Baccarat Side Bets House Edge: Every Bet’s Real Cost

Baccarat’s two main bets are cheap: Banker keeps 1.06% of every bet and Player 1.24%. Most side bets keep 10% to 20%. On StakeGO’s standard live tables, the Player Bonus (2.65%) is the only side bet priced anywhere near the main bets; Pairs, Either Pair, Perfect Pair, Super 6 and the Tie cost roughly 10 to 14 times more per bet than Banker. On 28 Oct 2026 we read every StakeGO baccarat page in our live casino directory and checked each published RTP with our own exact 8-deck calculation.

Every baccarat side bet ranked by house edge

House edge is the share of each bet the casino keeps over the long run. RTP is the rest (RTP = 100% − house edge). The last column turns that into money: what you lose, on average, for every RM100 you put on that bet.

“Published” is the RTP StakeGO’s official rules show on our table pages. “Our calc” comes from an exact enumeration of every possible deal from a full 8-deck shoe, which we ran on 28 Oct 2026.

*We think the Player and Banker labels are swapped on the published figures; see the next section. Big and Small use a full-shoe start as an approximation. Source: StakeGO official rules via HotStakes table pages, read 28 Oct 2026; exact calculation by HotStakes.

Takeaway: outside the Player Bonus and the rarer 12:1 Pair, every standard side bet costs RM9 to RM20 per RM100. Banker costs RM1.06.

What we found when we checked StakeGO’s numbers

We wrote a short Python program that walks through every possible deal from a fresh 416-card shoe: Player card, Banker card, Player card, Banker card, then any third cards under the standard drawing rules. It removes each card from the shoe as it is dealt, so the odds are exact, not simulated. Pair bets were worked out separately using all 13 ranks and 4 suits.

Then we compared the results with what the 27 StakeGO baccarat pages in our directory show:

• 18 tables (for example Emerald Baccarat WB02 and Classic Baccarat EU01) publish an RTP for every bet: 8:1 Tie, 11:1 Pairs, Either Pair, Perfect Pair, Player Bonus, Banker Bonus and Super 6.
• 1 table (Imperia Baccarat VB02) lists the same payouts with no RTP.
• 5 tables use different paytables and publish no side-bet RTP: X-Club CXB01 and CXB02, Luxe Speed Bac CLB03, Corona Speed Bac XB12 and Majestic Red Speed Bac XB13.
• 3 tables do not list their bets yet.

We also checked our side-bet numbers against Wizard of Odds’ baccarat side bets analysis, which gives the same eight-deck figures: 2.65% and 9.37% for the two sides of the Dragon Bonus, 13.71% for Either Pair and 13.03% for Perfect Pair. Our Super 7 and Super 8 match Wizard of Odds’ EZ Baccarat page, where the same bets are called Dragon 7 (7.61%) and Panda 8 (10.19%).

Takeaway: StakeGO’s side-bet RTPs are honest maths. Banker is still the cheapest bet on the table, not Player.

Player Bonus vs Banker Bonus: same paytable, 3.5x the cost

This is the bet most players get wrong. The Player Bonus and Banker Bonus (often called Dragon Bonus) pay from the same table. It pays 30:1 for a win by 9 points, down to 1:1 for a win by 4 or a natural win. A natural tie is a push. Anything else loses.

Yet one side returns 97.35% and the other 90.63%. Why? The drawing rules let Banker draw or stand after seeing the Player’s third card. That makes Banker win more often, but by smaller margins. Small wins pay nothing on a bonus bet.

Source: exact 8-deck calculation by HotStakes, 28 Oct 2026; RTPs match StakeGO’s published figures.

The Player side lands the big 4:1 to 30:1 wins more often. The Banker side wins more hands by 1 to 3 points, and those pay nothing. That gap turns a 2.65% edge into 9.37%.

Takeaway: if you play a bonus bet, the Player side costs RM2.65 per RM100; the Banker side costs RM9.37.

Is Player Pair worth it? 11:1 vs 12:1

A Pair bet wins when that side’s first two cards share a rank. In an 8-deck shoe that happens 7.47% of the time (31 in 415), on either side. The payout decides everything:

• 11:1 (18 standard tables, X-Club): RTP 89.64%, edge 10.36%. You lose about RM10.36 per RM100.
• 12:1 (Luxe CLB03, Corona XB12, Majestic Red XB13): RTP 97.11%, edge 2.89%, by our calc. StakeGO does not publish this figure.
• Either Pair 5:1: hits 14.38% of hands, but RTP is only 86.29% (edge 13.71%).
• Perfect Pair 25:1 (same rank and suit, either side): RTP 86.97% (edge 13.03%).

One extra unit of payout cuts the cost by more than two-thirds. That is how sensitive side bets are to the paytable.

Takeaway: at 11:1, Player Pair costs about ten times as much as Banker. At 12:1 it is far cheaper, but still nearly three times Banker.

Super 6, Lucky 6, Super 7 and Super 8: the exact-total bets

These bets pay when the winning hand ends on one exact total. Here is what each costs on StakeGO tables, by our calculation:

• Super 6, 15:1 (Banker wins with 6, No-Commission mode): 13.82% edge, matching StakeGO’s 86.18%. Wizard of Odds’ commission-free baccarat analysis puts the 12:1 version at 29.98%. Our numbers agree: same event, smaller payout.
• Lucky 6, 12:1 / 20:1 (X-Club, Luxe CLB03): 16.68% edge.
• Lucky 6, 12:1 / 18:1 (Corona XB12, Majestic Red XB13): 20.01% edge, the most expensive bet we found.
• Super 7, 40:1 (Banker wins with a three-card 7): 7.61% edge.
• Super 8, 25:1 (Player wins with a three-card 8): 10.19% edge.

No-Commission mode itself also costs more. Banker wins pay 1:1, but a win on 6 pays half. That lifts the Banker edge from 1.06% to 1.46%, which matches StakeGO’s 98.54%. Our speed vs classic baccarat house edge guide covers the main bets and commission rules in full.

Takeaway: a bigger headline payout (40:1, 20:1) does not mean better value. Only the exact-total maths does.

Big and Small: read the payout carefully

Corona XB12 and Majestic Red XB13 offer Big (the round uses 5 or 6 cards) and Small (only 4 cards) for the first 30 rounds of a shoe. The pages show Big at “1.54:1” and Small at “2.5:1”.

Those can only be total returns, stake included. Read as profit odds, both bets would return over 130%, which no casino offers. So Big pays 0.54:1 and Small 1.5:1.

From a full shoe, 37.89% of rounds use four cards. That gives Big a 4.35% edge and Small 5.28%. These are full-shoe figures, used as an approximation for the first 30 rounds.

Takeaway: Big and Small cost four to five times Banker. Check whether a payout is quoted as profit or total return before you compare.

What side bets cost per hour

House edge is per bet. Your real cost depends on how many bets you make. Here is how to work it out:

1. Take your stake, for example RM10.
2. Multiply by the house edge: RM10 × 10.36% = RM1.04 per Pair bet.
3. Multiply by bets per hour. We assume 60 rounds an hour; that is our assumption, not a StakeGO figure.
4. Result: about RM62 an hour on an 11:1 Pair, against about RM6.35 on Banker.

At RM50 a bet, 60 rounds an hour, the averages are about RM32 on Banker, RM80 on the Player Bonus, RM311 on an 11:1 Pair and RM431 on an 8:1 Tie. Corona XB12’s page quotes about 30 seconds per round. That is up to 120 rounds an hour, which doubles every figure. Try your own numbers in our RTP calculator.

Takeaway: a side bet next to your main bet can cost more than the main bet itself, every hour, for the same chip.

Why no strategy changes the edge

Roadmaps, streak-reading and betting progressions change when and how much you bet. They do not change the odds of any bet. Every hand is dealt from the same shoe under the same fixed rules.

Wizard of Odds’ baccarat basics puts it plainly: “The smart player will bet on the banker every time and leave the score cards alone.” Its card-counting analysis of the main bets finds counting moves the edge by about 0.1 points, and the house still wins. On 8-deck live tables, tracking cards for a side bet is not a practical plan either.

The deeper reason is explained in our guide to why the house always wins: every bet pays slightly less than its true odds. For how house edge and swings interact, see RTP vs volatility explained.

Takeaway: the only levers you control are which bet you pick, your stake and how many rounds you play.

Checklist before you click a side bet

1. Open the rules screen and read the exact payout. 11:1 and 12:1 Pairs are very different bets.
2. Check whether a payout is “to 1” (profit) or total return.
3. Compare the cost per RM100 with Banker’s RM1.06.
4. If you want a bonus bet, the Player side is the cheaper one.
5. Avoid Lucky 6 and the 8:1 Tie if cost matters to you.
6. Set your round count or time limit before you start, especially on speed tables.

If you compare other card tables, our Dragon Tiger house edge breakdown uses the same method.

FAQ

What is the house edge on baccarat side bets?

On StakeGO’s standard tables it ranges from 2.65% (Player Bonus) to 14.36% (8:1 Tie). Pairs at 11:1 cost 10.36%, Either Pair 13.71%, Perfect Pair 13.03% and Super 6 13.82%. Lucky 6 costs 16.68% to 20.01%, by our exact calculation. Banker costs 1.06%.

Is Player Pair worth it?

At 11:1 it keeps 10.36% of every bet, about ten times Banker’s 1.06%. At 12:1 the edge falls to 2.89%, still nearly three times Banker. It is entertainment, not value.

What are the Dragon Bonus baccarat odds?

With the 30:1 / 10:1 / 6:1 / 4:1 / 2:1 / 1:1 paytable on 8 decks, the Player side returns 97.35% (2.65% edge). The Banker side returns 90.63% (9.37% edge). Banker wins more often but by smaller margins, which pay nothing.

What are Lucky 6 baccarat odds?

Lucky 6 paying 12:1 on a two-card 6 and 20:1 on a three-card 6 has a 16.68% house edge on 8 decks, by our calculation. The 12:1 / 18:1 version costs 20.01%. StakeGO does not publish either figure.

What is the Super 6 house edge?

Super 6 paying 15:1 on a Banker win with 6 has a 13.82% edge (StakeGO publishes 86.18% RTP). At 12:1 the edge rises to 29.98%, according to Wizard of Odds.

Can any strategy beat baccarat side bets?

No. Roadmaps, streaks and progressions do not change the payout odds. The edge on every side bet stays with the house however you bet.

HotStakes is an independent directory. Some links on this site are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no cost to you, and it never changes our rankings. Gambling involves risk — only play with money you can afford to lose, and if it stops being fun, seek help. This article is general information, not legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.