How to Play Mini-Baccarat
Part 2: A Vegas Aces Guide
Tie
The Tie is a 3rd bet that only wins if both the Player and the Banker’s final total are the same. If Player and Banker aren’t the same then the tie bet loses. The player can bet on the tie either as a lone bet or in conjunction with a Player/Banker bet. If the hand is a tie, the Banker and Player bets do not lose. These bets push.
If the tie wins it usually pays either “8 to 1” or “9 for 1”. Which is exactly the same thing. If a bet pays you 8 to 1 then that means you receive 8 times your original bet. If the bet pays 9 for 1 then that means the casino will give you 9 units in exchange for your one unit.
Commission
A common question I hear from newbies is, "Wait! Why did my dealer take money out of my winnings?!?" They are not trying to steal from you, this is called a commission. When the Player wins the bet gets paid 1 to
- When the Banker wins, the bet gets paid 1 to 1 minus a 5% commission.
Why does the casino charge a 5% commission? Both the Player and the Banker get paid 1:1 but it has been established that over an 8 deck period, the Banker will win 3 to 4 hands more than the Player. To correct this, the casinos have decided to charge a 5% commission on Banker.
What if you want to figure out the 5% commission. How would you do that? Don’t worry it’s easier than it looks.
There are two methods you can use; the first method is a simple calculation you can do in your head. Take 10% of the bet and divide it by 2.
Or you could memorize the basic chart.
If you remember that every $5 bet owes a $0.25 commission, every $25 bet owes a $1.25 commission and every $100 bet owes a $5 commission then you’ll be set to play the most basic of baccarat games.
$1 - $5 Bet = $0.25 Commission
$6 - $10 Bet = $0.50 Commission
$11 - $15 Bet = $0.75 Commission
$16 - $20 Bet = $1 Commission
$21 - $25 Bet = $1.25 Commission
$50 Bet = $2.50 Commission
$100 Bet = $5 Commission
$500 Bet = $25 commission
$1,000 pays = $50 commission
Did you notice that both $1 and $5 bet is charged the same commission of $0.25? The reason why is because commissions are paid to the nearest quarter. Another word for this is “Breakage” which means when the amount is either rounded up or down in the casino’s favor.
If the player bets $12, you can’t really ask them for a $0.10 commission on the extra $2; this is when breakage applies. If the player bets between $1 - $4, then the dealer will round up to the nearest $5 and charge them a $0.25 commission.
The dealer will pay your winning Banker bet, “color-for-color” even though you must pay a commission on it. This is why the casinos have a long rectangle with many boxes with numbers in them in front of the dealer’s seat. After the dealer pays the winning Banker bet, they place the correct commission amount in the correct box. The commission will accrue, until you pay it at the end of each shoe, before you leave the table or whenever you feel like it.
Dragon Bet
Another bet that you might come across is called the Dragon Bet. This is an additional bet that the players can play at any time. The player is allowed to bet for either or both the Banker and the Player hand whether the player is betting on that hand or not.