Baccarat Odds Explained

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What Are Baccarat Odds?

Baccarat odds are the probabilities of winning different bets in the game. It is easy to learn and quick to play, making baccarat a popular game choice among online casino users.

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However, having a firm grasp of baccarat odds, the house edge, and probability makes it easier to know which bets to follow and which are the most lucrative.

In this definition, we break down the odds of winning baccarat to improve your chances of success.

Illustration of Baccarat odds showing chips labeled Banker and Tie, with text explaining probabilities of winning different bets.

Quick Facts for Players

  • Baccarat offers a favorable house edge: 1.06% for Banker bets, 1.24% for Player bets, and 14.36% for Tie bets.
  • The Banker bet has a 45.86% win rate, slightly better than the Player bet (44.62%), despite a 5% commission.
  • With only a 9.52% chance of winning, Tie bets offer high 8:1 payouts but come with a steep 14.36% house edge.
  • Extra bets like Player Pair add excitement but generally have lower returns.
  • Baccarat has better odds than roulette and craps, making it a strong choice for strategic players.

Baccarat Rules

A digital baccarat game display showing cards for Player and Banker, with "BANKER WINS" highlighted, and betting options below.

Before we take a closer look at baccarat odds and its house edge, let’s take a moment to review the game’s rules. Unlike most other casino table games, baccarat is as straightforward as it gets, as you can make only three bets. As a result, the game is simple to learn and follow, and rounds are reasonably quick. The faster pace and small selection of bets make baccarat a top choice for many players:

  1. You must place your bets before the croupier deals out the cards when playing baccarat. The three available bets are in favor of the Player, in favor of the Banker, or a Tie.
  2. Players put money on the outcome they predict when they reveal their cards.
  3. You place a new bet each round and can adjust your stake or bet for each new round played.
  4. Once everyone has made their bets, the croupier deals the cards face up, two for the Player and two for the Banker. The aim of each round is to get the total closest to nine, with nine being the best score.

    However, if the two cards add up to more than nine, for instance, you get a six and a seven, these are combined (in this case, 13), and the second digit represents your score, so here, the final score would be three.

  5. In some cases, the Player or the Banker may draw a third card, and you can learn more about this in our guide on how to play baccarat.

If your math isn’t great, there’s no need to worry; the dealer does all the calculations here.

If you bet on the Banker and their score is closest to nine, you win your bet.

Likewise, if you bet on the Player and their score was the closest to nine, you win your bet.

However, if you bet on a Tie and both the Player and the Banker end up with the same total, you win your bet.

Lastly, all winning wagers get paid out before a new round begins.

Baccarat Card Values

To fully understand the odds of winning baccarat, it’s important to note that the various cards come with varying values.

Below, you can find a list of the cards and their applicable values:

  • Playing cards two to nine are face value – so if you draw a three, it is worth three points.
  • The 10, Jack, Queen, and King, each have zero value in baccarat.
  • The Ace has a value of one point.

For instance, if you drew a Queen and a six, your total would be six. However, if you drew an Ace and an eight, your total would be nine.

The House Edge in Baccarat

The baccarat house edge refers to the odds advantage of the casino or the average gross profit the offshore online casino site can expect to make from each game, in this case, baccarat.

In other words, online baccarat casinos use the house edge to determine the percentage of the first wager players make that can be counted as profit.

Both brick-and-mortar and online casinos use the rules of the game to calculate the house edge in baccarat. Applying a house edge allows a casino to minimize losses when a player wins a big payout.

The lower the house edge, the better the game is for players (you get a greater return on your bets and better odds). Baccarat has one of the lowest house edges, with the house advantage on the Banker’s hand as low as 1.06%.

The low house edge makes baccarat one of the best games to play, and there are a number of baccarat strategies you can use to increase your odds even further.

What Are the Odds in Baccarat?

While a baccarat payout won’t line your pockets like a lottery win would, the game still provides some of the best odds and most substantial payouts, especially compared to other casino games.

The odds of baccarat highlight two things: your chances of winning a particular bet and how much you can expect as a return should that bet be successful.

As we discussed above, the baccarat house edge is the average profit the casino can expect to make from each game or the commission it receives for providing that game.

While the house advantage in baccarat on a Banker bet is low at 1.06%, it rises slightly to 1.24% on a Player bet. However, a Tie bet sees the house edge in baccarat leap to 14.36%. But while the edge is significant here, so are the payouts, making these more risky but more profitable than Banker or Player bets.

If you were to remove the Tie bet from the equation and look at the baccarat odds when distributed between the Banker and the Player, the Banker would have fixed 51% baccarat odds of winning.

Calculating Your Baccarat Payout

When we look at baccarat casino odds, we can calculate the potential payout.

For example, let’s look at a Player’s bet:

The 1.24% house edge applied to this wager means that a $100 bet will earn $98.76 in profits should you win your bet.

Since there is a 1:1 payout for a Player bet, you would walk away with your original $100 stake and $98.76 profit, totaling $198.76.

Handy Hint

100% – house edge value = profit percentage of the bet.

So, for a $100 wager on a Player’s bet:

  • 100% – 1.24% = 98.75%
  • 98.76% of $100 = $98.76

Similarly, a Banker’s bet offers an increased profit of $98.94 for each $100 bet wagered:

  • 100%-1.06% = 98.94%
  • 98.94% of $100 = $98.94

However, keep in mind that the baccarat payout odds here are 0.95:1.In other words, for every $1 you put down, you will win a return of $0.95 on winning bets.

So, if you include the house advantage for baccarat in this equation, the potential sum that you could walk away with is $93.99.

Handy Hint

True odds payout x payout odds = final payout.

So, to determine the value you walk away with:

  • $98.94 x 0.95 = $93.99

Lastly, if you put your money on a Tie bet and win, the 14.36% baccarat house edge leaves you with a $85.64 profit on a $100 wager:

  • 100% – 14.36% = 85.64%
  • 85.64% of $100 = $85.64

However, because Tie bets are the least likely to happen (therefore a more risky bet), they come with high payout odds of 8:1. So, your payout here would be significant.

Baccarat Odds Payout Chart

To make it easier to view the baccarat odds and payouts, we created the handy table below:

Bet type Payout odds Odds/ baccarat winning percentage House edge
Banker’s bet 1:1 45.86% 1.06%
Player’s bet 0.95:1 44.62% 1.24%
Tie bet 8:1 9.52% 14.36%

Baccarat Bets & Their Odds

As we already mentione, in baccarat, there are three main bets: the Tie, the Player, and the Banker, as well as several side bets.

Below, we look at these wagers and their individual odds, payouts, and house advantage values in more detail.

Baccarat Odds of a Player vs. a Banker Win

Banker Player
House edge 1.06% 1.24%
Odds 45.86% 44.62%
Payout odds 0.95:1 1:1
Commission 5% 0%

Considering the baccarat payout table above, the Banker bet has a slightly higher winning percentage of 45.86%, while the Player’s hand has a 44.62% chance of winning.

If you remove the Tie bet as we suggest above, the Banker’s hand still sits at a baccarat probability of 51%.

As a result, players typically put money on the Banker’s bet.

Remember, those betting on the Player’s hand are wagering that the Player will have the better hand, while those backing the Banker predict that the Banker will have the better hand.

Odds of Winning Baccarat with a Tie Bet

House edge 14.36%
Odds 9.52%
Payout odds 8:1

Typically, in eight-deck baccarat games, the Tie bet only has a 9.52% probability of winning. Here, you are betting on the Player and the Banker having cards with the exact same total value.

However, these wagers pay out at significant payout odds of 8:1, which offers an enormous payout. If you aren’t afraid of a little risk and think it’s worth the payout, the Tie bet is the way to go.

Handy Hint

A round that ends in a tie, where no one has wagered a Tie bet, results in a Push. In this case, no one wins or loses, and the bets for that round carry over.

Baccarat Odds for Side Bets

If you want to change things up a little to keep the game interesting, there are several side bets available when playing baccarat. Here, you can wager on more than just a Tie, Banker, or Player. These wagers are offered on the side of the table, hence the name side bets.

Some of the additional bets you can play in baccarat include:

Banker pair
If the first two cards dealt to the Banker are a pair, the bet pays out.
Player pair
If the first two cards dealt to the Player are a pair, the bet pays out.
Perfect pair
If two identical cards (value and suit) are the first two dealt to the Player or the Banker, the bet pays out. However, if the first two cards dealt to the Player and the Banker are identical in value and suit, the odds are 200:1.
Either pair
Pays out if either the Banker or Player’s hand is a pair.

However, keep in mind that every casino will add its own unique side bets for players to enjoy, and not all baccarat games offer the same side bets.

Below, you can find the baccarat odds and payouts for some of the most popular side bets offered by online casinos on an eight-deck baccarat game:

Bet type Payout odds Odds/ baccarat winning percentage RTP
Banker pair 11:1 7.47% 89.64%
Player pair 11:1 7.47% 89.64%
Perfect pair 25:1 3.34% 91.95%
Either pair 5:1 14.2% 86.29%
Big 2:1 31.8% 97.35%
Small 3:2 37.8% 90.63%

Types of Baccarat Games & Their Odds

There are several types of baccarat, including:

  • Chemin de Fer (Chemmy): Uses six decks.
  • Baccarat Banque (A deux tableaux): Uses three decks.
  • Punto Banco: Uses eight decks.

In addition to having several variations in terms of game play and decks used, these differing versions also have unique odds and payouts, which you can find highlighted in the tables below.

Chemin de Fer (Chemmy) – Six Decks

This style of baccarat offers slightly different baccarat casino odds than the standard version. Additionally, players take turns (moving from the right) to act as the Banker, an option not provided in traditional baccarat. Essentially, players are pitted against one another.

Finally, Chemin de Fer uses six decks compared to regular baccarat, which uses eight:

Bet Payout Odds
Player 1:1 44.63%
Banker 0.95:1 45.87%
Tie 8:1 9.51%

Baccarat Banque (A deux tableaux) – Three Decks

This version of baccarat varies from the traditional version of the game in several ways. Firstly, this version only uses three decks, whereas traditional baccarat uses eight.

Additionally, this style allows you to act as the Banker, which standard baccarat does not.

Also, the baccarat odds differ here slightly, as seen in the following table:

Bet Payout Odds
Player 1:1 44.63%
Banker 0.95:1 45.73%
Tie 8:1 9.53%

Punto Banco

Punto Banco is the most commonly played version of baccarat in most casinos, typically using eight decks of cards. Players have three betting options: bet on the Player hand, the Banker hand, or a Tie. Unlike Chemin de Fer and Baccarat Banque, players do not take turns acting as the Banker. The casino automatically deals for both hands.

Bet Payout Odds
Player 1:1 44.62%
Banker 0.95:1 45.85%
Tie 8:1 9.53%

Baccarat Odds vs. Blackjack

When playing baccarat, the Banker’s hand in a traditional eight-deck game comes with the highest baccarat odds of winning at 45.86%.

In contrast, a game of eight-deck blackjack has a probability of 42.22%. What this means is depending on the bet you choose, your baccarat odds could be higher or lower than those in blackjack casinos.

When comparing baccarat odds vs. blackjack odds, there are several aspects to take into account when selecting your bet:

Payout Value
The amount the online casino will pay out for winning the bet.
Probability
Blackjack and baccarat probability refers to the chances of a win occurring.
House Edge
The casino’s advantage.
Return to player (RTP)
The amount a player can expect to win back on average over a period of time.

Handy Hint

The RTP acts in the opposite way to the house edge.

A good way to calculate RTP is as follows:

100% – house edge = RTP.

Using the aspects listed above, we have compiled the following table that makes it easy to compare and contrast the two card games and the odds of baccarat and blackjack:

Bet Payout odds Probability House edge RTP
Baccarat Player’s Hand 1:1 44.62% 1.24% 98.76%
Baccarat Banker’s Hand 0.95:1 45.86% 1.06% 98.94%
Blackjack (Your Hand) 1:1 42.22% 0.50% 99.50%

Baccarat Odds vs. Other Table Games

When it comes to comparing baccarat to other casino games, you’ll see that baccarat offers some of the best casino odds out there. For instance, the probability of a Banker’s hand is 45.86%, which is much higher than most.

While you can use a baccarat odds calculator to check out the odds offered by an online casino, you can also use an odds calculator to determine the probability of the games below:

Casino game House edge
Baccarat 1.06% – 1.24%
Blackjack 0.43% – 2%
Roulette (Single Zero) 2.7%
Roulette (Double Zero) 5.3%
Craps 1.36% – 1.41%
Ultimate Texas Hold’em 2.20%
Pai Gow poker 2.84%
Video poker 0.05% – 2%
Video Keno 8% – 15%

The Bottom Line

Baccarat is a fast-paced casino game with favorable odds for players. The Banker bet has the highest chance of winning at 45.86% and a low house edge of 1.06%, making it the safest choice. Tie bets offer high payouts of 8:1 but are risky due to their 14.36% house edge. Understanding baccarat odds and strategies can help players make smarter bets and improve their chances of winning.

Understanding baccarat odds and strategies can help players make more informed decisions, improve their chances of winning, and ensure a responsible gaming experience.

FAQs

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Aneeca Younas
Social and Sweeps Casino Expert
Aneeca Younas
Social and Sweeps Casino Expert

Aneeca is an expert at observing the online industry from the perspective of a player. She has loved games ever since she was a kid. It started by playing social games like poker on Facebook and gathering with friends to enjoy card games like blackjack. Aneeca later became interested in online gambling sites and started writing reviews about them. Today, she has over eight years of experience in that department, writing for platforms like Basketball Insiders and Gambling Penn. In her free time, she enjoys playing board games with her children.