Knowing Baccarat Odds
In baccarat, players have the option of betting on one of two hands. They can bet that the player's hand will win or that the banker's hand will win. They can also bet on a tie. The player or banker bet pays off at even money, while the tie bet can pay off at anywhere from 7-to-1 to 9-to-1.
Understanding Baccarat Odds
The most important baccarat odds to understand surround the tie bet. While 8-to-1 seems tempting, the reality is that the true odds of a tie are much longer than this, and this bet has a house edge of over 14 percent. The odds of the banker winning are a little better than of the player winning, because the banker's hand is determined after the player's hand. In other words, the banker knows what he has to beat before deciding whether to draw a card. However, a player who wins a banker bet must pay a five percent commission to the house and this evens the odds out a bit.
Analyzing Baccarat Odds
Even with the five percent commission, the baccarat house edge on banker bets is 1.06 percent as opposed to 1.24 percent on player bets. This means there is really no reason to ever bet on the player other than the enjoyment of "betting on yourself." Many players use the sheets provided to track the wins and losses of player vs. banker and try to bet "trends." The reality is that long term odds have little effect on short term results and the banker will beat the player a little more than half the time even if the banker has won the last ten or 20 hands in a row.