Banker Bonus Baccarat is a commission-free baccarat table with one unusual side bet. Banker pays even money, except when it wins with a total of 6, which pays half. The Banker Bonus pays 18 to 1 on exactly that hand. It is one of the very few casino bets that favours the player on its own, so the table caps it: you can stake at most a tenth of your Banker bet on it. The table follows the Lucky Bonus side bet once dealt on a California commission-free game.
How to play
Main bets. Player pays 1 to 1. Banker pays 1 to 1 with no commission, but a Banker win with a total of 6 (two or three cards) pays only half: 1 to 2. Tie pays 8 to 1. If the hands tie, Player and Banker bets come back.
Banker Bonus. Wins when Banker wins with a total of 6, with two or three cards, and pays 18 to 1. A 6-6 tie is not a Banker win, so the Bonus loses. The Bonus needs a Banker bet beside it, and it can be at most 10% of that Banker bet: 10 on a Banker bet of 100, 100 on a Banker bet of 1,000. If a chip would take the Bonus over that line, the table doesn’t take it. Put your Banker bet down first.
Chips come in 10, 100 and 500. Every spot takes up to 1,000 credits, in steps of 10, so the half pay on a Banker 6 always comes out in whole credits.
The cards. Aces count 1, 2 to 9 count their pips, and tens and picture cards count 0. Only the last digit of a total matters. Two cards each go to Player and Banker. A total of 8 or 9 is a natural and nobody draws. Otherwise Player draws on 0 to 5, and Banker draws by the standard third-card table. The higher total wins.
What each bet costs
Counted exactly over every possible deal from an eight-deck shoe:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Banker Bonus | −2.34% (the player is ahead) |
| Banker with the full Bonus beside it | 1.11% |
| Player | 1.24% |
| Banker | 1.46% |
| Tie | 14.36% |
Banker wins with a 6 in about 5.39% of rounds. At 18 to 1 the Bonus returns 19 × 5.39% = 102.34% of what you stake on it. The table gets its edge back through the cap. The Bonus can only ride on a Banker bet ten times its size, and that Banker bet costs 1.46%. Ten units of Banker plus one unit of Bonus lose 1.11% of the 11 units together.
Strategy
Always take the full Bonus when you bet Banker. Each credit on the Bonus is worth +2.34%, so a Banker bet without it leaves value on the table. Banker 100 plus Bonus 10 is the best combination here, at 1.11%.
Without the Bonus, Player is the cheaper side. Banker alone costs 1.46% here, more than Player’s 1.24%, because the half pay on a 6 takes more than the usual 5% commission would. The Bonus is what turns Banker into the best bet on the table.
Don’t chase the Bonus with bigger Banker bets. The Bonus only pays for itself because the Banker bet carries it. Doubling your Banker bet to double the Bonus doubles a bet that still loses 1.46%.
The Tie stays the worst bet, at 14.36%, as on every eight-deck table.
If you enjoy Banker Bonus Baccarat, try Banker Seven Baccarat or Banker Six Baccarat next.
