• Baccarat

What Are The Best Baccarat Side Bets?

Side wagers can be a fun way to spice up your gambling experience, but are baccarat side bets worth the risk? And if they are, which side wagers are the best to make in baccarat?

This free casino guide will explain everything you need to know about side bets in online baccarat. I will detail my personal experience making side wagers in this classic table game and tell you which bets, if any, you should incorporate into your strategy.

Popular Baccarat Side Bets

First and foremost, what are the most popular baccarat side bets? Your side betting options will vary depending on the type of baccarat you play and the casino you are using. Some of the most popular side wagers for baccarat include:

• Player Pair and Banker Pair
• Perfect Pair
• Either Pair
• Big and Small Bets
• Dragon Bonus

Let’s take a closer look at these popular baccarat side wagers.

Player Pair and Banker Pair

Two of the most common baccarat side bets are the Player Pair and Banker Pair wagers. These bets have some of the highest payout odds of any baccarat side wagers.

Description: To win a Player Pair or Banker Pair bet you must correctly wager on a hand having a pair in its first two cards. For instance, if you wager on the Banker Pair and the Banker Hand is dealt a pair of fours, then you will win this bet.

Payouts: 11:1

Strategy: If you are playing baccarat at a land-based casino, then you could gain a slight advantage in this bet by counting cards in baccarat. However, online players do not have this option unless they play at a live dealer casino. So, you are better off betting a small amount, such as $1, on both the Player Pair and Banker Pair each hand.

Perfect Pair

Another side wager in baccarat based on pairs is the Perfect Pair wager. Unlike the bets above, you can cover both the Player and Banker hand with one Perfect Pair wager.

Description: Perfect Pair is one of the highest-paying side wagers, but it is also among the most challenging to win. You need a perfect pair, or two cards of the same value and suit, to appear in the same hand.

Payouts: 25:1

Strategy: Like other pair-based wagers, this wager requires little strategy. To succeed, you must bet on a Perfect Pair match every round. On the bright side, you only need to place one bet instead of two, like players wagering on the Player Pair and Banker Pair bets. 

Either Pair

The lowest-paying pair wager, the Either Pair bet, is also the easiest to win. You may not win as much as with a single bet, but in theory, you should win this wager more often than other pairs of bets.

Description: This wager is similar to the Banker Pair, Player Pair, and Perfect Pair wagers in that you are betting on there being a pair in one of the starting hands. However, you do not need to specify which hand you are wagering on, and you

Payouts: 5:1

Strategy: Similar to the bets above, the best strategy for this wager is to make it as frequently as your bankroll will allow. However, since you are more likely to win this bet, the payout odds are lower. On the other hand, you can counter the decrease in odds by increasing your stake amount.

Big and Small Bets

Big and Small bets are another type of side wager that you can make in Baccarat. These bets concern the total number of cards used in the hand rather than the value of the cards themselves.

Description: Every hand in baccarat has at least four cards, as each hand starts with two cards. However, in certain situations, the Banker and Player hands can receive a third card. Small bets win if the game ends with a total of four cards being dealt, and Big bets win if five or six cards are dealt. 

Payouts: 1.5:1 for small and 0.54:1 for big

Strategy: Big bets have significantly lower payout odds, but they are far more likely to happen. A hand only finishes with the four starting cards around a third of the time. So, you will win more often by sticking with the Big bet.

Dragon Bonus

Some versions of baccarat offer a unique side wager known as the Dragon Bonus. This bet is more complicated than other side bets, but it can also be more rewarding.

Description: You can make the Dragon Bonus bet regardless of the hand you place your ante wager on. Your payout will be determined by the hand you bet on and its final point total. The highest payout is 30:1 for a hand finishing with three cards and nine points. However, the payout decreases with a lower point total.

Payouts: Up to 30:1

Strategy: There are two strategies for this side wager: bet on the same hand as your ante or hedge your wager by betting against your ante. The payout for the Banker and Player in this wager is the same, so it mostly comes down to personal preference.

My Experience with Baccarat Side Bets

The best way to learn about baccarat side bets is to try them for yourself. Alternatively, you can use my experience with these wagers to judge their worth for yourself. To test these bets, I relied on the tried-and-true baccarat system of wagering on the Banker hand every game and placing a $1 bet on a side wager. 

Player and Banker Pair:

• Total Hands: 45
• Player Pair Wins: 1
• Banker Pair Wins: 0
• Net Proft/Loss: $38 loss

I did not have any luck when playing the Banker and Player Pair bets, winning these wagers zero times. In total, I played 45 hands with these wagers, betting on the Banker Pair 20 times, the Player Pair 20 times, and betting on both options five times. During these 45 hands, only four pairs occurred, and only once was the pair on the hand I bet it to be on.

Perfect Pair:

• Total Hands: 25
• Total Wins: 0
• Net Proft/Loss: $25

I had even worse luck with the Perfect Pairs bet. I made this wager 25 times but did not win a single Perfect Pair bet.

Either Pair:

• Total Hands: 25
• Total Wins: 4
• Net Proft/Loss: $1 loss

I had better luck with the Either Pair bet, winning this wager four times in 25 hands. However, since this wager only pays 5:1 odds, I still had a net loss of $1 when making this wager. 

Big and Small Bets:

• Total Hands: 50
• Big Wins: 18
• Small Wins: 11
• Net Proft/Loss: $5.22 profit

Two of the only side bets I made a profit on were the Big and Small wagers. I played 25 hands with the Big bet and 25 with the Small bet, winning the Big bet 18 times and the Small bet 11 times. The low payout odds, though, limited my profits, and I earned just $2.72 and $2.50 on the Big and Small bets, respectively. 

Dragon Bonus:

• Total Hands: 25
• Total Wins: 10
• Net Proft/Loss: $22 loss

The Dragon Bet is more complicated than the bets above, and you can choose to bet on the Player Hand, Banker Hand, or both. I chose to wager on both Player and Banker Dragon Bonus wagers for all 25 hands. I won these bets a total of 10 times, claiming $28 in the process. However, that was not enough to cover the $50 I waged on the bets across the 25 hands I played.

Is Betting on Baccarat Side Bets Worth It?

So, is playing baccarat side wagers worth it? Based on my experience above, I would say no. The only side wagers that I made a profit from were the Big and Small bets, and even then, I only made $5.22 over 50 hands. I would stay away from these bets unless you really enjoy them or have a large enough bankroll to cover the losses.

Where to Play Baccarat Side Bets Online

Side wagers can increase your potential winnings on every hand in baccarat. If you want to make baccarat side bets, though, then you need a casino that offers a wide variety of baccarat games. Here are three secure casino sites that offer baccarat tables with side wagers.

BetOnline

BetOnline is a great place for table games and offers multiple baccarat variations to choose from. It is the casino I used to test out the baccarat side bets above. New members can claim an exciting welcome package that includes up to $250 in free bets and 100 free spins on popular slot games.

Wild Casino

Wild Casino is another great option for playing baccarat and offers Dragon Baccarat, Ultimate Baccarat, and more. If you are new to Wild, then you can get up to $9,000 in bonus baccarat funds with the 900% crypto welcome bonus.

SportsBetting.ag

SportsBetting.ag is also a superb option for playing baccarat side bets online. There are multiple games to choose from, and the 300% welcome bonus promotion offers up to $4,000 in bonus casino funds.

Which Baccarat Side Bets Are Your Favorites?

Baccarat side bets offer the chance to win extra money every round. Choosing the right side wager is easier said than done, though, and the house edge for these bets is relatively high. For many players, the risk is too great compared to the potential reward.

Check out the guide above to learn more about some of the most popular side wagers in online baccarat. I discuss popular side bets in baccarat and detail my experience with each wager. You can try these side bets for yourself by signing up at BetOnline Casino today.