Baccarat Side Bets Explained: Pairs, Dragon 7, Panda 8 and Dragon Bonus
Side bets are optional wagers placed next to the main Banker/Player bet. They pay big — 11 to 1, 25 to 1, 40 to 1 — and that is exactly why they cost more. Below is each common side bet, what wins it, how often, and the house edge, computed for an 8-deck shoe by enumerating every card sequence.
Side bets at a glance
| Side bet | Wins when | Pays | Probability | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player Pair | Player's first two cards are the same rank | 11 to 1 | 7.47% | 10.36% |
| Banker Pair | Banker's first two cards are the same rank | 11 to 1 | 7.47% | 10.36% |
| Either Pair | Either hand's first two cards pair | 5 to 1 | 14.38% | 13.71% |
| Dragon 7 | Banker wins with a three-card total of 7 | 40 to 1 | 2.25% | 7.61% |
| Panda 8 | Player wins with a three-card total of 8 | 25 to 1 | 3.45% | 10.19% |
| Dragon Bonus — Player | Player wins by a margin (pay table below) | up to 30 to 1 | — | 2.65% |
| Dragon Bonus — Banker | Banker wins by a margin | up to 30 to 1 | — | 9.37% |
Compare with the main bets: Banker costs 1.06% and Player 1.24% (full odds table). Even the cheapest side bet, Dragon Bonus on Player, costs more than twice as much as Banker.
Player Pair and Banker Pair
The first two cards of the chosen hand must be the same rank: 7♠7♥ wins, K♦K♣ wins, but K♦Q♦ does not — 10, J, Q and K are all worth zero but are different ranks. With 32 cards of each rank in an 8-deck shoe, the chance is 13 × C(32,2) ÷ C(416,2) = 7.47%. At 11 to 1 that leaves a 10.36% edge (with 6 decks the chance drops to 7.40% and the edge rises to 11.25%). Pairs appear roughly once every 13 hands per side, so a shoe usually shows several — which makes them feel "due" far more often than they pay.
How pairs look on a scoreboard: a small dot on the bead or big road cell — blue in the corner for a Player pair, red for a Banker pair. See how to read the big road.
Dragon 7 and Panda 8 (EZ Baccarat)
These come from EZ Baccarat, the commission-free version where a Banker win with a three-card 7 is a push for Banker bets. Dragon 7 pays 40 to 1 when that exact hand happens (2.25% of rounds, about 1 in 44). Panda 8 pays 25 to 1 when the Player wins with a three-card 8 (3.45%, about 1 in 29). The edges are 7.61% and 10.19%.
Dragon Bonus
You bet that your chosen hand wins by a large margin. A typical pay table:
| Result | Pays |
|---|---|
| Natural win | 1 to 1 |
| Natural tie | Push |
| Non-natural win by 9 | 30 to 1 |
| Win by 8 | 10 to 1 |
| Win by 7 | 6 to 1 |
| Win by 6 | 4 to 1 |
| Win by 5 | 2 to 1 |
| Win by 4 | 1 to 1 |
| Win by 1–3, or any loss | Lose |
With this table, Dragon Bonus on Player has a 2.65% edge and on Banker 9.37%. It is the only side bet where the Player side is clearly cheaper — the Banker hand's wins are more often by small margins. Pay tables vary between casinos; a different table changes these figures. The probability of every margin is in our Dragon Bonus odds guide.
"Super 6" and other names
At no-commission tables a Banker win with a total of 6 pays half; some of these tables sell a separate "Super 6" side bet on that event. It happens in 5.39% of rounds. Pay tables differ widely (often 12 to 1 or 15 to 1), so check the edge before playing — at 12 to 1 it costs about 30%.
Is there a side bet strategy?
For normal play, no — each side bet is priced to lose between roughly 2.6% and 14% of what you stake. Pairs and Dragon 7 do respond more strongly to the cards remaining in the shoe than the main bets, so tracking dealt cards can in theory find rare positive spots late in a shoe. In practice those spots are infrequent, casinos often cut the shoe early, and online tables rarely show every card. Treat side bets as entertainment with a price tag.
FAQ
What does "pair" mean in baccarat? The first two cards of a hand have the same rank. It pays 11 to 1 on the side you chose.
How much does Dragon 7 pay? 40 to 1, when Banker wins with three cards totalling 7.
Which side bet has the lowest house edge? Dragon Bonus on Player (2.65%) with the standard pay table.
Do side bets affect the main bet? No. They are settled separately; the Banker/Player/Tie rules are unchanged.
Want to see how often these actually land at your table? The free Baccarat Scoreboard app marks Player/Banker pairs, naturals, Super 6, Dragon 7 and Panda 8 hand by hand and totals them for every shoe.
Probabilities and edges: exhaustive 8-deck enumeration (pairs computed on first two cards by rank). 18+. Informational only.