The thing that makes baccarat so popular is the lower house edge. Baccarat is a casino card game with the lowest house edge of 1.06% for the most popular banker bet.
Baccarat has several variations that have similar rules, but there are still some minor differences that can affect the final chances of a baccarat payout. The most popular version of baccarat, Punto Banco, has three betting options; on the banker, on the player and on the draw, which is where the lower house edge comes from.
Without further ado, let's get right into how the odds work in Baccarat and how you can use the low house edge to any player's advantage.
Baccarat Odds Explained
The game of Baccarat is all about what cards the player and the banker receive. The winning edge for any player can come from the odds in the game.
Baccarat odds simply refer to what the chances of winning are. It is important that every baccarat player is informed about the winning probability, house edge and payouts each of the three main bets Baccarat offers.
Banker's Bet
According to historical data, the banker's bet is the best possible bet a player can make. Banker's bets have been proven to win 45.86% of the time, with payouts of 19:20.
Unfortunately, since this is the most popular bet in Baccarat, casinos usually charge a 5% win fee for it. Here the house edge is only 1.06%, which is the lowest among all casino games.
Player bet
The second possible bet in Baccarat is the player bet. It has a win rate of 44.62% which is still good but not as good as the banker's bet.
It has a 1:1 payout but no commission fees. Since the player's bet has been proven to win less than the banker's, the house edge is slightly higher at 1.24%.
Tie Bet
A tie is the lowest possible outcome that can happen in a game of baccarat, so the payouts are 8:1. The probability of this bet occurring is very low, so players should avoid placing a draw bet.
The Draw bet has a win rate of 9.6% and a house edge of 14.44% in the 6-deck baccarat game. For an eight-deck baccarat game, the house edge is slightly lower, 14.36%, but is still too low to include this bet in a winning strategy.
Generally speaking, the baccarat winning odds that every player should stick to are those from the Banker bet as they will provide the highest returns.
It is recommended to avoid the draw bet unless the player notices any sequence, in which case it is worth betting a few bucks for it.
Chance of Baccarat payout
Baccarat odds are quite simple to understand, but to make the game even easier for any Baccarat player, here are some examples of how Baccarat bets will pay out:
Bet on hand | Stake | Result | 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 | 5 $ | |
Player | $10 | Win | $10 | |
Player | 50 $ | Win | $50 | |
Tie | $5 | Win | 40 $ | |
Tie | $10 | Win | $80 | |
Tie | 50 $ | Win | $400 |