The bet the casino cannot offer
The banker wins 45.8597% of hands against the player's 44.6247%. Paid at even money with no deduction, that is a 1.2351% advantage to whoever backs it.
No house offers a bet on which it expects to lose. The commission exists to take that advantage back.
Every rate, computed
| Commission on banker wins | House edge | Against player at 1.2351% |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | -1.2351% | player has the edge |
| 1% | -0.7765% | player has the edge |
| 2% | -0.3179% | player has the edge |
| 3% | +0.1407% | banker better |
| 4% | +0.5993% | banker better |
| 5% | +1.0579% | banker better |
Read the sign in the middle column. Below about 1.24% commission the bet still favours the player, which is why no casino charges less. At the standard 5% the house keeps 1.0579%, which is still the cheapest bet on the table.
Commission-free baccarat
Some tables advertise no commission and are not giving anything away. They recover the same money by paying only half on a winning banker bet when the banker wins with a total of 6.
That variant typically works out slightly worse than the standard 5% game rather than better. The rule is printed on the felt and is easy to miss, which is presumably the point.
When the commission is collected
Most tables track it and settle when you leave or when the shoe ends, rather than taking it hand by hand. That makes it feel less like a cost than it is: 5.0000% of every winning banker bet is being recorded whether or not you watch it happen.
Even so, banker remains the correct bet. Our banker against player page covers why.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do baccarat tables charge commission on banker bets?
- Because without it the banker bet would give the player a 1.24% advantage. The commission converts that into a 1.0579% house edge.
- Is commission-free baccarat better?
- Usually not. Those tables pay only half on a banker win with a total of 6, which typically costs slightly more than the standard 5% commission.
- Should I still bet banker despite the commission?
- Yes. At 1.0579% it remains cheaper than the player bet at 1.2351%.
- What commission rate would break even?
- About 1.24%. Below that the bet favours the player, which is why no casino offers it.
Every figure on this page is computed by walking the complete baccarat game tree for a real eight-deck shoe, drawing without replacement so the shoe depletes correctly, in exact rational arithmetic. Because baccarat has no player decisions, this is an exact answer rather than an approximation. The results are checked against published values before publication. Commission and side-bet payouts vary between tables, so read the felt.