Poker Bonus Baccarat is classic Punto Banco with a poker side bet. Each round deals four, five or six cards between Player and Banker. The Poker Bonus bet ignores who wins: it takes every card on the table as one poker hand and pays on that hand, from a pair of jacks up to six of a kind. With an eight-deck shoe, hands that can’t happen in an ordinary deck, such as five or six of a kind, are possible. New Jersey casinos deal this game as Royal Baccarat Bonus. Our pay table is the state’s Table A.
How to play
Main bets. Player pays 1 to 1, Banker pays 0.95 to 1 (5% commission), Tie pays 8 to 1. If the hands tie, Player and Banker bets come back.
Poker Bonus. All cards dealt in the round, Player’s and Banker’s together, form the hand. The best hand pays:
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Six of a kind | 10,000 to 1 |
| Royal flush (A-K-Q-J-10, one suit) | 2,000 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 1,000 to 1 |
| Five of a kind | 500 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | 20 to 1 |
| Full house | 10 to 1 |
| Flush (five of one suit) | 5 to 1 |
| Straight (five in a row) | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 3 to 1 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 |
| A pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces | 1 to 1 |
Anything less loses. Straights and flushes need five cards, so a four-card round (when both hands stand on their first two cards) can only pay pairs, two pair, trips or four of a kind. The ace counts high or low: A-2-3-4-5 and 10-J-Q-K-A are both straights. When cards fit two hands, only the higher payout counts. Two three-of-a-kinds count as a full house.
The poker hand for the round is shown above the cards, even when you haven’t bet the bonus.
Chips come in 20, 100 and 500. Every spot takes up to 1,000 credits, in steps of 20.
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, with every possible suit combination:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Banker | 1.06% |
| Player | 1.24% |
| Poker Bonus | 7.45% |
| Tie | 14.36% |
Strategy
The bonus is one of the better side bets in baccarat. At 7.45% it costs half as much as the Tie. Most of its wins come from small hands. A pair of jacks or better, two pair or trips turn up often, because six cards from eight decks hold lots of pairs.
Big hands need a third card. Straights, flushes and the jackpot hands need five or six cards, so they can only happen when one or both hands draw. The third cards are the most exciting part of a bonus round.
The bonus doesn’t care who wins. It’s a separate bet on the cards. Pairing it with Banker, the cheapest main bet, keeps a round’s total cost down.
If you enjoy Poker Bonus Baccarat, try Poker Dice or Pontoon next.
