At most baccarat tables, a win is a win: Player pays 1 to 1 whatever the total. Lucky Four Baccarat pays by the winning total. Win with a total of 1 and you get 2 to 1. Win with a 4 and the payout is cut: Player pays half, Banker pushes. Every other winning total pays even money, with no commission. The 4 gets its own side bets, and there are pair bets that also pay on suits. Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands deals this game as Fabulous 4 Baccarat.
How to play
Main bets. Chips come in 10, 50, 100 and 500. Every spot takes up to 1,000 credits, in steps of 10.
| Winning total | Player bet pays | Banker bet pays |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| 4 | 1 to 2 (half) | push (bet returned) |
| anything else | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
Tie pays 8 to 1. If the hands tie, Player and Banker bets come back.
Side bets:
- Player Fab 4: Player wins with a total of 4. Pays 50 to 1.
- Banker Fab 4: Banker wins with a total of 4. Pays 25 to 1.
- Player Fab Pair / Banker Fab Pair: that hand’s first two cards are:
- the same card, rank and suit, such as two 7 of hearts (the shoe has eight decks): 7 to 1;
- a pair of different suits: 4 to 1;
- suited but not a pair, such as the 3 and King of clubs: 1 to 1.
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
House edge, counted exactly over every possible deal from an eight-deck shoe:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Banker | 1.55% |
| Player | 1.60% |
| Fab Pair (either side) | 11.33% |
| Player Fab 4 | 12.08% |
| Tie | 14.36% |
| Banker Fab 4 | 15.03% |
Strategy
Banker and Player are close. Without a commission, Banker’s extra wins are taxed by the push on 4 instead. Banker comes out a hair cheaper, 1.55% against 1.60%. Both cost a little more than at a classic table (1.06% and 1.24%). The 2 to 1 on a winning 1 gives back about half a point, but the cut on 4 takes more.
Why 1 pays double. A winning total of 1 is rare: it needs the other hand to finish on 0. It happens about once in a hundred hands, roughly once a shoe. A win with 4 comes up five times as often, which is how the house gets its margin back.
Player Fab 4 is the better of the two 4 bets. Player wins with a 4 about half as often as Banker does, but the bet pays twice as much (50 to 1 against 25), and that leaves it about three points cheaper.
Fab Pair pays often. About a quarter of all two-card starts are suited, and most of those pay 1 to 1. That makes it a steady side bet with an edge below the other side bets.
If you enjoy Lucky Four Baccarat, try Lucky Match or Lucky Numbers next.
