With close to 50% odds of winning every hand and a razor-thin house edge of around 1.06%, baccarat is a firm favorite with players.
Unlike poker or blackjack, baccarat is a pure game of chance, so there’s no skill involved or strategy that can alter the outcome,
While you can’t rely in patterns, you can choose whether to play Commission Baccarat or No Commission Baccarat.
In this guide, you’ll get to know
- Each variant
- How both commission and no commission baccarat work
- Why you might give each a try
What Is Commission And No Commission Baccarat?
In the traditional Commission Baccarat, the focus is on balance. The banker position wins slightly more often than the player, around 45.86% of the time compared to 44.6%. Because of this edge, a 5% commission is taken on every winning banker result. Player wins are paid 1:1, while tie results generally return 8 to 1.
Even with that 5% deduction, the banker still carries the lowest house edge in the game at roughly 1.06%. By comparison, backing the player side comes with a 1.24% house edge, and tie selections climb much higher. This small difference is why banker is often considered the “smart” side to choose, despite the commission.
No Commission Baccarat was later introduced as a way to speed up play and simplify the process. In live games, dealers no longer need to pause and collect commission after every winning banker, which keeps the pace moving. But of course, removing this entirely would tilt the odds too much in favor of the banker. To fix this, the rules are slightly adjusted:
- In many versions, a banker win with a total of 6 only rewards half, rather than the full even return.
- In other baccarat variants, sometimes called the Dragon rule, a banker win with a three-card 7 rewards nothing at all.
So while technically the commission in No Commission Baccarat has been removed, it’s now just baked into the game by reducing some of the banker prizes. Due to these alternations, the house edge for both variants of baccarat is comparable.
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How to Play Commission and No Commission Baccarat
The foundation of baccarat is simple: you place coins on banker or player, and then two hands are dealt. Each is given two cards, with a third card drawn in specific circumstances.
For the player side:
- If the first two cards total 0-5, the player draws a third card.
- If the total is 6 or 7, the player stands.
- Totals of 8 or 9 are called “naturals,” and no more cards are drawn.
For the banker side:
The banker’s action depends not just on its own total but also on whether the player drew a third card and what that card was.
- If the banker has 0-2, it always draws a third card (unless the player has a natural).
- If the banker has 3-6, its action depends on the player’s third card. For example, with a total of 3, the banker draws unless the player’s third card is an 8. With 4, the banker draws if the player’s third card is between 2 and 7, and so on.
In baccarat tens and face cards count as zero, aces as one, and all other cards keep their face value. Totals are reduced to a single digit by dropping the tens digit, so a 7 and 8 together count as 5 (since 15 becomes 5). The side with a total closest to nine is the winner.
Commission Baccarat: Sample Hand
Let’s say you sit down at the table and back the banker with 10 coins. The player receives 7 + 2, while banker gets 4 + 5.
That’s a tie. Your banker play neither wins nor loses. If you had predicted a tie instead, most casinos would reward 8 to 1 (so 10 coins would return 80), though some offer 9 to 1.
Now, imagine another hand where the player gets 10 + 7 while banker only receives 9 + 6. Here, the player wins with 7. Your 10-coin play on player would return 10 coins.
What if the banker had 8 against player’s 6? Banker wins. Normally, this rewards 1:1, but because it’s Commission Baccarat, the casino takes a 5% commission.
So instead of 10 coins, you’d only pocket 9.5 coins. Not only is it eating into your total reward, it’s also making the math messier (where did that 0.5 go?)
No Commission Baccarat: Sample Hand
Now, let’s run the same idea in No Commission Baccarat. Let’s say banker is dealt 10 + 6 for a total of 6, while the player receives 9 + 5, equaling 4.
Banker wins with 6. In Commission Baccarat, this would return 9.5 coins on a 10-coin play. But in No Commission Baccarat, certain wins are adjusted. A banker win on 6 only rewards half, so your 10-coin play returns just 5 coins in profit. However, all other winning banker hands feature 0% commission.
In the Dragon variation, another special rule applies: if the banker wins with a three-card 7, the prize is zero. For example, banker draws 2 + 3 + 2 = 7, while player stands on 6. Banker technically wins, but under Dragon rules, the play doesn’t reward at all.
Final Thoughts
Commission and No Commission Baccarat may share the same core rules, but the differences in prizes slightly alter the gameplay. If you want to stick to traditional baccarat, then fire up a Commission Baccarat game and keep parting with a 5% commission every time your banker wins.
But if you want to squeeze in more hands per hour, then No Commission Baccarat makes sense. Just double-check which variant you’re playing because you don’t want to accidentally celebrate winning with a three-card 7 only to be left empty-handed!
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