The Adventures of MDawg II

When it comes down to just a couple or few players left, especially towards the end of the tournament, everything you mention matters a lot, but at blackjack tournaments too not just baccarat.

Bets may not be changed before the deal, and must be placed sequentially. Once the chips are down, that's it, and tournaments generally also have a "no string betting" rule, so that whatever you place over the circle must be bet (at least to the limit) with no changes.

In some tournaments a die is rolled at each table to determine who goes first, in others it depends on the random seat assignment made at check in which depends on which slip you draw blindly out of the box. So yes, as time goes on betting sequence makes a big difference, especially on the last hand unless it is a secret bet (where each player writes down the exact bet on a piece of paper and all secret bets are revealed before the final hand). As players get wiped out, that affects the betting sequence too, obviously. So let's say there will be 15 hands and a certain number of players and you go first (or don't), you may be able to calculate rapidly if you will bet last (assuming no secret bet applies), but as people get wiped out along the way, "who bets last" will change.

But yes, as you allude, betting sequence matters a lot especially if not many players left or more especially - just two left - and it matters if one player has less chips, but also if both players have about the same chips.

In general for a tournament, especially blackjack,
-If behind bet opposite of your enemy, if your enemy bets big, you bet small, if your enemy bets small, you bet big.
-If you are in the lead, mimic your enemies, bet the same way as the people trying to catch you.
-Don't wait until the very last hand to catch up. Make the move when there are about 5 hands left.

For baccarat you also have hand selection available (bet Player or Bank), whereas in blackjack both of you, you and your opponent, either win the hand or don't, with the only variance being if one of you gets a blackjack, double down or split opportunity (assuming you have enough chips left to double or split anyway, if you are going all in).

In Baccarat sometimes I will bet opposite my opponent on a hand, or even big hand, simply because that will move the tournament along quickly in a direction that will either move me far ahead or behind, and that sort of thing is what is called for at that time. Sometimes too on the final bet even if it is secret you just know that everyone is going to bet one side, and so you bet the other, just because the math based on the final chip standings dictates that you may win only if that other side wins.

I've also seen a player place an obscene amount of chips on the tie bet for the final hand, because the player is so far behind that only an 8:1 hit will allow advancement to the next tournament level. Most tournaments have strict limits on side bets, and I've seen only the tie allowed no other side bets (no Tiger 6, etc.) in baccarat tournaments, but at at least one casino's tournaments they have no limit every single hand - all in, any amount on Bank, Player or tie any hand, which is a little crazy I think.

Quote: MDawg

-If you are in the lead, mimic your enemies, bet the same way as the people trying to catch you.
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This may make a huge difference if a tournament gets down to two people, and the one who has even a tiny bit less chips than the other bets first all in. Then, if the player going second has any brains, and especially in Baccarat, he will mirror the bet on the same side (thereby reserving as unbet whatever chips he is ahead).

That way, either the tournament goes on, and the chip leader remains the chip leader, or the tournament will end then, and the player betting second will win because he will be left with some chips.

Obviously, in such situations it is a bad idea for the player who is ahead to go all in if betting first, because it will give the trailing player going afterwards the opportunity to end the tournament in his favor, by betting opposite big or small, or same side, small.