Baccarat Tournament Strategy?

I'll be making a trip to Pennsylvania this coming weekend and am planning to stop by the Sands Bethleham for a bit of gaming. It turns out they'll be holding the preliminary round of their Grand Dragon Master Baccarat Tournament while I'm there and I'll get a free buy-in should I want it.

Now, I've never played Baccarat in my life. But from what I've read, it seems pretty simple (too simple, actually).

So, I'm curious if anyone has any input on what simple strategy I could use in the tournament to have a decent chance of winning (or if I should simply not waste my time, given I'm a total newbie).

Tournament rules are at: http://www.sandsrewardsclub.com/now-src/grand-dragon-master-baccarat-championship-ruby-dragon-baccarat

Thanks in advance for any input!

The optimal strategy for most casino gambling tournaments can be summarized as:

1) Conserve your capital in the early stages of the tournament.
2) Towards the end bet as aggressively as possible to get in the lead.
3) If you get in the lead, copy the betting decisions of your nearest challengers to lock in a win.

That's most of what you need to have a substantive edge in a baccarat tourney, it doesn't matter that you've never played before.

2) May require you make decisions that would normally violate intelligent casino play. For example, if on the last hand the only way you can win is to bet the tie with its 14% house edge, then do so. Don't overdo this, though. Normally you'd be betting on the bank.

Played in my first ever tournament two night. Got the first shoe all wrong after they said it will only consist of 24 hands. Scraped through by a sole $100 chip, was given 20k in free chips. Everybody scanning the score board, I just focused on looking at other players chip stacks. Going into the last 3 hands I was $18k away from 1st place, currently in second. You have to bet in order, no secret notes. Thankfully I was last and 2nd to last for the last few hands.

1st place player bet the table max of 10k, he was already in front , so no point in me copying him, so bet $10k on the opposite. He lost I won and came in first. Absolutely rapped, won $5000 in free play chips. So bet $2500 each side, then $1300 each side, $600 each side and halved everything thereafter. Walked with a free $4835 for less than two hours of fun.

Quote: Aahz

Now, I've never played Baccarat in my life. But from what I've read, it seems pretty simple (too simple, actually).

What you are referring to is the game the Americans call Baccarat. Europeans call it Punto Banco. It consists only in betting on a winning hand, like in Trente-et-Quarante.
The terms "Banker " and 'Player" are residues of the real game of Baccara (the one James Bond is playing in the original stories), where a player has to make decisions against a banker who also has to make decisions. Also, there was some play about who would take the role of player and for how much, where the expression "Banco!" originates.

As optimal strategies have been established, playing the hands had become tedious, and casinos have made it part of the rules for the dealer, who handles both "player" and "banker" (or, European-style, "punto" and "banco"). All you do now is bet and wait.

Punto Banco is to baccara what Blackjack is to the game of 21. (Well not exactly! It is as if, in Blackjack, you didn't have to choose anything because the optimal strategy would have been incorporated into the rules. The dealer would decide for you when to hit, double, whatever.)