Baccarat and Side Bets

At one time baccarat was perceived as a high stakes game played by big rollers in expensive casinos, but the advent of the online casino has seen the popularity of the game increase and now many ordinary people regularly play baccarat online for the stakes that they choose.
 
 Playing the game is very simple and players simply bet on one of three possible outcomes. These are a dealer win, a player win or a tie.
 
 A recent trend in baccarat has been the introduction of a variety of side bets which can spice up the game considerably. One of these is what is known as the Dragon Bonus. This is a bet and the win margin; the number of points separating the dealer and the player. For instance, players may bet on the dealer or the player winning by from 4 to 9 points. Wins of 9 points are paid out at 30 to 1, by 8 points at 10 to 1, by 7 points at 6 to 1, by 6 points at 4 to 1, by 5 points at 2 to 1 and by 4 points at even money. If the hands tie then the bet is returned.
 
 In some games it is possible to bet on the total number of cards dealt in a hand with four cards paying out at 3 to 2 and other numbers paying out at 2 to 1.
 
 Another side bet is a ‘Lucky Bonus’ which is a bet on the banker scoring six points with three cards. This pays out at 18 to 1 and as the odds of it happening are quite high it has a negative house edge of -2.4%, so it is always worth making. Unfortunately this bet is limited to 10% of the original stake.
 
 Another side bet is known as the Royal Match and it is a bet on either the player or the bank receiving a King and a Queen as their first two cards. This pays out at 75 to 1 if the cards are suited or 30 to 1 if they are not.
 
 Finally, some casinos also have a three of a kind bet on either the player or the bank. These pay out at 75 to 1 and 68 to 1 respectively.