Baccarat Commission

The standard 5% fee a casino charges on winning Banker bets in baccarat, which offsets the Banker hand's natural advantage and creates the house's margin.

Definition

In baccarat the Banker hand wins slightly more often than the Player hand because of the fixed third-card drawing rules. To compensate, casinos take a 5% commission on winning Banker bets, so a winning Banker wager pays 0.95:1 rather than a full 1:1. This commission is exactly what turns the Banker's structural edge into a small house edge of about 1.06%; without it, backing Banker would actually favour the player. Commission is often tracked with markers and collected at the end of a shoe. Some tables offer 'commission-free' or 'no-commission' baccarat that pays even money on Banker but reduces the payout on a specific Banker winning total (commonly a Banker 6 pays half), which typically results in a slightly higher house edge.

Worked example

You bet $100 on Banker and win. Instead of $100 in winnings you receive $95, because the casino takes its 5% commission ($5) on the win. That $5, charged only on Banker victories, is precisely what keeps the otherwise player-favourable Banker bet at a 1.06% house edge.

Why it matters

For learners, the commission is a vivid example of how a payout adjustment, not the card rules, is where the house edge actually lives on the Banker bet. For professionals, understanding commission and no-commission variants is essential to quoting baccarat odds accurately.

Related

Note: The 5% commission and roughly 1.06% Banker edge are standard; no-commission variants that reduce the payout on a Banker 6 usually carry a somewhat higher edge.