The thing that makes Baccarat that popular, is the lower house-edge. Baccarat is the casino card game with the lowest house edge of 1.06% for the most popular Banker Bet.
Baccarat has a few variations that have similar rules, but there are still some minor differences, which may affect the final baccarat payout odds. In the most popular version of Baccarat, Punto Banco, there are three options for betting; on the Banker, on the Player, and for a Tie, from where the lower house edge comes.
Without further due, let’s dive straight into how Baccarat game odds work and how the low house edge can be used in favor of any player.
The Game of Baccarat is all about the chance of what cards the player and the banker will get. The winning edge for any player can come from the odds of the game.
Baccarat odds simply refer to what the chances of winning are. It’s important for each baccarat player to be informed about the winning probabilities, house edges, and payouts, each of the three main baccarat bets offers.
Banker Bet
The banker bet is the best possible bet that a player can take on, according to historical data. Banker bets are proven to win 45.86% of the time, with payouts of 19:20.
Unfortunately, as this is the most popular bet in Baccarat, casinos usually charge a 5% winning fee for it. Here, the house edge is just 1.06%, which is the lowest one among all casino games.
Player Bet
The second possible bet in Baccarat is the Player bet. It has a 44.62% win rate, which is still good, but not as good as the banker's bet.
It has a 1:1 payout, but there are not any commission fees. As the player's bet is proven to win less than the Banker, the house edge is a little higher, 1.24%.
Tie Bet
The Tie is the least possible outcome that can happen in a game of baccarat, so the payouts are 8:1. The probability of this bet happening is very low, so players should avoid placing the Tie Bet.
The Tie bet has a 9.6% win rate and a 14.44% house edge in a 6-deck baccarat game. For an 8-deck baccarat game, the house edge is a little lower, 14.36%, but it’s still too low to include that bet in a winning strategy.
Overall, the baccarat winning odds that any player should stick to getting are the ones from the Banker’s bet, as they will provide the biggest returns.
The tie bet is recommended to be avoided unless any sequence is spotted by the player, in which case, it is worth putting a few bucks on it.
Baccarat odds are quite simple to understand, but in order to make things even easier for any baccarat player, here are a few examples of how baccarat bets will be paid:
| Hand Bet | Stake | Outcome | Payout | Return |
| Banker | $5 | Win | 19:20 | $4.75 |
| Banker | $10 | Win | 19:20 | $9.50 |
| Banker | $50 | Win | 19:20 | $47.50 |
| Player | $5 | Win | 1:1 | $5 |
| Player | $10 | Win | 1:1 | $10 |
| Player | $50 | Win | 1:1 | $50 |
| Tie | $5 | Win | 8:1 | $40 |
| Tie | $10 | Win | 8:1 | $80 |
| Tie | $50 | Win | 8:1 | $400 |
This table clearly shows that payouts for the banker and the player bets are not that impressive, whereas the tie bet can give very good returns. However, the tie bet comes in at just 9.6% of the time, literally making it not worth placing.
Apart from the standard Banker, Player, and Tie bets, there are some side bets in Baccarat that players can place.
Side bets can be seen across any online casino site, but they can be very tricky. Some of them have huge payouts, like 75:1 for the Bellagio Match, which can be placed in a three-card variation of baccarat.
- All the same color - One of the most popular side bets for baccarat is the bet for the same color of cards in either the banker's or player's hand. This bet pays 22:1 for the banker and 24:1 for the player.
- Big and Small - This side bet is on the total number of cards in a round. It’s strongly dependent on whether the player will hit or stand. The payout for this side bet will be 3:2.
- Bellagio Match - Bellagio Match can be played in a Three-Card Baccarat Game. It’s simple to get three cards of the same rank in a single hand, either bankers or players. The payout for this side bet is 75:1 for the player and 68:1 for the Banker.
- Perfect Pair - One of the most widespread side bets in baccarat is the perfect pair bet. This simply requires either the banker's or the player’s hand to be a pair. The payout for this side bet is 5:1. If the pair is of the same color, the payout is increased to 25:1.
Baccarat is a game based on luck, as it features comparing cards, in most cases two. The whole goal of the game is to get a card value as close to 9 as possible. So, any factor that can help players increase their chances of winning should be taken into account.
One of the easiest things to implement in a baccarat betting strategy is to take advantage of the odds system of the game. From today’s article, every player should know that the best bet in baccarat is the banker’s bet, with a house edge of just 1.06%. Statistics show that the bet wins 45.8% of the time, and has a payout of 19:20, due to the 5% commission charged from casinos.
Overall, the odds of winning baccarat feature using the banker bet, which has the highest probability of winning over the other two bets and has the lowest house edge.
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