Speed Baccarat by Pragmatic Play is a live dealer baccarat game released in 2020. It boasts an RTP of 98.94% with a minimum bet of $0.2 and a $5,000 maximum wager. The game is available on both desktop and mobile and is easily one of the most popular live table baccarat variants out there.
The game was released as one of three main Pragmatic Play live dealer baccarat tables. Despite the slower-paced Live Baccarat and the No Commission Baccarat variants, Speed Baccarat is an absolute fan-favorite. Keep reading this Pragmatic Play Speed Baccarat review to find out why.
Game Specifications | |
---|---|
Game name | Live Speed Baccarat (Pragmatic Play) |
Game provider | Pragmatic Play |
Game type | Baccarat |
Streaming from | Romania |
RTP | 98.94% |
Bet range | €0.2 - €5000 |
Max win | 25x |
Side bets | Yes |
Supported platforms | |
Supported OS | |
Languages |
Chinese
Danish
English
French
German
Indonesian
+12
All supported languages
|
Pragmatic Play has become quite a name in the iGaming industry, not just for its slots and bingo products, but also for its live casino products.
They describe their portfolio as innovative, mobile-oriented, and regulated, all of which is true. The award-winning company is based in Malta and they have been operational since 2015. In 2018, Pragmatic Play acquired Extreme Live Gaming and started focusing more on live dealer games for the online gambling market. Now they also have a studio in Romania and cover various countries and languages.
Live casino baccarat from Pragmatic Play went online in 2020 and the provider made sure that there is some variety for the players. They offer 3 formats, classic Live Baccarat, Speed Baccarat, and No Commission Baccarat. Speed Baccarat is particularly interesting as the gameplay is significantly accelerated. The game rules are standard, so the main thing you will need to get used to is the velocity at which the rounds are completed.
Beyond that, the side bets are fairly traditional options. Still, it’s a first-class live dealer baccarat game. The studio is well-made, staffed by stunning professional dealers, and brought to you in a stable HD video stream.
Live Speed Baccarat is played with an 8-deck shoe and allows the players to bet on the Banker or Player positions, or the round resulting in a Tie.
The unusual part is that the betting time is cut short to just a bit over 10 seconds – 12 to be exact. The entire round does not last more than 27 seconds. As soon as the betting time expires (three blinks of an eye later), the dealer will deal the cards face-up.
The game incorporates manual zoom on the player’s cards, as well as various side bets and all 5 traditional baccarat roadmaps. If you like to use scoreboards, check out the Ask Player/Banker feature that tracks in real-time the effects of Banker/Player wins on the roadmaps.
The set of available side bets includes Banker/Player Pairs, Player/Banker Bonus, Perfect Pair, and Either Pair. Big/Small Hand optional bets become unavailable once the dealer has 31 hands from the shoe. The bets are reactivated with a fresh shoe. The RTP is 98.85% and the studio setting is all red and vibrant. The tables are big, so the virtual layout is nicely rendered at the player’s side of the table, which makes the experience more immersive.
We’re dealing with standard casino baccarat rules here, so you’ll find no surprises. All Aces count as one towards a pile’s score, while 10+ cards count as zero. The third card is drawn only in some circumstances, which means that the Banker side is at a slight advantage. As such, a standard 5% commission is charged on all Banker bets.
Live dealer baccarat payouts are fairly standardized in the industry, which is not a bad thing. Thankfully, this means that you don’t have to be familiar with every specific title’s payout table. There are some occasional discrepancies, though, which we’ll point out in this review of Speed Baccarat by Pragmatic Play.
Bet | Payout | ||
---|---|---|---|
Speed Baccarat Payouts | |||
Player | 1:1 | ||
Banker | 0.95:1 | ||
Tie | 8:1 | ||
Banker/Player Pair | 11:1 | ||
Perfect Pair | 25:1 | ||
Either Pair | 5:1 | ||
Banker7Player Bonus Side Bet Payouts | |||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 9 points | 30:1 | ||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 8 points | 10:1 | ||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 7 points | 6:1 | ||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 6 points | 4:1 | ||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 5 points | 2:1 | ||
Wins with a non-natural hand by 4 points | 1:1 | ||
Natural Win | 1:1 | ||
Natural Tie | Push |
The Banker/Player Bonus side bet payouts depend on the outcome. In this context, only the first 2 cards count as a ‘natural’ hand.
As you can see, these payouts are on par with almost all other top live baccarat games. Unfortunately, this also means that every RTP value outside of Player and Banker bets is terrible. Tie bets boast their usual 85.64%, and most other side bets are way under 90% as well. The only exceptions are Banker Bonus with 90.6%, and the much stronger Player Bonus with 97.35%.
Make sure to choose the game that suits your taste and budget. For more extensive guides on live baccarat basics, read this article.
Speed Baccarat is all about fast-paced, heart-thumping action. That doesn’t leave too much time to fiddle around with extra features or arcane side bets. That said, pretty much all the traditional live baccarat side bets are present in this fame. The veterans among you will immediately recognize these, but we’ll describe them for the newbies.