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Baccarat
Baccarat has one of the lowest house edges in the casino and requires no skill whatsoever. You place one of three bets and the rules play the hand out for you. Two of those bets are good; one is not.
The three bets
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1:1 less 5% commission | ~1.06% | The best bet on the table |
| Player | 1:1 | ~1.24% | Fine, marginally worse |
| Tie | 8:1 | ~14.4% | Avoid |
The 5% commission on Banker wins looks like a penalty and is actually a correction. Banker wins slightly more often than Player because of the drawing rules, and without the commission the bet would favour the player. Even after paying it, Banker remains the better of the two.
Watch for “no commission” baccarat variants. They remove the 5% but pay only 1:2 on a Banker win with a total of six, which typically leaves the house edge higher than the standard game rather than lower.
How a hand plays out
- Two cards go to Player and two to Banker. Whichever total is closer to nine wins.
- Tens and picture cards count as zero, aces as one. Only the last digit of the total counts — a 7 and an 8 makes 15, which is a 5.
- A total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards is a “natural” and the hand ends immediately.
- Otherwise fixed drawing rules decide whether a third card is dealt. You never choose.
Baccarat tables often display scorecards tracking patterns of Banker and Player wins. These are a tradition, not a tool. Each hand is dealt from a shoe with no memory of the pattern on the board.
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