Baccarat rules and house edge

Baccarat is a house-banked comparing game. In the common casino version, two hands are dealt: the player hand and the banker hand. Each hand is valued modulo 10, and the hand closer to 9 wins. You are usually betting on which hand will win, or on a tie, not on playing the cards yourself. Drawing rules for a third card are fixed.

The three standard wagers are banker, player, and tie. Banker wins slightly more often than player because of the drawing rules, so a winning banker bet is commonly paid at even money minus a 5 percent commission. After that commission, the long-run house edge on the banker bet in standard baccarat is about 1.06 percent. The player bet, usually paid at even money without a commission, has a standard house edge of about 1.24 percent.

The tie bet pays at a higher advertised multiple, often 8 to 1, but ties are uncommon. The standard house edge on a tie bet is about 14.4 percent, which is many times worse than banker or player. Side bets with exotic names should be assumed to have their own, often high, edges unless a licensed operator publishes a reliable figure.

These three percentages — about 1.06 percent on banker (with the usual 5 percent commission), about 1.24 percent on player, and about 14.4 percent on tie — are well-established results for standard baccarat mathematics, in the same way that 2.70 percent and 5.26 percent are established for European and American roulette. If a table uses a different commission or a no-commission banker rule, the banker edge changes; read the posted rules.

No betting progression removes these edges. Third-card drawing in standard baccarat follows a fixed tableau: neither you nor the dealer chooses whether to take another card. That is why the banker hand wins slightly more often, and why a commission on banker is common. Mini-baccarat and full-scale baccarat use the same core math; the difference is usually table size and pace, not a better edge. Some tables offer a no-commission banker bet that pays even money most of the time but pays less on certain winning banker totals, often a winning banker six. That changes the banker edge; it does not make the bet even. Pair and other side bets, where offered, are separate wagers and often have a much higher house edge than banker or player. If a licensed game publishes an official edge or RTP for a side bet, use that figure; otherwise assume it is worse than the main bets. The game is simple to follow, which is part of its appeal, but simplicity is not a low-edge promise on every bet. If you play at all, do so only on a licensed U.S. site in a state that has authorized internet gaming. See the state legality guide.

See also: all game guides, where online casinos are legal, and responsible gambling help.