What is Tie bet?
A tie bet in baccarat is a wager that the Player and Banker hands will finish with the same total, usually paying 8 to 1 with a house edge of about 14.36%.
Ties occur in roughly 9.5% of rounds. At an 8 to 1 payout, the bet costs players about 14.36% of each stake on average, more than ten times the edge on the Banker or Player bets. Some tables pay 9 to 1, which reduces the edge to around 4.84%.
When a tie occurs, Banker and Player bets are normally returned as a push. Only the tie bet wins.
The tie bet is often cited as an example of a side bet with a high house edge sitting alongside main bets with low ones. Many baccarat tables now also offer other side bets, such as pairs or bets on the size of a winning total, which typically carry higher edges than the main Banker and Player wagers. Tie bets are a standard feature of both land-based and live dealer baccarat, and their payout is printed on the table layout.
