Casinos always take a part of every bet placed in Baccarat, whether you’re playing online or in person. This advantage is known as house edge, which is different from the game’s odds. Let’s see what the differences between these two are and how to determine the game’s house edge!

• Baccarat House Edge
• Where Does Baccarat House Edge Come From?
• Baccarat House Advantage Compared
• How to Get an Edge in Baccarat?

Baccarat House Edge

Baccarat edge as the deck number increases

The table above showcases the house edge Baccarat for bets on the player, banker and tie. You can see that the house advantage remains relatively constant even as we add more decks of cards. Listed values are valid both for land casinos and online live casinos with Baccarat,

Up to 8 decks are shuffled together in a game. Still, with any number of decks, the casino won’t profit more than 1.28% for bets on the player and 1.06% for bets on the banker, which are the most commonly used types of bets.

Even as we hypothetically shuffle 20 decks of cards into the game, the house edge Baccarat doesn’t change sensibly. The constancy of the house edge in Baccarat and the lowest house advantage of 1.05% make it attractive from a player’s point of view.

Important

Only blackjack, craps and poker can compete with Baccarat in terms of payout odds. Still, Baccarat proves to be more volatile than blackjack and poker because no form of skill can influence its outcome.

Baccarat edge convergence for tie bets

Betting on a tie is not advised

Tie bets have a 15% house edge in Baccarat, meaning the odds are quite blatantly against you when you place this bet. There is a probability of just 9.6% that the hand will result in a tie.

How to calculate the house edge in Baccarat

Baccarat’s built-in house edge refers to a casino’s mathematical advantage over a player. This percentage is calculated as the average number of scenarios you’re sure to lose against the dealer, considering millions of possibilities (stemming from how the 52 cards in a deck can be randomly distributed during the game).

To calculate the exact numeric house advantage, consider the number of card decks used in the game. However, as shown above, the variations in house edge Baccarat won’t affect the winning probability of your bets much.

Remember the payout odds

• The standard player bet pays even money or 1:1 odds
• The banker offers 19:20 odds
• The payout odds for the tie bet are usually 9:1, depending on the casino rules

Where Does Baccarat House Edge Come From?

Baccarat house advantage comes from the very structure of the game. Several factors contribute to it, including the number of decks. Still, the most crucial element is the three possible outcomes in the game.

The main piece of the action in Baccarat is comparing who has the better hand – the player or the banker. You already know that the casino’s advantage for player and banker bets is roughly the same because both outcomes have approximately the same chance of occurring. Still, there is a possibility of this comparison resulting in a tie, so the main Baccarat bets are not really even-money propositions.

How the house edge Baccarat works

Just like the number zero in roulette makes it that Red/Black bets don’t have 50%/50% chances, the tie outcome affects the even-money payout odds in Baccarat.

The casino is ensured to profit in the long run because there’s no reliable way for players to predict who will get the better hand or when a tie will occur. Similarly, even-money odds in roulette are imperfect because there is one case in which both outcomes (Red/Black) lose – when the ball lands on zero.

Game rules

• Baccarat’s main aim is to correctly guess the winning hand between the banker and the player
• Players can wager on the banker, player, or a tie
• You place a wager on either of the two and then 2 cards are dealt and compared
• The hand with a score of 9 or closest to 9 wins (also called a natural)
• In some instances, a third card is dealt

Face cards have zero value, and aces count as 1. For example, if you get a King and a 7, you have 7. However, if you get an 8 and a 6, you don’t have 14 but 4.

Important

The right digit is automatically taken as the value because the score cannot be bigger than 9. The crucial difference between casinos is the rules that decide when each side can take a third card. Usually, a chart explains under what conditions the player’s or banker’s hand can get a third card.

When the value of the player’s and the banker’s hands is the same, bets get refunded, except if someone at the table has wagered on a Tie.

Lack of player input

Baccarat is a guessing game with pre-set rules about when a card is taken and how to compare the player’s and the banker’s results. That means betting in Baccarat always comes down to luck.

There is no decision-making from the bettor except to select the bet type and wager amount. The banker/dealer carries out all activity.

Banker commission

Betting on the banker’s hand offers better winning odds because the banker outcome has a 45.8% chance of occurring, compared to 44.6% for the player having a better hand.

Casinos have compensated for this with a standard 5% commission on any winnings from a bet on the banker.

Winning banker bet example

Suppose you’ve wagered £20 on the banker’s hand, and you win.

In that case, you’ll get £39, your £20 stake back, plus £19 in winnings. £1 is the 5% commission.

Tip

Look for no-commission Baccarat games to eliminate this fee on winnings.

Baccarat House Advantage Compared

Let’s see how the Baccarat house advantage compares to other games.

Blackjack vs Baccarat house edge

• In blackjack, the casino’s advantage can be limited by the player’s decisions, which makes it a game of skill
• The house edge in Baccarat tends to be fixed (1.05%-1.26%-15%) because your decisions can’t affect the outcome
• The maximum house advantage at blackjack casinos is up to 2%
• Still, when played correctly, it can drop to about 0.5%. When split bets are permitted, it can decrease to even 0.15%
• Blackjack is certainly preferable – it has a much better payout potential when played with perfect strategy

Roulette vs Baccarat house edge

European roulette has a built-in 2.70% house advantage for even-money bets, considerably lower than American roulette with 5.26%. The cause for the big difference is in the extra double zero digits found on the American roulette table, which reduces the probability of winning and spikes the edge in the casino’s favour. You can find both types of games at our roulette sites, but we recommend sticking with the European variant.

The main bet in Baccarat is also an even-money proposition just like the Red/Black wager, but the roulette house advantage is considerably higher – almost double figures.

In the end it all boils down to UK players’ preference, but playing Baccarat and betting on the banker is technically more advantageous than betting on Red/Black in roulette.

Craps vs Baccarat house edge

• The casino advantage in craps depends on the type of bets you are making
• For the don’t pass line and pass line wagers, the house advantage is 1.36% and 1.41%, respectively
• These bets are the options with the lowest house advantage available in craps
• Still, other craps bets can raise the edge over 10%; for instance, straight-up bets and other combinations
• Baccarat’s house advantage of 1.06% for the banker bet can be considered more appealing than what craps offer from a statistical standpoint

Remember

Low house edge Baccarat: nothing guarantees a round’s desired outcome

You can optimise your chances and see genuine improvements if you choose games with a better RTP rate (or a lower house advantage) and stick to the likelier outcomes.

However, you shouldn’t forget that you’re playing a random game of chance designed for the casino to profit. No matter how attractive Baccarat odds may seem on paper, you’re always up against real-life uncertainty and the dire prospect that the house always wins.

How to Get an Edge in Baccarat?

You can’t fully overcome the house edge because it is built into the game of Baccarat itself. Still, there are a few ways UK players may exploit it in their favour.

Go for the bet with the lowest edge

Out of the three possible wagers, you should prioritise the banker bet, which enables the lowest Baccarat house advantage of 1.06%.

You will probably have to pay the 5% commission for winning bets, but there is a reason for this fee – the fact that the banker’s hand wins in the majority of cases.

Do not go for tie bets

Especially for new UK players, it might be tempting to wager on the tie bet because of the high payout potential.

In reality, the tie is the least common outcome in Baccarat. From a statistical aspect, betting on a tie is not at all a wise idea.

Wager small amounts

You should start with small bets since you’re playing a game that’s entirely based on luck. Sketch out a staking plan before playing and stick to betting the same amount every time.

Baccarat casinos that we recommend are UKGC-licensed, so you’ll have a full suite of responsible gambling tools to use.