Baccarat odds and house edge: banker, player and tie
Baccarat is a game of three choices and fixed drawing rules. The math is simple: banker is slightly better than player, and the tie is a trap.
Reviewed Oct 14, 2026
Answer first
90s| Bet | Wins | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Banker (5% commission) | 45.86% | 1.06% |
| Player | 44.62% | 1.24% |
| Tie at 8:1 | 9.52% | 14.36% |
| Tie at 9:1 | 9.52% | 4.84% |
Key numbers
Baccarat in four numbers
In short
Key takeaways
- Bet banker or player. Both are among the lowest-edge bets in the casino.
- Banker wins more often, so it pays a 5% commission to even things out.
- Ties return banker and player bets as pushes, so they do not hurt the main bets.
- Tie bets and most side bets carry edges of 4.8% to over 14%.
On the felt
One hand, dealt by the rules
Player
7 — player stands
Banker
5, draws a third card → 8. Banker wins
Face cards and tens count as zero. Only the last digit of the total counts. Drawing follows a fixed table; you make no choices after betting.
Pay table
Side bets and what they cost
Glance before you bet
| Side bet | Typical pay | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Player pair | 11:1 | 10.36% |
| Banker pair | 11:1 | 10.36% |
| Dragon 7 (EZ Baccarat) | 40:1 | 7.61% |
| Panda 8 (EZ Baccarat) | 25:1 | 10.19% |
| Tie | 8:1 | 14.36% |
Edges for 8 decks; pay tables vary by casino.
Sequence
How a baccarat hand plays
Step 01
Bet
Choose banker, player or tie before the deal.
Step 02
Two cards each
Player and banker hands each get two cards.
Step 03
Naturals
A total of 8 or 9 ends the hand immediately.
Step 04
Third-card rules
Player draws on 0–5. Banker’s draw depends on its total and the player’s third card.
Step 05
Settle
Closest to 9 wins. Banker wins pay 0.95 to 1.
Why banker pays commission
Banker acts second and its drawing rules use the player’s third card. That small advantage makes banker win 45.86% of all hands, against 44.62% for player.
Without commission, banker would have a player edge of about 1.2%. The 5% commission turns that into a 1.06% house edge.
EZ Baccarat and similar no-commission games remove the 5% fee but push banker wins on a three-card 7. The edge ends up about the same, around 1.02%.
Floor rules
Baccarat words
Know before you sit
- Natural
- A two-card 8 or 9. No more cards are drawn.
- Punto banco
- The standard casino version where the house deals and draws by rule.
- Mini-baccarat
- The same game on a small table with lower minimums and faster play.
- Commission
- 5% taken from banker wins, tracked with markers and settled at the end of the shoe.
- Shoe
- The box holding 6 or 8 decks.
What the edge means per hour
At $25 a hand and 75 hands an hour, banker costs about $20 an hour on average, player about $23. The tie at 8 to 1 would cost about $270 an hour if bet every hand.
That gap is why experienced players stay on banker or player and treat the tie as an occasional side bet at most.
Keep reading
Related pages
Go play
Where to play in Las Vegas
Tap a resort — each row opens that casino’s White Gambling page (hours, game mix, floor facts). Venues with this game in official counts, sorted high to low.
Open a casino page
Real listings · not adsAfter the 90 seconds
Questions before and after you play
A 90-second guide cannot cover every table moment. Tap a group, then a question — answers are short paragraphs, not one-liners.
01Odds
What are the odds of banker winning in baccarat?
In an 8-deck game the banker wins about 45.86% of hands, the player 44.62%, and ties come up 9.52% of the time. Counting only hands that are not ties, banker wins about 50.68%.
Is banker or player better in baccarat?
Banker, slightly. Its house edge is 1.06% after commission, against 1.24% for player. Over $10,000 of bets that is about $106 versus $124 in expected loss.
Why is the tie bet bad?
A tie pays 8 to 1, but the true odds are about 9.5 to 1. That gap gives the house a 14.36% edge. Some casinos pay 9 to 1, which drops the edge to 4.84%, still far worse than banker or player.
How often does a tie happen in baccarat?
About 9.52% of hands, roughly once every 10 or 11 hands. When a tie happens, banker and player bets push and are returned.
Is baccarat a good game for beginners?
Yes. You make one choice, the dealer follows fixed rules, and the main bets have edges near 1%. Minimums on mini-baccarat tables are often low.
02At the table
Does the number of decks change baccarat odds?
Only slightly. The banker edge moves from about 1.01% with one deck to 1.06% with eight. Side bet edges change more with deck count.
03More questions
How is the 5% commission paid?
The dealer tracks commission owed on each banker win with markers in a box by your seat. You settle the total when you leave or when the shoe ends. Some tables take it from each win right away.
Does card counting work in baccarat?
In theory a count can find rare spots for side bets, but for banker and player the edge moves very little. Casinos also shuffle often. It is not a practical way to win at the main bets.
Is no-commission baccarat better?
In EZ Baccarat the banker wins pay even money, but a banker win with three cards totaling 7 pushes. The banker edge works out to about 1.02%, almost the same as the standard game.
Sources
- Wizard of Odds — Baccarat Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry)The gaming industry’s standard reference for casino-game math, by actuary Michael Shackleford. Not an official registry; our calculators compute these numbers independently. · accessed Oct 14, 2026Probabilities and house edge
- UNLV Center for Gaming Research Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026Baccarat win statistics
- National Council on Problem Gambling — Help and resources Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026Free, confidential help: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER
- American Gaming Association — Research Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026US casino and sports betting industry data