Baccarat odds and house edge
Banker is the best bet in baccarat: with 8 decks its house edge is 1.06%, after the 5% commission. Player is 1.24%. Tie pays 8 to 1 and costs 14.36% (4.84% where it pays 9 to 1). In no-commission games, where a banker win with three cards totaling 7 pushes, banker costs 1.02%.
Play baccarat with the trainerHouse edge by bet and shoe
| Bet | 8 decks | 6 decks | 1 deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banker (5% commission) | 1.06% | 1.06% | 1.01% |
| Banker, no commission | 1.02% | 1.02% | 0.97% |
| Player | 1.24% | 1.24% | 1.29% |
| Tie, paying 8 to 1 | 14.36% | 14.44% | 15.75% |
| Tie, paying 9 to 1 | 4.84% | 4.93% | 6.38% |
Per hand bet, counting ties as pushes for the banker and player bets.
How often each hand wins
| Outcome | 8 decks | 6 decks | Combinations (8 decks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banker wins | 45.8597% | 45.8653% | 2,292,252,566,437,888 |
| Player wins | 44.6247% | 44.6279% | 2,230,518,282,592,256 |
| Tie | 9.5156% | 9.5069% | 475,627,426,473,216 |
| Banker wins with a three-card 7 | 2.2534% | 2.2535% | 112,633,011,329,024 |
Exact counts: every ordered six-card deal from a full 8-deck shoe, the way Wizard of Odds counts them.
When the third card is drawn
A natural (8 or 9 on the first two cards) ends the hand. Otherwise the player draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. If the player stood, the banker draws on 0 to 5. If the player drew, the banker follows this table:
| Banker | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 1 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 2 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| 3 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | D |
| 4 | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S |
| 5 | S | S | S | S | D | D | D | D | S | S |
| 6 | S | S | S | S | S | S | D | D | S | S |
| 7 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
Columns: the player’s third card. D = the banker draws, S = the banker stands.
Why banker pays a commission
The banker hand acts last, so it draws knowing whether the player took a third card and what it was. That edge makes banker win 45.86% of hands against 44.62% for player.
Paid at even money, the banker bet would favor the player by more than 1%. The 5% commission turns it back into a house bet, but a cheaper one than player.
Do patterns or betting systems help?
No. Each hand is dealt by the same fixed rules, so streaks on the scoreboard don’t predict the next one, and a betting system only changes how your results are spread. The simulator shows the loss per unit bet settling on the house edge.