Mini Baccarat Dragon Bonus

  1. What Is Dragon Bonus Baccarat
  2. Mini Baccarat Dragon Bonus Logo
  3. Baccarat Pair Bet
  4. Baccarat Side Bet
  5. Mini And Midi Baccarat With Dragon Bonus

Dragon Bonus Baccarat. Dragon Bonus is an optional wager for Mini-Baccarat. Dragon Bonus Pay tables are displayed on each gaming table. Mini-Baccarat consists of two hands dealt from a multiple deck shoe using up to 8 decks. One hand is called the Player hand and the other is called the Banker hand. The most common version of Baccarat played around the United States is probably the Mini-Baccarat set up with the standard Dragon side bonus bets based on point-spreads. This usually carries a 5% commission charge for winning on the dealing Banker's side due to the Banker's supposed tendency to win more often than the Player's side.

  • Appendices
  • Baccarat Analysis
  • Miscellaneous

On This Page

Introduction

Baccarat, also known as punto banco, is one of the oldest and most popular games in casinos all over the world. It is especially popular among high-rollers and Asian gamblers. In Macau, baccarat is extremely dominant. Although the game seems serious and elegant, it is really as simple as betting on the flip of a coin.

Baccarat Basics - How to Play with Wizard's Free Demo

Format

There are three types of baccarat tables:

Big Table Baccarat is played in a snooty roped off area to separate itself from the other games. The players are usually very well dressed and the table minimums are often high. The regular baccarat table is about the size of a craps table with 3 casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. Each player, including the player dealing, may still bet on either the player or the banker but it is customary for the dealer to bet on the banker.

The deal will rotate around the table, much like the dice rotate around the craps table. If a player does not want to deal they may pass the shoe to the next player. The same person will keep dealing as long as the banker keeps winning. The person dealing will put two cards, face down, tucked under the shoe, and give the player with the greatest bet on the player the other two cards, face down. This player then looks at the cards and then gives them back to the player who is dealing. Then the player who is dealing will turn over the cards and one of the casino dealers will announce the totals. Depending on the totals, the dealer may then instruct the person dealing the cards to deal a third card. Finally the dealers will pay winning wagers and collect losing ones out of the dealer's tray. The player who actually deals is not assuming any financial responsibility of the other players bets, unlike pai gow, and is just turning over cards.

Mini baccarat has the same rules are big table baccarat. However, unlike the game at the big table, the dealer turns over all the cards, making for a much faster game. The odds are exactly the same as those of the big table, assuming the same number of decks. Mini baccarat is sometimes dealt from a six-deck shoe, changing the odds slightly. It can usually be found in the main casino areas.

Midi baccarat is the same as mini baccarat, except the size of the table is larger, and it is usually found in the high-limit rooms, as opposed to the main casino floor.

Rules

Following are the rules of baccarat. The terminology can be a little confusing. To try to minimize this, when referring to a particular bet or hand, I will use capital letters. In particular Player and Banker refer to bets as well as particular sets of two or three cards each.

  1. Usually eight decks of cards are used.
  2. Cards are given point values as follows: Ace = 1, 2-9 = pip value, 10 and face cards = 0.
  3. Play begins by all players betting either on the Player or Banker. There is also a side bet on a Tie. At some tables there are also side bets on a Player Pair and/or Banker Pair. There are lots of other newer side bets, which I go into in my baccarat appendix 5.
  4. After all bets are down, the dealer gives two cards each to the Player and Banker hands.
  5. The maximum number of points in both the Player and Banker hands is 9. The way to arrive at the points per hand is to take the total points of each individual card in the hand. If the sum is more than 9, then drop the first digit. For example, if either hand had a 9 and 7, then you would drop the 1 from the total of 16, for a 6-point hand.
  6. A third card may or may not be dealt to either the Player or Banker hands, depending on the following rules.
  7. If either the Player or Banker have 8 or 9 points, it is referred to as a 'natural.' If there is at least one natural, then both hands will stand.
  8. Otherwise, if the Player's total is 5 or less, then the Player hand will draw one more card, otherwise, with 6 or 7 points, the Player hand stands.
  9. If the Player hand stands with 6 or 7 points, then the Banker hand will draw a third card on a total of 5 or less. Otherwise, with 6 or 7 points, the Banker will stand.
  10. If the Player does draw a third card, then use the Banker will use his positional advantage to decide whether to take a third card according to his total and the third card drawn to the Player, according to the following table.

    Banker Drawing Rules

    Banker's
    Score
    Player's Third Card
    0123456789
    7SSSSSSSSSS
    6SSSSSSDDSS
    5SSSSDDDDSS
    4SSDDDDDDSS
    3DDDDDDDDSD
    2DDDDDDDDDD
    1DDDDDDDDDD
    0DDDDDDDDDD
    D = Draw third card
    S = Stand on two cards
  11. The score of the Player and Banker hands are compared; the winner is the one that is greater. In an event of a tie, the Player and Banker bets push.
  12. The Tie bet wins if the Player and Banker hands tie. All other outcomes lose.
  13. The Player Pair bet wins if the first two cards in the Player hand are of the same rank. All other outcomes lose.
  14. The Banker Pair bet wins if the first two cards in the Banker hand are of the same rank. All other outcomes lose.
  15. Following is how to pay each bet:
    • Player: Wins pay even money.
    • Banker: Wins pay 19 to 20, which is equivalent to even money less a 5% commission.
    • Tie: Almost all casinos pay 8 to 1 on a tie, which is often expressed as the equivalent to 9 for 1.
    • Player Pair and Banker pairs: Wins pay 10 to 1.

The reason the Banker gets paid less than the Player is the Banker enjoys a positional advantage, with more information available to make the decision on drawing a third card.

Following are some rules on dealing procedures. The beginner can skip this part.

What Is Dragon Bonus Baccarat

  • At the start of a new shoe, the dealer will turn over one card. This will determine how many cards the dealer will burn, according to the baccarat value, except a 10 or face card will result in 10 cards burned.
  • The cut card will be placed 16 cards from the bottom of the shoe. When the cut card appears, the dealer will finish that hand, play one more hand, and then start a new shoe. If the cut card comes out instead of the first card, the dealer will finish that hand, and then start a new shoe.
  • To speed up the game, the dealer will keep track of commissions owed on winning Banker bets using small laminated markers. He will collect all commissions owed at the end of the shoe.

Eight-Deck Analysis

The following return tables show the possible outcomes of the Player, Banker, and Tie bets for an 8-deck game. As the lower right cells in each table show, the house edge is 1.06% on the banker bet, 1.24% on the player bet, and 14.36% on the tie.

Banker Bet — 8 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins0.952,292,252,566,437,8880.4585970.435668
Player wins-12,230,518,282,592,2560.446247-0.446247
Tie0475,627,426,473,2160.0951560
Total4,998,398,275,503,3601-0.010579

Player Bet — 8 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-12,292,252,566,437,8880.458597-0.458597
Player wins12,230,518,282,592,2560.4462470.446247
Tie0475,627,426,473,2160.0951560
Total4,998,398,275,503,3601-0.012351

Tie Bet — 8 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-12,292,252,566,437,8880.458597-0.458597
Player wins-12,230,518,282,592,2560.446247-0.446247
Tie8475,627,426,473,2160.0951560.761248
Total4,998,398,275,503,3601-0.143596

Pair Bets — 8 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair1164480.0746990.821687
No pair-1798720.925301-0.925301
Total863201-0.103614

Six-Deck Analysis

The following return tables show the possible outcomes of the Player, Banker, and Tie bets for a 6-deck game. As the lower right cells in each table show, the house edge is 1.06% on the Banker bet, 1.24% on the Player bet, and 14.44% on the Tie.

Banker Bet — 6 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins0.954030957512345600.4586530.43572
Player wins-13922204927288320.446279-0.446279
Tie0835529629322880.0950690
Total8788692068956801-0.010558

Player Bet — 6 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-14030957512345600.458653-0.458653
Player wins13922204927288320.4462790.446279
Tie0835529629322880.0950690
Total8788692068956801-0.012374

Tie Bet — 6 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-14030957512345600.458653-0.458653
Player wins-13922204927288320.446279-0.446279
Tie8835529629322880.0950690.76055
Total8788692068956801-0.144382

Pair Bets — 6 Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair1135880.0739550.813505
No pair-1449280.926045-0.926045
Total485161-0.11254

One-Deck Analysis

The following return tables show the possible outcomes of the Player, Banker, and Tie bets for a single deck game. As the lower right cells in each table show, the house edge is 1.01% on the Banker bet, 1.29% on the Player bet, and 15.75% on the Tie.

Banker Bet — 1 Deck

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins0.9567372326400.4596240.436643
Player wins-165486744320.44676-0.44676
Tie013722273280.0936150
Total146581344001-0.010117

Player Bet — 1 Deck

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-167372326400.459624-0.459624
Player wins165486744320.446760.44676
Tie013722273280.0936150
Total146581344001-0.012864

Tie Bet — 1 Deck

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Banker wins-167372326400.459624-0.459624
Player wins-165486744320.44676-0.44676
Tie813722273280.0936150.748923
Total146581344001-0.157461

Pair Bets — 1 Deck

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair11780.0588240.647059
No pair-112480.941176-0.941176
Total13261-0.294118

Infinite Decks

Some Internet casinos claim to use an infinite number of decks in baccarat. The following four tables show the analysis of the Banker, Player, Tie, and Pair bets assuming an infinite deck shoe.

Banker — Infinite Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win0.952,212,7440.4584280.435507
Tie0460,6010.0954260.000000
Loss-12,153,4640.446147-0.446147
Total4,826,8091.000000-0.010640

Player — Infinite Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win12,153,4640.4461470.446147
Tie0460,6010.0954260.000000
Loss-12,212,7440.458428-0.458428
Total4,826,8091.000000-0.012281

Tie — Infinite Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win8460,6010.0954260.763405
Loss-14,366,2080.904574-0.904574
Total4,826,8091.000000-0.141170

Player/Banker Pair — Infinite Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win1110.0769230.846154
Loss-1120.923077-0.923077
Total131.000000-0.076923

Reduced Commission Banker Rules


Sign formerly seen at the D casino.

A less than 5% commission on winning banker Bets has been known to happen. As the image above shows, the D casino used to have a 4% commission Banker bet, but no longer do. For a short time in 1989 the Sahara offered 0% commission. The Betfair Internet casino offers a 2.75% commision in their 'Zero Lounge.' The following table shows the expected value on the Banker bet according to the number of decks and commission.

Reduced Commission on Banker Bet

Commission1 Deck6 Decks8 Decks
5.00%-1.012%-1.056%-1.058%
4.00%-0.552%-0.597%-0.599%
3.00%-0.092%-0.139%-0.141%
2.75%0.022%-0.024%-0.026%
0.00%1.286%1.237%1.235%

Red 8 Rule

Baccarat Pair Bet

Some casinos in London have a 'Red 8' rule, where winning Banker bets pay no commission on certain wins. For example, the Hippodromo casino has a 'red 8' rule where Banker bets pay even money if all of the following are true:

  • Banker has two-card total of three points.
  • Player has two-card total of five points or less, thus drawing a card.
  • Player's third card is an 8.

Assuming eight decks, this lowers the house edge on the Banker bet from 1.06% to 0.81%. The following return table details the possible outcomes of the Banker bet under the Red 8 rule.

Red 8 Rule — Eight Decks

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Red 8 win1243,809,554,247,6800.0487780.048778
All other banker wins0.952,048,443,012,190,2000.4098200.389329
Tie0475,627,426,473,2160.0951560.000000
Player Wins-12,230,518,282,592,2500.446247-0.446247
Total4,998,398,275,503,3501.000000-0.008140

Liberal Player Rules

The 'bonus casino' at the 5 Dimes Internet sports book pays 1.01 to 1 on the Player bet. Assuming eight decks, the house edge on that bet is 1.04%.

Liberal Tie Rules

The Tie has been known to pay 9 to 1 at some casinos. For example, Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas used to, and the online casino pays 9 to 1. Here is the house edge on the tie bet if it pays 9 to 1.

  • 8 decks: 4.844%
  • 6 decks: 4.931%
  • 1 deck: 6.385%

The 'bonus casino' at the 5 Dimes Internet sports book pays 9.4 to 1 on the Tie bet. Assuming eight decks, the house edge on that bet is 0.79%.

Liberal Pair Rules

I have an unconfirmed report that the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls pays 12 to 1 on either a Player pair or Banker pair. Based on an eight deck game, that would reduce the house edge to 2.89%. In a six-deck game the house edge would be 3.86%.

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Egalite Bets

Egalities are side bets on specific ties in baccarat. These bets are often seen England and seldom elsewhere. Information about them has been moved off to my page on Egalite bets.

Riding Trends

Every baccarat table will have plenty of score cards and pencils for the players to keep track of the outcome of every hand. Most players will do so religiously and carefully analyze their card for trends as the winning hand switches back and forth from the banker to the player. This is a big waste of time! The smart player will bet on the banker every time and leave the score cards alone.

Calculator

Now you can enter any distribution of cards and my baccarat calculator will give you the odds for the Player, Banker, and Tie bets, broken down by all possible Player and Banker totals.

Practice Game

Practice your game for free with my baccarat game. It features a full history display and exact odds for the next hand.

Practice Mini-Baccarat for Free

Try my mini-baccarat Java applet. This will allow you to get familiar with the rules and how the game is played.

Simulations

Before you go and waste your money with a betting system in the casinos, test it out on my 250,000 simulated eight-deck shoes. They were created using a Mersenne Twister random number generator and a Fisher Yates shuffle.

Each file has 25,000 shoes and is 4.06 MB in size. Each line in each file is an individual shoe, starting with the shoe number, and followed by the outcome of each hand (P/B/T). The files are comma delimited for easy loading into Excel.If you need to see every card, I also have these two files.
  • 1000 6-deck shoes: 1000 computer generated baccarat shoes using six decks. (1.6 MB)
  • 1000 8-deck shoes: 1000 computer generated baccarat shoes using eight decks. (1.2 MB)

Written by:Michael Shackleford

One of the reasons people like playing Baccarat is the lack of complexity you’d find in other card games. It’s a chance-based game, requiring no more thought and strategizing put into it than a simple heads or tails decision. Without any critical thinking or maneuvering, however, things can get a bit bland. No worries, though, if there’s one thing that’s surely infinite besides the universe, it’s the game developers’ ability to come up with new ideas to diversify their products. Side bets add a nice flair to the otherwise simplistic gameplay and are offered at both land-based and online casinos. Let’s have a look at some of the most popular ones.

  • Bellagio Match: A side bet on three-of-a-kind in the multi-player game hosted by an animated dealer. The payout is 75:1 for a Player three-of-a-kind with a 5.27% house edge and 68:1 for a Banker’s at a 8.57% house edge.
  • Super 6: You can place this bet at UK land-based casinos and some live casinos online. It pays 12:1 if the winning Banker hand is a total of six. This is the side bet with the biggest house edge – a whopping 29.98%.
  • 3-Card Six: Again a side bet offered at the Pala Casino. You get a 100:1 payout if both the Player and Banker get a 3-card 6 hand and an 8:1 if only one hand does. The house edge is 13.37%.
  • 4-5-6: resumably, a side bet played in Atlantic City. There are 3 bets available on the total value for each hand. 4 pays 3:2, 5 and 6 pays 2:1.
  • Lucky Bonus: The lucky bonus is a side bet offered at the commission-free Baccarat tables in the Pala Casino in California. It’s a wager on the Banker hand being a winning six. The side bet gives a Player advantage of 2.34% and because of that, you can’t place a wager that’s more than 10 percent of the Banker bet. It’s one of the side bets with the most player-friendly RTP as the house edge between it and the Banker bet is 1.11%. The payout is 18:1.
  • Royal Match: A side bet rumored to be offered at London casinos. It can be wagered on either the Player or Banker drawing a King and Queen in the first two dealt cards. The house edge is very player-friendly at 2.13% The payout is 75:1 for a suited King & Queen and 30:1 for non-suited.

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Dragon 7: This side bet is offered in EZ Baccarat – a game extremely popular with Chinese customers. A Dragon 7 appears when the Banker gets a winning 3-card 7 and pays 40:1. The side bet increases the house edge to 7.61% but the game doesn’t feature a commission on the Banker.
Dragon Bonus: The Dragon Bonus is not exactly a baccarat casino bonus, but rather a side bet that pays out if you win with a natural 9 or 8 or if you win by a large margin – at least four points. The highest baccarat payout is 30 to 1 for a non-natural winning hand that wins by nine points. Keep in mind that the Dragon Bonus bet has to be made before you make a standard baccarat bet and on the same side – player or banker. These are the Dragon Baccarat Bonus payouts that apply to both the banker and the player.

  • Natural win (two-card 8 or 9) pays 1:1
  • Natural tie (two-card 8/8 or 9/9) is a push
  • Win by 9 pays 30:1
  • Win by 8 pays 10:1
  • Win by 7 pays 6:1
  • Win by 6 pays 4:1
  • Win by 5 pays 2:1
  • Win by 4 pays 1:1
  • All other results are a loss

If both hands are natural and the result is a tie, the Dragon Bonus bet is a push. The side bet affects the house edge, making it 2.65% for player (the standard is 1.24%) and 9.37% for banker against the standard 1.01%. Although immensely popular in Asian casinos, the Dragon bonus version can be found in casinos all around the world, and in many online baccarat casinos as well.

Matching Dragon: This type of wager encompasses 13 side bets or one for each rank. The payout is based on the number of cards of the chosen rank that will appear in the next hand. All cards dealt count. Here are the payouts:

Matching Cards Payout
6 100:1
560:1
440:1
320:1
23:1
11:1

For example, if the Player hand is Q – 2 – 2 and the Banker is K – Q – 2 and the bet is on a 2, the payout would be 20:1 for the three 2s, 3:1 for the two Qs and 1:1 for the one K. All other bets lose.

Either Pair: A side bet available at online Playtech casinos that pays if the first two dealt cards of either the Player or Banker form a pair. It’s got a 5:1 payout.
Perfect Pair: Like in Blackjack, this is a wager that the first two cards of either the Player or the Banker are a suited pair which pays 25:1. It’s offered in Playtech games.
Rabbit Play: A pair of side bets which are available in Las Vegas. They have an 8.07% house edge for Player and 9.31% house edge for Banker.

Suited 3-of-a-kind 500:1
Unsuited 3-of-a-kind50:1
Suited pair (first two cards only)15:1
Unsuited pair (first two cards only)7:1

Egalite bets: These are side bets on specific ties, for example both totaling 6. Egalites can have different payouts for each tie or be grouped. The payouts for Egalites on specific ties are:

  • Panda 8: Another side bet from EZ Baccarat which pays 25:1 if the Player gets a winning 3-card 8. The house edge with this bet becomes 10.19%.
  • All Red/Black: If you get all red cards, this side bet pays 22:1 and 24:1 if you get all black cards. You can find this bet offered at live casinos.
  • First Two Banker/Player Cards Same Suit: Pretty self-explanatory, this is wager on the first two Player or Banker cards being the same suit. The payout is 2.87:1 for a suited Player hand at a house edge of 4.20% and 28.6:1 for Banker at a house edge of 3.95%. You can find this side bet in some live games online.
  • Total Points Over/Under 9.5: With this side bet, you place a wager on the sum of the final Player and Banker points. The payout is 66:1 if both hands total more than 9.5 points and 1.23% if the total is under 9.5 points. This wager, which is similar to the sports over/under bets, is available at online casinos.
  • Total Points Odd/Even: With this option available at live dealer casinos, you can place a wager on the sum of both Player and Banker hands being either odd or even. It pays 0.92:1 for an odd total number and 0.91:1 for an even total.
  • Lucky 8: The opposite of the Unlucky 8 – a bet that the chosen hand Player or Banker will be a winning with a total of 8 points. The payout is 4:1 with a 13.65% house edge for Player and 16.60% for Banker.
  • Unlucky 8: A side bet that a chosen hand – either Player or Banker will be a losing one with a total of 8 points. The payout is 8:1.
  • Double suited 3-card 8: A wager that both Banker and Player have a suited 3-card 8. The suits can be different for the two hands. The payout is 200:1.
  • Suited 3-card 8: Pays 25:1 if either the Banker or the Player has a suited 3-card 8.
  • Double 8: A wager that both the Banker and Player hands will total 8 points. This side bet pays 15:1.

Quik is a side bet based on the combined total of the Player and Banker points with an 8.155% house edge. If the combined points are:

  • 0 – pays 50:1
  • 18 – pays 25:1
  • 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17 – pays 1:1
  • 4 to 14 – loss

Baccarat Side Bet

Big and Small: Offered at online Playtech casinos, this side bet has the same payouts as the 4-5-6 bet. A ‘Small’ pays 3:2 if the total of the Player and Banker’s hands totals 4. The ‘Big’ pays 2:1 if the total is 5 or 6. The house edge is 5.27% for the ‘Small’ and 4.35% for the ‘Big’.

If you want to find out more about the general rules of Baccarat, have a look at our Guide page where you will also find information on the rules for drawing additional cards and how to use scorecards to trace patterns. Interested in what the different baccarat terms mean? We have compiled a Glossary for your perusal as well.

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