Baccarat vs Dragon Tiger: Rules, Speed and House Edge Compared

Baccarat: rules and card values

Baccarat is a comparing card game between two hands, the Player hand and the Banker hand. You are not dealt cards yourself. You pick a side before the deal, and the hand closest to a total of 9 points wins⁶. There are only three possible outcomes on the main bets: Player wins, Banker wins, or Tie⁷.

Card values are simple. Aces count as 1. Cards from 2 to 9 count at face value. Tens, jacks, queens and kings all count as 0⁷. That last part surprises first-timers: a hand holding a king and a 7 is worth 7, not 17.

If the total goes over 9, you drop the first digit and keep the last one. A total of 12 becomes 2, and 25 becomes 5⁸. Only the rightmost digit counts, so the highest possible hand value is 9¹. This is why a 7 and a 6 together are worth 3.

The deal itself is straightforward. Two cards go to each hand, dealt alternately starting from the Player, and the Player hand is revealed first⁹. On tables using an automatic shuffling machine, cards are dealt face up and returned to the machine after each round⁹. You place all bets before any card is dealt, and no betting is allowed once the first two cards are out¹⁰.

Dragon Tiger: rules and card ranking

Dragon Tiger is the simpler of the two by a wide margin. It is played with a standard deck of cards, and the objective is to predict whether the Dragon card or the Tiger card will have the higher value². After bets are placed, one card is dealt to the Dragon position and one card to the Tiger position, and the higher card wins².

Ranking runs from King down to Ace. The King is the highest card and the Ace is the lowest¹¹. There is no addition, no dropping digits, and no third card. One card each, compare, pay.

Dragon and Tiger bets pay 1 to 1 if you are correct⁴. The two sides are close to even, at roughly 50% each before the tie is accounted for⁴. Most rounds are completed within a few minutes².

The one wrinkle is the tie. If both cards are the same rank, the round is a tie. In the Dragon Tiger version played at some Asian properties, a tie means all Player and Banker bets neither win nor lose, and the Tie bet wins¹². That is different from baccarat, where a tie also pushes the main bets but the structure of the game makes ties rarer.

Third card rules: the only complexity in baccarat

This is the part that makes baccarat look harder than it is. You never have to make a decision about the third card. The dealer handles it, and the rules are fixed.

For the Player hand: on any total from 0 to 5, the Player draws a third card, unless the Banker has 8 or 9. The Player hand always stands on 6 or 7, and on 8 or 9 it is a natural win with no additional cards drawn³. Put another way, the Player hand gets a third card if the first two cards total 0 to 5, and stands on 6 or 7¹.

For the Banker hand: the Banker receives a card if its total is 0 to 5, and stands on 6 or 7 when the Player hand stood¹. When the Player hand stands, the Banker hand draws a third card if its point total is 0 to 5 inclusive⁷.

A natural ends things immediately. If the points total is 8 or 9 for either hand on the first two cards dealt, it is a natural win and the game is over, and placed bets are paid³. If the first two cards of either hand total 8 or 9, no more cards are dealt¹. In the Dragon Tiger Baccarat variant, a Natural is called when the first two cards dealt to Banker or Player total 8 or 9 points, and the higher hand wins, or it is a Tie if both hands have the same point¹³.

The maximum number of cards that may be drawn to either hand is three¹³. So a baccarat hand can never be longer than three cards, and most rounds end at four or five cards on the table.

Payouts and house edge compared

The main bets in both games are close to even money, but the edges are not identical.

The Banker bet in baccarat carries a house edge of about 1.06%, and the Player bet about 1.24%¹. That gap is exactly why the commission exists: the Banker hand wins slightly more often, so the house takes 5% of winning Banker bets to bring the edge back in line³. Baccarat tables generally take that 5% commission from wins that result from a bet on the Banker⁸.

The Tie bet is where the two games diverge in value. In baccarat the Tie carries a house edge of about 14.36%, far worse than the main bets⁷. It pays 8 to 1 and your stake is not collected when it hits¹⁴, but it hits rarely enough that the edge is steep. In Dragon Tiger the Tie also pays 8 to 1⁴.

Commission-free baccarat versions change the payout rather than removing the edge. In a no-commission game, a Banker win on 6 points pays 1 to 2, while a Banker win on any other point pays 1 to 1, and the Player pays 1 to 1¹⁵. The commission-free Dragon Tiger Baccarat follows the same idea: Banker win with 6 pays 1 to 2, and Banker win other than with 6 pays 1 to 1¹².

For context, blackjack edges run from about 1% to 3% depending on the rules, and basic strategy can bring that down further¹⁶. Baccarat's Banker bet sits comfortably in that range, which is why it is often described as one of the better bets on a casino floor.

Speed of play: rounds and dealing

This is the clearest practical difference between the two games.

Dragon Tiger is fast. One card to each side, compare, pay, next round. Most rounds are completed within a few minutes². There is no third card to wait for and no hand to peel.

Baccarat is slower, and how much slower depends on the version. Mini Baccarat is generally played at a much higher speed, achieving maximum hands per hour¹⁷. Squeeze Baccarat is slower than standard play because squeezing makes each round slower¹⁷. In squeeze games, players bend and reveal the cards by hand, which adds drama and time.

A standard baccarat round deals a total of four cards on the table⁶. With third cards, that can rise to five or six. The dealing itself is mechanical: two cards alternately to each side starting from the Player, with the Player revealing first⁹.

If you want volume, Dragon Tiger and Mini Baccarat are the fast options. If you want the ritual of the peel and a slower rhythm, squeeze baccarat is the one. For a closer look at how these versions differ in practice, see live dealer table games.

Side bets and variants you will meet

Both games have grown side bet menus, and this is where the two start to look alike.

In baccarat, common side bets include the following¹⁸:

• Dragon Bonus
• 4-5-6
• Lucky Bonus
• 3-Card Six
• Dragon 7
• Panda 8
• Royal Match
• Bellagio Match
• Matching Dragon

EZ Baccarat provides two additional side bets, Dragon 7 and Panda 8³. The Dragon Bonus pays on the margin of victory: a 9-point margin pays 1 to 30, 8 points pays 1 to 10, 7 points pays 1 to 5, 6 points pays 1 to 3, 5 points pays 1 to 2, and 4 points pays 1 to 1, with a natural win paying and a natural tie returning the stake¹¹.

In Dragon Tiger Baccarat, you can bet on Player or Banker and add side bets including Tie, Player Pair, Banker Pair, Small Dragon, Big Dragon, Small Tiger, Big Tiger and Dragon Tiger Fight¹². The payouts are generous: Tie 8 to 1, Banker Pair 11 to 1, Player Pair 11 to 1, Big Dragon 30 to 1, Small Dragon 15 to 1, Big Tiger 50 to 1, Small Tiger 22 to 1, and Dragon Tiger 100 to 1 when the round runs to six cards, 40 to 1 at five cards, and 30 to 1 at four cards¹⁵.

The pair bets work off the first four cards dealt. Those initial four cards determine the outcome of the Player Pair and Banker Pair, and a pair bet on a hand wins if that hand has a pair after the initial deal¹³. A pair means two cards of the same rank, or same-suit court cards¹⁵.

Some properties run their own variants. Tiger Baccarat adds side wagers including a Two-card Tiger at 12 to 1 and a Three-card Tiger at 22 to 1, 23 to 1 or 25 to 1 depending on the option, plus a Tiger Tie at 35 to 1 and a Tie at 8 to 1¹⁵. A Double Tiger Pair pays 20 to 1¹⁹. Crown Sydney's approved baccarat rules list Player Dragon Bonus, Banker Dragon Bonus, Player Perfect Pairs, Banker Perfect Pairs, Player Pairs, Banker Pairs, Super 6, Tiger Tie, Tiger Pair, Tiger, Big Tiger, Small Tiger, Dragon Tiger, Big Dragon, Small Dragon, and 1-1-2 where offered¹⁵.

If side bets are what interest you, the baccarat side bets page breaks down each one, and baccarat odds covers how the main bets compare.

Which one should you sit at?

Neither game rewards skill. Baccarat is a straightforward game of pure chance⁵, and Dragon Tiger is the same idea with fewer moving parts. You place your bet, the cards decide, and there is nothing to do in between.

Pick Dragon Tiger if you want speed, simple rules, and a round that resolves in seconds. Pick baccarat if you want the slower rhythm, the third-card drama, and the option of a Banker bet with a house edge around 1.06%¹. If you are new to tables entirely, the casino table games guide covers how the floor works, and casino table etiquette explains buying in and handling cards.

One practical note on the tie. In both games the Tie bet pays 8 to 1, and in both games it is the worst value on the layout. In baccarat the edge is about 14.36%⁷. Treat it as a long shot, not a strategy.