Baccarat side bets

Baccarat is a fun and exciting game on its own, but did you know that play can be enhanced even further by wagering on side bets? Baccarat offers a selection of side bets to make this casino favourite all the more interesting.

The Tie Wager in Baccarat

Most baccarat players will be aware of the tie bet, but it’s worth detailing for those less experienced with what is referred to as ‘the game of kings’ and its respective additional side wagers. The tie bet is a wager on the player and the dealer both having a final hand total worth the identical amount of points. To bet on the tie, players place their bet in the tie area in the appropriate tie box on the baccarat table betting area.

If the result is a tie at the end of the coup (round), any bets placed on either the player or banker hands, depending on casino rules, can either be retracted or forced to play through the next round of betting. If no bets on a tie were made, the hand is considered a push and no one wins or loses.

A tie bet typically pays out 8 to 1 in land-based casinos, and with a house edge of 14.4% the odds aren’t exactly in your favour. However, sites such as Guts.com and GdayCasino.com do offer a 9 to 1 payout for successful tie bets in some of their baccarat titles, decreasing the house edge to 4.8%. Online casinos typically can offer better payouts as they have far less overheads (if any) to cover, so the tie bet is a much more attractive punt at an Internet gaming website. Tie wagers are risky, as most side best are, but the possibility of high rewards makes it very tempting.

Banker & Player Pairs

Placing a baccarat pairs wager is betting the first two cards dealt to either the player or banker consist of a pair. When offered, the game must always be played with eight decks.

For example, making a bet on a bankers pair means you are betting the first two cards dealt to the banker side will be made up of a pair, such as two Kings, or two Eights. You can also place a wager on either party to be dealt a pair at a lower payout.

A perfect pairs wager can also be made – that the hand will not only consist of a pair, but those two cards making up the pair will be of the same suit. A perfect pairs side wager is paid out if either banker or player are dealt such a hand. The typical payouts for the varying baccarat pairs wagers are as follows:

• Perfect Pair (a pair of the same suit and the same rank) – payout of 25 to 1
• Player Pair (a pair of the same rank dealt to the player) – payout of 11 to 1
• Banker Pair (a pair of the same rank dealt to the banker) – payout of 11 to 1
• Any Pair (a pair dealt to either the player or the banker) – payout of 5 to 1

Banker and player pairs bets can be made in addition to, or instead of the standard bets of baccarat. Placing a pairs wager means all other outcomes constitute a loss.

Note: not all baccarat games offer these additional pair bets, in fact very few brick-and-mortar casinos do. Our recommended online casinos do offer such side wagers, notably in their live dealer baccarat games. When these side bets are available, the table will have spaces dedicated to perfect, banker, player and either pair. To place your bet on any of these, simply move your chips to the corresponding area.

Big and Small Side Baccarat Bets

G’day’s live dealer baccarat games – hosted by Ezugi, offer not just pair and tie wagers, but also big and small side bets. Big and small bets refer to the total amount of cards which will be dealt in one round (coup). With the possibility of both player and banker being dealt only two cards each, that total of four cards corresponds to the small side wager, and is paid out at 1.5 to 1. However, one additional card can be drawn to either or both sides, and so the big bet wins if five or six cards are dealt and is paid out at 0.54 to 1.

Baccarat side bet guides

BettingPlanet.com has got many great guides surrounding baccarat side bets, with these including some rare ones, that you will only find at online casinos.

• Baccarat Dragon Bonus side bet explained

Where to Play Online Baccarat

Online casinos generally offer better payouts than land based casinos, and with so many great virtual venues out there, the choices are endless. Our recommended secure sites to play online and live dealer baccarat, and experiment with the different side bets on offer, include:

• Guts Casino – classic Baccarat, Live Dealer Baccarat and VIP Baccarat.
• Royal Vegas Casino – classic Baccarat and High Limit Baccarat.
• All Slots – Baccarat Gold, Live Multiplayer Baccarat and Live Dealer Baccarat.
• G’Day Casino – classic Baccarat, Baccarat Pro, Baccarat Pro (High Roller) and Live Dealer Baccarat.
• 7 Sultans – Baccarat Gold, classic Baccarat and High Limit Baccarat.

Playing online baccarat also has the added benefit of the baccarat road map which keeps track of all winning ties and pairs. The above recommended casinos each offer some awesome welcome bonuses for new players, so there’s never been a better time to sign up and start playing baccarat on the Net for free or real money.