Speed, Squeeze and No Commission baccarat are the same game dealt three different ways. Speed changes the pace, Squeeze changes the ceremony, and No Commission changes one payout. Only that last change moves the odds: on a standard table the banker bet carries a house edge of about 1.06%, while on the common no-commission format it rises to about 1.46%. The rest is a question of how you like to sit at a table.
This guide sets out what every variant shares, what each one changes, and how to choose between the baccarat tables on the Tenka live floor. Rules and payouts can differ between studios, so we also show where to confirm them at the table itself.
The core game every variant shares
Two hands are dealt, called Player and Banker. Neither belongs to you or to the dealer; they are simply the two sides you can back. Each hand starts with two cards, and the hand closer to a total of 9 wins.
- Aces count 1, cards 2 to 9 count their face value, and tens and picture cards count 0.
- Only the last digit of a total counts: 7 + 8 = 15, which is a hand of 5.
- A two-card 8 or 9 is a natural, and the round ends at once.
- Otherwise a third card may be drawn, according to fixed drawing rules. Nobody makes a decision: not the dealer, not you.
You bet on Banker, Player or a Tie, and most tables add optional side bets. Live tables typically deal from an eight-deck shoe; with eight decks, Banker wins about 45.86% of hands, Player about 44.62%, and about 9.52% are ties. When a round ties, Banker and Player bets are returned. These numbers are the same on every variant below, because none of them changes the cards or the drawing rules. Banker vs player: the real odds works through the maths in detail.
Speed Baccarat: faster rounds, same odds
A Speed table shortens everything around the cards: a brief betting window, cards dealt face up without ceremony, and the next round straight after. The rules and payouts are those of a standard table.
What changes is the number of hands per hour, and that deserves a moment's thought. The house edge is taken on every hand, so your expected cost grows with the number of hands you play, not only with the size of your stake. An illustration with round numbers: a $10 banker bet costs about $0.11 on average per hand (1.06% of $10). At 60 hands an hour that is about $6.40 an hour; at 100 hands an hour, about $10.60. Same stake, same edge, very different evening. If you move to a Speed table, consider lowering the stake to keep the hourly cost where you want it.
Squeeze Baccarat: ceremony only
In a Squeeze game the cards are revealed slowly: bent, turned and peeled a little at a time, often by the dealer on camera. It comes from the tradition of high-limit rooms in Asia, where the reveal is part of the pleasure.
It is worth being precise about what the squeeze does and does not do. The cards were fixed when they left the shoe. Peeling them slowly cannot change their value, so the odds and payouts are exactly those of a standard table. What the squeeze does change is time: rounds are slower, so you play fewer hands per hour. For the reason given above, a slower table is, if anything, gentler on your bankroll.
No Commission Baccarat: one payout changes
On a standard table a winning Banker bet pays 0.95 to 1, because a 5% commission is taken from the win. That commission is how the house keeps an edge on a bet that wins more often than it loses.
A No Commission table removes the 5% and recovers the edge another way. In the most common format, a Banker win with a total of 6 pays 1 to 2 (half the stake); every other Banker win pays 1 to 1. A Banker win on 6 happens in about 5.39% of hands, and paying half on those hands costs more than the commission did:
- Banker bet, standard table (5% commission): house edge about 1.06%.
- Banker bet, No Commission (6 pays 1:2): house edge about 1.46%.
- Player bet: about 1.24% on both tables, because the Player payout does not change.
So a no-commission table is simpler to follow (no fractions in your payouts), and the price of that simplicity is a higher edge on the Banker bet. On these tables the Player bet actually has the lower edge of the two main bets. Some studios use a different no-commission rule, for example pushing a Banker win on a three-card 7 instead; the edge then differs again. The table's rules panel names the rule in use.
Multiplier and other formats
Studios keep inventing new formats: tables that add random multipliers to some outcomes, tables with a larger choice of side bets, and themed or VIP tables with higher limits. The principle for all of them is the same. A multiplier or a jackpot has to be paid for, usually by a fee added to each bet or by lower base payouts, and the combined effect is shown in the table's return-to-player (RTP) figure. Before you sit down at an unfamiliar format, open its info panel and read the payouts and the RTP for each bet.
Side bets across the variants
Almost every variant offers optional side bets next to the three main ones: pairs on the first two cards, bets on the size of a winning margin, or bets on a hand total. They are the same idea at every table, but their payouts are set by each studio, and that is where tables really differ. As a reference point, a pair bet paying 11 to 1 on an eight-deck shoe carries a house edge of about 10.4%, roughly ten times that of the Banker bet.
There is nothing wrong with an occasional side bet for the thrill of it. The considered approach is to keep it small relative to your main stake, and to read its paytable first, since two tables with the same name can pay a side bet differently.
Comparison table
| Variant | Pace | Banker win pays | Banker edge | Player edge | Tie at 8:1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Moderate | 0.95:1 (5% commission) | 1.06% | 1.24% | 14.36% |
| Speed | Fast | 0.95:1 (5% commission) | 1.06% | 1.24% | 14.36% |
| Squeeze | Slow | 0.95:1 (5% commission) | 1.06% | 1.24% | 14.36% |
| No Commission (6 pays 1:2) | Moderate | 1:1, or 1:2 on a total of 6 | 1.46% | 1.24% | 14.36% |
Finding and checking a table at Tenka
Open the live tables and use the Baccarat filter to see the tables open at the moment. The line-up follows the studios we work with and can change, so the table's own name and panel are the authority, not a list in an article.
Before your first bet at a new table, take half a minute to open its info or rules panel and check three things:
- The Banker payout. 0.95:1 means a commission table; anything else is a no-commission rule, and the panel says which one.
- The Tie payout. 8:1 and 9:1 are both common, and the difference in edge is large.
- The limits and the RTP shown for each bet, including any side bets you might try.
If you are playing with the welcome bonus, note that betting on both Banker and Player in the same round to work through the wagering requirement is treated as bonus abuse under our terms. It is also a guaranteed small loss on every round, because one of the two bets always loses and a winning Banker bet pays less than even money.
Which table fits your session
- You want the lowest edge on Banker: a commission table (Standard, Speed or Squeeze).
- You like simple, whole-number payouts: No Commission, knowing Banker costs a little more there and Player becomes the lower-edge bet.
- You enjoy the ritual and want a slower evening: Squeeze. Fewer hands an hour also means a lower hourly cost.
- You have limited time and a fixed budget: Speed, with a smaller stake per hand.
Whatever you choose, no pattern on the scoreboard and no betting system changes the edge of a single hand. Decide your budget and your stopping time before you sit down. Our responsible gambling tools include cool-off periods and self-exclusion if you ever want a break.