What is the Tie bet in baccarat?
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The Tie bet is a wager that the Player and Banker hands will end with the same total. It typically pays 8:1 and carries a house edge of around 14.4% in a standard 8-deck game. It’s the worst value bet at the baccarat table.
Why the Tie bet is costly
Ties occur roughly 9.5% of the time — just under 1 in every 10 hands. An 8:1 payout sounds generous, but at a true probability of 9.5% the fair payout would be closer to 9.5:1. The gap between 8:1 and the actual probability is where the 14.4% house edge comes from. Some casinos offer 9:1 payouts on ties, which cuts the edge to around 4.8% — still much higher than Banker or Player.
When the Tie bet pays
A tie is a push for Banker and Player bets — you don’t win or lose those bets when the round ends in a tie, just your stake stays on the table for the next hand. Only the Tie bet itself wins on a tie result. Despite the high house edge, some players place small Tie bets occasionally for the larger payout, similar to how players use side bets in other games.
Ben Barber got into the gambling industry through the poker rooms of London in the early 2000s. After building up a solid grounding in casino, sports betting and poker, he made the move to Malta where he spent close to a decade writing for some of the biggest affiliate networks in the region. A few years ago he relocated to Bali, which shifted his focus toward website strategy and affiliate marketing. The casino side never really left, though. He still writes reviews, how-to guides and in-depth pieces on everything from slots and live dealer tables to crypto casinos and sweepstakes sites. His approach is fact-first: help players understand how online gambling actually works before they deposit a cent.