Standard commission baccarat has three main wagers. Player pays 1 to 1. Banker pays 1 to 1 less a 5% commission. Tie commonly pays 8 to 1 or 9 to 1. When the hands tie, standard Player and Banker bets push and are returned.
That summary is accurate only for the traditional commission game. No-commission tables, Super 6, EZ Baccarat, and proprietary side bets can settle the same final hand differently. The felt, table sign, or electronic help screen is the controlling payout schedule.
Standard payout chart
| Bet | Common winning payout | Result when hands tie | $20 winning profit | Total returned on win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 1 to 1 | Push | $20 | $40 |
| Banker | 0.95 to 1 after 5% commission | Push | $19 | $39 |
| Tie at 8:1 | 8 to 1 | Wins | $160 | $180 |
| Tie at 9:1 | 9 to 1 | Wins | $180 | $200 |
“Total returned” includes the original $20 stake. Payout odds usually describe profit. A Player win at 1 to 1 produces $20 profit and returns the $20 chip, so $40 comes back.
Player payout
Let (S) be the Player stake. A standard Player win pays:
[ \text{Player profit}=S ]
[ \text{total returned}=2S ]
A $75 Player wager therefore earns $75 and returns $150 in total. If Banker wins, the $75 is lost. If the hands tie, the Player wager is normally pushed: the dealer returns the $75 with no profit or loss.
Player is simple to settle because there is no standard commission. Its house edge is nevertheless slightly higher than Banker’s in the conventional game because the drawing rules give Banker a small statistical advantage. Payout and probability must be considered together; even money does not mean zero edge.
Banker payout and 5% commission
In standard commission baccarat, a winning Banker wager pays even money before commission. The casino keeps a percentage (c), commonly 5%.
For stake (S):
[ \text{Banker profit}=S(1-c) ]
With (c=0.05):
[ \text{Banker profit}=0.95S ]
A $100 Banker win earns $95 and returns $195 in total. A $40 win earns $38 and returns $78.
The commission can be handled in several operational ways:
- deducted immediately from each winning payout;
- recorded on a commission marker or ledger and collected later;
- rounded according to approved chip denominations and house procedure;
- calculated electronically at stadium or online terminals.
Players should not assume that an apparently delayed commission has been waived. On a traditional table, the dealer may be recording what is owed and settle it before the player leaves or at a specified point in the shoe.
Odd stake example
A $25 Banker wager at 5% commission creates:
[ 25\times0.05=$1.25\text{ commission} ]
Net profit is $23.75. A table that cannot pay quarters must follow its approved rounding or commission-accounting procedure. This is one reason minimums and accepted bet increments may differ among tables.
Commission accounting across several wins
On a commission-led table, the dealer may not remove 5% from every payout immediately. Instead, the table can record the commission against the player’s position and collect it later. The mathematical result is the same, but the chip flow looks different.
Suppose a player has three winning Banker wagers: $40, $60, and $100. Gross even-money winnings are $200. Commission is:
[ 0.05(40+60+100)=0.05(200)=$10 ]
Net Banker profit is $190. If the dealer has paid the three wins at full even money and marked $2, $3, and $5 in commission, the player still owes $10. The fact that $200 in win chips was initially pushed forward does not turn the game into no-commission baccarat.
Commission markers also create an audit trail. Before a player changes tables, colors up, or leaves, outstanding amounts must be reconciled under the house procedure. Players should check the recorded total while the relevant rounds are still easy to remember rather than waiting until the end of a long shoe.
Rounding policies can influence accepted increments. A table may prefer Banker bets in amounts that produce commission compatible with available chips. Electronic tables avoid physical-chip rounding because they can credit exact decimal amounts, but the displayed schedule should still show how the award was calculated.
Tie payout and the push rule
A winning Tie wager pays the posted multiple. If (m) is the profit payout:
[ \text{Tie profit}=mS ]
[ \text{total returned}=(m+1)S ]
For $10 at 8 to 1, profit is $80 and $90 is returned. At 9 to 1, profit is $90 and $100 is returned.
When the two main hands tie, the Tie wager wins, while standard Player and Banker wagers push. The dealer does not normally pay Player or Banker just because those chips remain on the layout; the original stakes are simply returned.
The difference between 8-to-1 and 9-to-1 Tie payouts is meaningful, but neither automatically makes Tie a good-value wager. The result occurs far less often than Player or Banker, and common Tie schedules carry a much higher house edge. The baccarat odds guide separates frequency from payout, while baccarat house edge compares the long-run prices.
One round with several bets
Suppose a player places:
- $50 on Banker;
- $10 on Tie.
If Banker wins without a tie:
- Banker profit at 5% commission is $47.50;
- the $10 Tie bet loses;
- net profit is $37.50;
- returned chips total $97.50 from Banker.
If the hands tie and Tie pays 8 to 1:
- the $50 Banker wager pushes and is returned;
- the $10 Tie wager earns $80;
- the original $10 Tie stake is returned;
- net profit is $80.
If Player wins, both wagers lose for a total result of -$60.
The example shows why “my Banker bet did not lose” is not the same as “the round was profitable.” All positions must be included in the net result.
No-commission games change the Banker settlement
No-commission baccarat removes the routine 5% collection but replaces it with another rule. Common structures include:
- Banker wins normally except a winning Banker total of 6 pays half;
- a Banker 6 outcome pushes rather than pays;
- a specific three-card Banker 7 becomes a special Dragon result, as in EZ Baccarat;
- another approved schedule modifies one or more outcomes.
These variants are not interchangeable. “No commission” does not mean full even-money Banker payouts under every result. Read the exact Banker 6 or Dragon rule before wagering. The no-commission baccarat guide and EZ Baccarat explanation treat those settlement systems separately.
For a half-pay Banker 6 table, a $100 Banker wager that wins with 7, 8, or 9 may earn $100, while a qualifying Banker 6 earns only $50. That reduced result replaces the commission mechanism and changes strategy-free expected return.
Side-bet payouts are separate contracts
Pairs, Perfect Pair, Dragon Bonus, Panda, Dragon 7, and other side wagers are not part of the standard three-bet chart. Their names may be similar across casinos while the qualifying hand and payout differ.
Before placing a side bet, confirm:
- the exact card condition that wins;
- whether suited and non-suited results pay differently;
- whether the award is “to 1” profit or “for 1” total return;
- whether only the highest qualifying result is paid;
- the maximum permitted payout;
- whether the table uses eight decks or another approved setup that affects probability.
The baccarat bets explained page maps the base positions. Proprietary side bets should be evaluated from their own approved paytable, not from the Player, Banker, and Tie percentages.
Payout is not house edge
A bet can pay less because it wins more often, or pay more because it wins rarely. Expected value combines both elements:
[ EV=\sum_j P_jR_j ]
where (P_j) is the probability of outcome (j), and (R_j) is its net result in stake units.
Banker pays only 0.95 to 1 because Banker wins slightly more often than Player after ties are excluded. Tie pays a large multiple because it is uncommon. The payout sign alone cannot tell which wager is cheaper.
Official rules provide a useful benchmark for the conventional game. Massachusetts rules specify 1-to-1 Player payouts, a Tie payout of at least 8 to 1, and 1-to-1 Banker payouts subject to vigorish. See the Massachusetts baccarat rules. Other jurisdictions and approved variants may use different schedules.
Comparing theoretical cost at equal action
Payout differences become easier to understand when converted into theoretical loss. Under a commonly analyzed eight-deck standard game, Banker and Player have low but different edges, while Tie is much more expensive. The exact percentages depend on the rules and Tie payout, so the posted game must be used.
If a table’s published analysis gives a 1.06% Banker edge and 1.24% Player edge, $5,000 of total action would imply approximately:
[ \text{Banker theoretical loss}=5000\times0.0106=$53 ]
[ \text{Player theoretical loss}=5000\times0.0124=$62 ]
The $9 difference is an expectation over repeated play, not a promise about one shoe. Either wager can win or lose heavily in the short run. The example also shows why commission should not be evaluated in isolation: Banker can pay less per win and still be the lower-edge main wager because it wins more often.
The baccarat odds chart is the better place to compare hand frequencies. This page focuses on settlement amounts and chip accounting.
Dealer and player checks
Before the first wager:
- identify whether the table is commission or no-commission;
- read the Tie payout rather than assuming 8 or 9;
- check Banker 6 and special Dragon rules;
- confirm side-bet definitions and limits;
- understand how commission is collected and rounded.
After a round, calculate the result from profit, not from the pile of returned chips. A $100 Banker stake returning $195 is a $95 win, not a $195 profit. A pushed $100 Player wager is zero profit, even though $100 comes back.
For staff, payout control requires correct hand totals, correct winner announcement, consistent collection order, accurate commission accounting, and supervisory verification when a large or unusual side-bet award is involved. The payout is the final control point in the round; a correct deal can still become a dispute if the settlement rule is misunderstood.
The safest summary is simple: traditional Player pays even money, traditional Banker pays 95 cents of profit per dollar after 5% commission, and Tie pays the posted multiple. Every variant exception must be read from the table in front of you.