Baccarat has two of the lowest-cost bets in any casino sitting next to some of the most expensive, on the same felt, a few centimetres apart. The main game costs about 1%. One side bet on the same table costs nearly 30%.
The usual advice on baccarat side bets is to skip them entirely. That advice is nearly right, and the exception is worth knowing.
The Three Bets That Matter
Start with the main game, because everything else is measured against it.
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Banker, at 1.06%. The least costly bet on the table even after the 5% commission on wins, which exists precisely because the bet would otherwise favour the player. Over a thousand units staked it costs about ten.
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Player, at 1.24%. Marginally more expensive and commission-free, which is why some players prefer it despite the arithmetic. The difference across a session is small but it is consistently in the same direction.
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Tie, at 14.36%. Priced like a side bet despite sitting in the main betting area. The 8:1 payout looks generous against roughly one round in eleven ending tied, and the distance between those two numbers is the entire house edge.
Banker and Player sit among the lowest-priced wagers available anywhere in a casino. That is the baseline the rest of the table has to justify itself against.
Where the Side Bets Land
Most of them fail that test comfortably.
Player Pair and Banker Pair pay 11:1 and carry a 10.36% edge on eight decks. Perfect Pair pays 25:1 at around 13.03%. Panda 8 pays 25:1 at 10.19%, Dragon 7 pays 40:1 at 7.61%, and Super 6 at a 12:1 payout reaches 29.98%.
Set that last figure beside the Banker bet and the scale becomes clear: roughly thirty times the cost, on the same hand, decided by the same cards.
A worked example makes it concrete. A 25 unit Perfect Pair on every hand costs roughly 3.25 units per hand in expectation, above whatever the main game is costing you. Across an evening that is not a rounding error.
One Exception the Blanket Advice Misses
Here is where "avoid side bets" stops being quite true.
The Player Dragon Bonus carries a house edge of approximately 2.65%, paying up to 30:1 on a nine-point winning margin. That is cheaper than European roulette at 2.70%, and it is a perfectly defensible bet for anyone who wants a longer-odds option without leaving sensible pricing behind.
Two caveats keep it honest. The Banker Dragon Bonus is a completely different wager at 9.37%, despite the shared name and the adjacent position on the felt. And Big at 4.35% and Small at 5.27% sit in reasonable territory too, well below the pair bets.
So the accurate version of the advice is narrower and more useful: avoid the pair bets and Super 6, treat Dragon 7 and Panda 8 as expensive entertainment, and know that the Player Dragon Bonus is priced like a mainstream casino game.
Deck Count Moves Side Bets, Not Main Bets
One property of this table that almost nothing else in a casino shares.
The Banker and Player edges barely move with deck count. Side bet edges swing enormously. The pair bet runs at 10.36% on eight decks, 11.25% on six, and 29.41% on a single deck.
That is nearly a threefold change in cost from a table detail most players read as cosmetic, and it means a side bet figure quoted anywhere, including here, only applies to the deck count it was calculated for. The paytable at your table is the authority.
Five Platforms With Baccarat Tables
Ranked on live studio range, since that determines which baccarat variants and rule sets you can reach.
1. Dexsport
Dexsport draws live content from Evolution, Playtech and Ezugi, which puts three separate baccarat catalogues in one lobby instead of a single provider's standard set.
That matters here specifically because side bet availability and deck count vary by studio, so three suppliers means three different sets of paytables to choose between.
The platform is non-custodial, so a settled balance sits in a wallet you hold, and it operates under an Anjouan licence, lighter than Curacao or Malta.
2. Stake
Multiple live studios feeding a large table section, with branded variants produced alongside providers.
Balances are custodial and held between sessions, and the variant range is among the widest available.
3. BC.Game
A substantial live catalogue built over a long Curacao trading record, with wide coin support at the cashier.
Its scale means paytables and rules are easy to locate before sitting down, which is not universal at this end of the market.
4. Cloudbet
Trading since 2013 with its company named on the licence and higher table limits than most competitors.
Fewer novelty variants, which for baccarat is arguably a feature, since the novelties are where the expensive side bets live.
5. Vave
Standard baccarat coverage across a multi-coin platform.
Adequate for the main game, with a narrower variant range than the platforms above and thinner documentation.
Two Numbers to Read Before Your First Hand
Two numbers, and they are both on screen.
The commission on winning Banker bets. Five percent is standard, and a table charging more changes the calculation on the least costly wager available to you.
The deck count. It barely affects your main bet and transforms every side bet on the layout, as the pair figures above demonstrate.
After that the game is genuinely simple, which is most of its appeal, and understanding how outcomes are generated is a separate question from what a bet costs. Running both casino and sportsbook from a single balance makes moving between them straightforward once you have picked a table.
Confirm what is legal where you live, keep stakes within a set budget, and play only if you are of legal age, since KYC or AML checks may apply. Responsible gambling matters at a quick table, and baccarat deals quickly enough that a 1.06% edge applied to a high hand count still moves a balance steadily.
Disclaimer: The information here is provided for general purposes only and is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. House edge figures are published values that vary with deck count, paytable and table rules, so consult the specific table before playing. Betting carries risk, and rules vary by country, so check the law where you live. Please gamble responsibly, within your means, and only if you are of legal age.
