1. Set up your bankroll somewhere between 20 and 50 units, each about $5 in value. Baccarat is often a high limit game and you may have to risk at least 20 units of up $25 each, meaning a $500 bankroll.

2. When you sit down at the table, ask for and get a score card. Record every result in a readable form using standard notations of P for player and B for bank.

3. Watch the play and when you feel confident start betting at units of say $25 a hand. Do this for the first 20 or 30 hands.

4. Watch how the game is played during these first 20 to 30 hands. Look for obvious trends in the game. Watch the dealing and the play. For example, see if the shoe is "choppy", with player and banker switching back and forth many hands in succession. See if there are short-term streaks like P, P, P, B, P, B, B, B.

To give merit to card counting, a player can use this to gauge when they may possibly have an advantage over the casino (more of one type of card being dealt out of the shoe will slightly increase the chances of either the Player or Banker hand winning).  But the truth of the matter is that card counting is nine times less effective at baccarat than it is at blackjack.  This is why the majority of professional gamblers and mathematicians will tell players to not bother with a card-counting strategy at baccarat.

Players will also likely hear admonitions to stay away from using the Martingale System .  For players who are not familiar with this "system", it is a mathematically based wagering stratagem designed to cover losses and insure profit.  For instance, if a player bets $1 and loses, the next bet will be doubled to $2.  If this bet is lost, then it is likewise doubled - to $4...and so on.  If the player wins on the $4 bet, they will have a $1 profit from when they started with the $1 bet.  This system does work in this regard.  However, just like the doubling over savings plan that starts with a penny, amounts can get very large, very fast.  There is no way of predicting when a player will go on a losing streak, which can mean devastation to a gambler using the Martingale system.  This type of money management can be the downfall of an entire bankroll in the blink of an eye.  Additionally, the Martingale system does not work at tables with lower betting limits.  The system requires a large bankroll to begin with - and since it also requires flexibility in allowing for losses, sometimes these losses exceed table limits, in which case the system collapses along with the player's bankroll. 

One may ask why it is wise to play baccarat if systems and strategies pose no use in the game.  And the answer is simple.  Baccarat naturally gives one of the lowest House Edges in the online casino.  There are only three bets a player can make, one of which should be avoided at all times.  Of the two other bets, they are relatively close in odds, although it is advisable to play only one of these bets.  Thus, baccarat is a smart game to play no matter what.  Here are the strategy tips a player can and should follow to optimize their success at online baccarat.