BACCARAT · BANKER 1.06% · TIE 14.4% · 2026
Baccarat has only three bets — Banker, Player, Tie — and only two of them are reasonable. Banker runs 1.06% house edge after commission; Player runs 1.24% (slightly worse). Tie runs 14.36% edge and is, mathematically, one of the worst bets in any casino. The choice is binary: Banker (best), or Player (close second). Skip Tie. Below: the math behind each bet, why Banker’s commission is structured the way it is, and why mini-baccarat and squeeze baccarat have the same edge despite different presentations.
Banker bet — the lowest-edge no-skill bet in the casino
Banker wins slightly more than half the resolved hands (50.7% of decisions, with 9.5% pushes from ties). To compensate, Banker wins pay 0.95:1 instead of 1:1 — a 5% commission on Banker winnings only. That commission is what creates the 1.06% house edge; without commission, Banker would have a player advantage of ~1.2%. Some operators offer “no-commission” or “EZ Baccarat” tables where Banker pays 1:1 except on a specific winning total (typically Banker wins with 6 push, or pay 0.5:1) — these usually maintain ~1.06% edge through a different mechanism.
Player bet — slightly worse, no commission
Player wins ~49.3% of decisions and pays 1:1 with no commission. House edge: 1.24%. The math difference vs Banker is small — about $0.18 per $100 wagered — but it accumulates at high volumes. For most session-scale play, Banker vs Player is functionally a tie; for large-volume play, Banker is measurably better. The popular “follow the streak” strategy — bet whichever side just won — has zero predictive value (each hand is independent) but doesn’t hurt EV either, since both bets are reasonably close.
Tie bet — never bet this
Tie pays 8:1 (sometimes 9:1 at premium tables — still bad). True odds for a tie are roughly 9.5:1, meaning the 8:1 payout creates 14.36% house edge — the worst bet on the baccarat table by a factor of 13×. Players bet Tie because the payout is high; the math says the high payout doesn’t compensate for the rarity. The “Dragon Tie” and other side bets at Tie variants run 5–10% edge. Skip everything except Banker and Player.
Mini-baccarat, squeeze, and other variants — same edge, different speed
Standard baccarat at high-limit tables uses the “squeeze” presentation: cards revealed slowly, one corner at a time, by players or the dealer. Visually theatrical, mathematically identical to mini-baccarat which deals at standard speed. Punto Banco is the same game with different country naming. Speed Baccarat runs at ~30 hands per hour; standard baccarat at ~70 hands per hour; squeeze baccarat at ~30 hands per hour. Hands-per-hour is the bankroll lever for baccarat, not bet selection — a slower game means lower exposure per hour at the same per-hand edge.
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