccarat?' and 'what does the lightning do in the game?' plus get betting tips to help you win more money when you play. 

What is Baccarat and how do I play?

If you've never played Baccarat before, here's how it works. In each round, you must choose to bet on either the Player or the Banker to have the winning hand. You can also bet on a tie. 

To start, two cards each are dealt face up to the Player and the Banker. The winning hand is the one with a total closest to nine when all the card points are added up. All cards are worth the same number of points as their face value with a few exceptions. 10's and face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are worth zero, and the ace counts for 1 point. 

Once all the cards are dealt, if the total number of points that the Player and Banker have are the same, then it's a tie and neither hand wins or loses. Unless you predicted a tie, in which case your bet wins.

Before we go into how Lightning Baccarat differs from standard Baccarat, there are a few more rules first-time players will also need to understand.

Natural wins

If after the first two cards, the total number of points is 8 or 9 for either the Player or the Banker, this is called a "natural win". Whoever gets 8 or 9 points wins the game immediately. 

Third cards

The Player must stand (receive no more cards) if they get a total of 6 or 7. On any other total (0-5), the Player automatically draws a third card, unless the Banker has 8 or 9, in which case the Banker wins the game.

In these situations, the Banker must draw a third card:

🃏 If the Player’s third card is 9, 10, face-card or Ace, the Banker draws when he has a 0-3 and stands with a 4-7.

🃏 If the Player’s third card is 8, the Banker draws when he has a 0-2 and stands with a 3-7.

🃏 If the Player’s third card is 6 or 7, the Banker draws when he has a 0-6 and stands with a 7.

🃏 If the Player’s third card is 4 or 5, the Banker draws when he has a 0-5 and stands with a 6-7.

🃏 If the Player’s third card is 2 or 3, the Banker draws when he has a 0-4 and stands with a 5-7.

Lightning Cards

Every round of Lightning Baccarat features 1–5 randomly generated 'Lightning Cards' drawn from a 52-card deck, plus randomly generated payout multipliers. If you win on a hand that has one or more matching Lightning Cards, your winnings are multiplied by 2x to 8x.

Your payouts are always multiplied by all the lightning cards that appear, so your total winnings could be multiplied by as much as 262,144x! To get the maximum Lightning Baccarat multiplier, your winning bet must be on a Tie with six matching Lightning Cards.

For this added bit of fun, there is a 20% Lightning Fee added to each player’s total bet. For example, if you place a bet of R10 on the game, your bet will actually cost you R12 because an extra R2 (20% of R10) is added as a fee for the potential multipliers you might get.

Main Round

Once the Lightning cards have been randomly selected, the game continues as normal. Two cards each are dealt to both the Player and the Banker. Whoever is closest to nine when all the numbers are added up is the winner. If you bet on the winning hand you get paid out at odds of 1/1 and if the Player and Banker both have the same total number of points, then it's a tie and your stake is returned. Unless you chose to bet on a Tie in which case you win.

Lightning Baccarat Side Bets

There are two types of Side Bets in Lightning Baccarat which are a Player Pair and a Banker Pair. These bets payout when the first two cards dealt in the game are a pair for the Player or Banker respectively. 

Lightning Baccarat Odds and Payouts

In Lightning Baccarat, Tie bets pay 5/1 and side bets (player and banker pair) pay 9/1 which is lower than standard Baccarat. Just like standard Baccarat, there is a 5% commission on Banker bets which means they cost you more to play. 

Lightning Baccarat RTP

The Return to Player (RTP) percentage (RTP) for Lightning Baccarat is 98.76—slightly lower than standard Baccarat. On the flip side, there's the opportunity to win more money playing Lightning Baccarat when betting less. The Lightning multipliers (2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 8x) can pay big and even further multiply themselves when more than one Lightning Card appears.

Learn more about RTP in casino games and how it works.

5 Lightning Baccarat tips to help you win

There are no foolproof Lightning Baccarat tips or strategies that can guarantee you win, but by playing cleverly you can increase your chances of winning money and hanging onto it!

💡 Bet with the Banker 

In the game of baccarat, the Banker has a better chance of winning than the Player because the odds are slightly in the Banker's favour. Bets on the Banker carry a 5% commission fee but your chance of winning is 6% higher.

💡 Go for the biggest multiplier

The Tie bet is something many players avoid in standard Baccarat, especially because the odds of winning are relatively low. However, the multipliers in Lightning Baccarat can make a big difference. To get the biggest multiplier in the game (262,144x) you'll need to bet on a Tie.

💡 Double down when you lose

Decide how much you want to bet at a time. Keep betting that same amount on either the Player or Banker for as long as you're winning. When you lose, double your bet. For example, if you started betting R10 and lost, your next bet should be R20. If you win, keep making the same bet until you lose again, and then keep doubling your bet until you win.

💡 Decide in advance how long you want to play

You can either set yourself a budget for how much you want to spend on a Baccarat session or decide exactly how many bets you want to place. Having a budget can help you stop playing before you've lost more than you wanted to. Similarly, deciding how many bets you want to place in advance and sticking to it can help ensure you stop playing whether you have more or less money in your account than you started with. 

💡 Walk away when you're up

Another good Baccarat tip is to stop playing the moment you have more money than you started with. It's a risky way to play but betting just once and hoping for the best can be a good way to make a profit. You can also try taking a slower approach by dividing your money up into say 10 bets and stopping as soon as you're in the green. 

More Evolution Live Games Tips and Strategies

Want help playing other Evolution games? We've got lots more winning tips and strategies below:

🗝️ Lightning Roulette

🗝️ Cash Or Crash

🗝️ Crazy Time

🗝️ Lightning Dice

🗝️ Gonzo's Treasure Hunt

🗝️ Deal or No Deal

🗝️ Super Sic Bo

🗝️ Lightning Blackjack

🗝️ Fan Tan

Where to Play Lightning Baccarat in South Africa

Not all online bookmakers offering Evolution games have Lightning Baccarat available. These are the betting sites where you can play Lightning Baccarat in South Africa, so sign up now to start winning!

➡️ Hollywoodbets (R25 Sign Up Free Bet)

➡️ Betway South Africa (R1 000 First Deposit Bonus)

➡️ Sunbet (R1 000 First Deposit Bonus)

➡️ Gbets (R1000 First Deposit Bonus)

If you enjoyed our Lightning Baccarat Guide and want to know more about Lightning Roulette which also has electrifying multipliers, here's where to get started.

For more about online sports betting, casino games and lotteries in South Africa, visit the Betting Guide homepage to find bookmaker reviews, promotions, betting tips and more.