Side bets are baccarat's loss leaders for the player. A pair pays 11:1, the Tie pays 8:1 - and behind those eye-catching numbers sit house edges of 10% to 14.5%, roughly ten times the cost of the main game. They are optional, and the honest advice is simple: leave them alone.
What baccarat side bets are
A side bet is a separate wager placed alongside the main hand, settled on its own outcome rather than on whether Player or Banker wins. You can ignore them entirely and play baccarat exactly as intended. The ones you will see most often are:
Player Pair
Banker Pair
Either Pair
The Tie is technically a main-board bet rather than a side bet, but it belongs in the same conversation: it lands about 9.5% of the time, pays 8:1, and carries a 14.36% edge. Tempting payout, terrible value.
What they actually cost
The clearest way to see the damage is to put every bet on the same scale. Here is the full table, with the two main bets included so the gap is obvious.
| Bet | How often it lands | Payout | House edge | Cost / £100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banker | 45.86% | 1 : 0.95 | 1.06% | £1.06 |
| Player | 44.62% | 1 : 1 | 1.24% | £1.24 |
| Player / Banker Pair | 7.47% | 11 : 1 | 10.36% | £10.36 |
| Tie | 9.52% | 8 : 1 | 14.36% | £14.36 |
| Either Pair | 14.24% | 5 : 1 | 14.54% | £14.54 |
Run your own stakes through the side bet analyzer to see the session cost for any bet - the contrast with a plain Banker bet is stark.
Why they look better than they are
- A big payout signals a rare event - 11:1 pays a lot precisely because a pair almost never shows.
- The payout is always set below the true odds, and that gap is the house edge.
- Hitting one feels like winning, but a few big payouts cannot outrun a long string of losses.
This is the same maths as a lottery ticket: the prize is exciting, the odds are quietly brutal, and the expected return is firmly negative. The drama is the product. Once you see that a Player Pair lands under once in thirteen hands but only pays eleven, the bet stops looking generous.
Other side bets you might meet
Beyond the pairs and the Tie, some tables offer extras - and a few are less ruinous than the rest:
- Dragon Bonus. Pays on the margin of victory. The Player version is one of the better side bets at around 2.65%, the Banker version far worse near 9.37% - but it is far from universal.
- Perfect Pair. A suited pair, paying 25:1 and landing very rarely - the edge typically runs above 13%.
- Big and Small. Bets on how many total cards are dealt. Less common, with edges around 4% to 5% - low for a side bet, but still above the main game.
The pattern holds: even the "good" side bets are worse than simply backing Banker, and the famous ones are dramatically worse.
The verdict
Side bets exist to make the casino more money and the game more dramatic. Neither is a reason to take them. If you enjoy the occasional flutter, keep the stake tiny and treat the cost as entertainment - but never mistake a side bet for a smart play. The strongest baccarat strategy is the dull one: back Banker, skip the rest, and control your stake.