Baccarat vs craps

Baccarat vs craps: head-to-head numbers

If you want the lowest edge with no decisions, baccarat wins: bet Banker every time and you face 1.06%. If you are happy to learn a little, craps can match or beat it, because the Pass line’s 1.41% shrinks as a share of your total stake once you add the free odds bet. The gap between the good and bad bets is also much wider in craps, so the cost of a careless choice is higher.

Baccarat figures are for eight decks from Wizard of Odds; craps figures use the per-bet-resolved measure from the Wizard of Odds craps house edge table (opens in a new tab).

How the odds are made: cards in baccarat, dice in craps

In punto banco, the standard casino baccarat, two hands called Player and Banker are dealt from usually eight decks. Aces count 1, twos to nines count face value and tens and picture cards count zero; only the last digit of a total matters, so 9 and 7 make 6. Fixed drawing rules decide every third card, so nobody at the table makes a playing decision. Eight-deck play produces a Banker win 45.86% of the time, a Player win 44.62% and a tie 9.52%, according to Wizard of Odds’ baccarat basics (opens in a new tab). Our third card rule page sets out the drawing chart.

Craps is built on two dice and 36 equally likely combinations. Seven is the most common total, with six ways to make it, while 2 and 12 have just one way each. Every craps payout and edge comes from comparing these counts with what the bet pays; our craps dice odds guide goes through each total.

Baccarat odds: why Banker beats Player

The Banker hand wins slightly more often because of the drawing rules, so casinos take a 5% commission from Banker wins. Even after that commission, the Banker bet costs 1.06% against 1.24% for Player. On £10 a hand that is 10.6p against 12.4p on average, a small but steady difference.

The tie bet is where baccarat gets expensive. At 8 to 1 its edge is 14.36%; at 9 to 1 it falls to 4.84%. Wizard of Odds says 8 to 1 is the norm almost everywhere, while Wikipedia says most UK casinos pay 9 to 1, so read the payout on the table. Commission-free versions change the Banker bet: in the common Super 6 rule, a Banker win on 6 pays half, and the Banker edge rises to 1.46% with eight decks.

Patterns on the baccarat scoreboard do not predict the next hand. Each coup is dealt from the shoe by fixed rules, and no betting system changes the edge.

Craps odds: the Pass line and the free odds bet

The Pass line wins on a come-out 7 or 11 (8 ways in 36) and loses on 2, 3 or 12 (4 ways). Any other total becomes the point, and you then win if the point repeats before a 7. Working through every path gives a win chance of 244 in 495, or 49.29%, so an even-money payout leaves the house 1.41%. Don’t Pass is the mirror image with a 12 treated as a push, which trims the edge to 1.36%.

Once a point is set you can add an odds bet, which pays true odds: 2 to 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on 6 or 8. It carries no house edge, so it adds swing to your results but nothing to your expected cost.

Worked example: £10 Pass line with 1x odds

• The £10 Pass bet costs 1.41% on average, or about 14.1p per decision.
• A point is set on two out of three come-out rolls, and you then add £10 odds, which costs nothing on average.
• Average total staked per decision is £10 + (2/3 × £10) = about £16.67.
• Expected loss is still 14.1p, so the edge on everything you staked is 14.1p ÷ £16.67 = about 0.85%.

Your expected loss in pounds does not shrink; what falls is the cost per pound put on the table. That makes Pass plus odds one of the lowest-cost ways to have money in action in any casino game.

The worst bets in baccarat and craps

Both games pair excellent bets with very poor ones. Baccarat’s problem area is the tie and many side bets; craps has a whole centre of the table full of one-roll and multi-roll propositions. Our list of the worst bets in the casino puts them in context.

The craps proposition bets and hardways pay large-looking amounts, but the payouts sit well below the true odds. Compare Big 6, at 9.09%, with Place 6 at 1.52%: both win when a 6 rolls before a 7, but the place bet pays 7 to 6 instead of even money.

Speed and cost per hour in live baccarat and craps

Hourly cost is stake times decisions per hour times edge, so pace matters as much as edge. Evolution says its standard live baccarat takes about 48 seconds a round and its Speed Baccarat about 27, which is roughly 75 against 133 rounds an hour; Evolution’s Speed Baccarat page (opens in a new tab) gives the timing. Craps decisions take a variable number of rolls, so the craps row uses 40 Pass line decisions an hour as an assumption, not a measured figure.

The Speed Baccarat row shows that a faster game at the same edge can cost almost twice as much per hour. Try your own figures in our cost per hour guide.

Learning curve: how to play baccarat and craps

Baccarat takes a minute to learn. You choose Player, Banker or Tie, the dealer follows fixed rules, and the higher total wins. Craps takes longer because of the come-out roll, the point, and the dozens of bets on the layout. You only need two of them, Pass and odds, to play at low cost, and you can ignore the rest.

1. In baccarat, place your chips on Banker or Player and leave Tie and side bets alone.
2. Let the dealer complete both hands under the drawing rules; there are no decisions for you.
3. In craps, put your stake on the Pass line before the come-out roll.
4. If a point is set, add an odds bet behind your Pass bet at a level your budget allows.
5. Keep the same stake from round to round rather than raising it after losses.

Our step-by-step guides to how to play baccarat and how to play craps cover the table layouts in more detail.

Baccarat or craps: which game suits you?

Our verdict by player type: for a relaxed player who wants a low edge and no learning, baccarat’s Banker bet is ideal. For someone who enjoys a busier game and will stick to Pass or Don’t Pass with odds, craps is at least as cheap per pound. For anyone drawn to big payouts on single rolls or ties, both games become expensive quickly. The sic bo vs craps comparison covers another dice option.

Where to play baccarat and craps online

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Full details are in our Casumo review, 10bet review and Coral review, and more matchups sit on the compare hub.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.