Baccarat Odds
A discussion of baccarat odds, how the number of decks impacts the odds and whether baccarat odds are better with the bank.
Despite baccarat having been around for as long as casinos have; baccarat odds are some of the best to be found in the gaming world. The game is very straightforward to play, and endless fun. There are in fact several versions of baccarat that you might come across and each will of course offer slightly different baccarat odds and will be played with different numbers of decks.
Baccarat Odds and Number of Decks
As you will see baccarat odds differ depending on the number of decks used in a game – this number varies depending on the type of baccarat you're playing, and the table itself. Below are listed the baccarat odds in the form of the probability of each particular outcome with various different numbers of decks. The baccarat odds that are recorded at different casinos and by different websites may vary in the tenths of a percent – these are rounded off to keep them simple.
Number of Decks: 1
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
|
Bank |
45.96% |
|
Player |
44.68% |
|
Tie |
9.36% |
Number of Decks: 4
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
|
Bank |
45.88% |
|
Player |
44.63% |
|
Tie |
9.49% |
Number of Decks: 6
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
|
Bank |
45.87% |
|
Player |
44.63% |
|
Tie |
9.51% |
Number of Decks: 8
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
|
Bank |
45.86% |
|
Player |
44.62% |
|
Tie |
9.52% |
The table shows a couple of elements quite clearly about baccarat odds. First of all, the more decks you have he worse the baccarat odds are for the Banker and the Player bet. The only bet that becomes more favorable with more decks is the Tie bet. However, the tie bet offers such atrocious baccarat odds, even with the most amount of decks, that it should never be bet on anyway.
So baccarat odds are always better with the bank?
Another point that you will see from the baccarat odds tables is that the chances of winning on the Bank is consistently higher than on the Player. This is technically correct, but not practically so. One must always remember that a win on a Bank bet will almost always be subject to a 5% commission taken by the casino. This means that for every win you get on a Player bet you get 1 unit for 1 unit; on a Banker bet however, you get .95 of a unit for 1 unit – you must take this into account when considering the percentages displayed above, and what this means for the baccarat odds.
In terms of choosing the best bet to make according to the baccarat odds, one can see why this game has survived the test of time. Although the Player bet has slightly worse odds than the Bank bet, this is compensated for by the commission, making this one of the fairest games in the casino, and thereby a game that you are really and truly as likely to win in as loose in – a gem in the casino, baccarat odds shows that the house doesn't always win.