In baccarat, the main bets are banker (house edge about 1.06%), player (about 1.24%) and tie (about 14.4%), assuming eight decks. In craps, the pass line is about 1.41% and the odds bet adds no edge of its own. Side bets usually cost far more.
Baccarat and craps look unlike each other, but both have a short list of main bets and a long list of costly side bets. Knowing the main bets and their cost helps you read a table.
Baccarat (punto banco)
You bet on the player hand, the banker hand or a tie. Two cards are dealt to each hand, and the total is the last digit of the sum of the card values: tens and face cards count 0, aces count 1. A hand totalling 8 or 9 is a natural and ends the round. Otherwise fixed rules decide whether a third card is drawn, so the player makes no decisions during the hand.
| Bet | Pays | House edge (8 decks, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Banker | 1 to 1, minus 5% commission | about 1.06% |
| Player | 1 to 1 | about 1.24% |
| Tie | 8 to 1 | about 14.4% |
A hypothetical example: 100 hands at a stake of 10 on the banker are 1,000 wagered, with an average cost of about 10.60. The same stakes on the tie cost about 144.
Craps
One player, the shooter, throws two dice. On the first throw (the come-out roll), a total of 7 or 11 wins for the pass line, and 2, 3 or 12 loses. Any other total becomes the point. The shooter then keeps throwing: the pass line wins if the point repeats before a 7, and loses if a 7 comes first.
- Pass line: wins on 244 of every 495 decisions, a probability of 49.29%. The average result per unit is (244 − 251)/495 = −7/495, so the house edge is about 1.41%.
- Don’t pass: the opposite bet, with a house edge of about 1.36%.
- Odds bet: placed behind a line bet once a point is set. It pays at true odds, so it adds no house edge of its own, although the line bet it sits behind still carries its edge.
- Any seven: pays 4 to 1 and wins on 6 of the 36 dice outcomes: (4 × 6 − 30)/36 = about −16.67%.
- Any craps: pays 7 to 1 and wins on 4 of 36: (7 × 4 − 32)/36 = about −11.11%.
Main bets and side bets
In both games the main bets cost around 1% to 1.5%. Side bets, such as the tie in baccarat or the any-seven bet in craps, often cost eight to fifteen times as much, even when the payout looks large. Some baccarat tables pay 9 to 1 on the tie, which lowers its house edge to about 4.8%. For a game with a similar spread of costs, see the blackjack rules that raise the house edge.
See also: House edge cost calculator; Gambling glossary.
Frequently asked questions
Is banker always the lower-cost baccarat bet?
Over a very long run it has a lower house edge than the player bet, and far lower than the tie, but results in a session vary widely, and the commission is part of the cost.
Why is the odds bet in craps said to have no edge?
It pays exactly according to the true probability. The line bet that unlocks it still has its edge, so the overall cost falls as the odds bet grows relative to the line bet.
