Baccarat Dragon Bonus Bets: Rules, Payouts, and House Edge
Dragon Bonus is a separate wager on the Player or Banker hand. It rewards a natural winner or a non-natural win by at least 4 points, with larger margins earning larger payouts.
Choose either Player Dragon Bonus or Banker Dragon Bonus before the deal. Your selected hand must win with a natural 8 or 9, or win without a natural by 4 or more points. This wager is settled separately from the regular Player and Banker bets.
What is Dragon Bonus?
The table offers two distinct side bets: Player Dragon Bonus and Banker Dragon Bonus. A Player Dragon wager follows only the Player hand. A Banker Dragon wager follows only the Banker hand. On Lucky Penny, you can make either wager without placing the corresponding standard bet.
A winning natural pays even money regardless of its margin. If the winning hand is not a natural, the final margin determines the payout. A win by 1, 2, or 3 points does not qualify.
Dragon Bonus payout table
Player Dragon and Banker Dragon use the same payout ladder on the Lucky Penny table. Profit is shown separately from the total return, which includes the original winning wager.
| Winning result | Pays | $5 profit | $5 total return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural winner | 1 to 1 | $5 | $10 |
| Win by 4 points | 1 to 1 | $5 | $10 |
| Win by 5 points | 2 to 1 | $10 | $15 |
| Win by 6 points | 4 to 1 | $20 | $25 |
| Win by 7 points | 6 to 1 | $30 | $35 |
| Win by 8 points | 10 to 1 | $50 | $55 |
| Win by 9 points | 30 to 1 | $150 | $155 |
| Equal naturals | Push | $0 | $5 |
An equal natural is a push. A non-natural Tie, a loss by the selected hand, or a non-natural win by fewer than 4 points loses the Dragon Bonus wager.
Player Dragon and Banker Dragon are not equal bets
Under an eight-deck game with this payout schedule, the Player Dragon Bonus house edge is about 2.65%. The Banker Dragon Bonus house edge is about 9.37%. The payout rows look identical, but the drawing rules produce different probabilities on the two sides.
Approximate house edge with eight decks.
Approximate house edge with eight decks.
The practical conclusion is clear: if you choose to make a Dragon Bonus wager, Player Dragon has the much lower mathematical cost under these rules.
Four worked examples
Player wins with a natural 9
A $5 Player Dragon Bonus wins at 1 to 1. The profit is $5 and the original $5 wager is returned, for a $10 total return.
Player wins by 5 points
If the winning Player 8 is not a natural, a $5 Player Dragon Bonus wins at 2 to 1. The profit is $10 and the total return is $15.
Banker wins by 8 points
If the winning Banker 9 is not a natural, a $5 Banker Dragon Bonus wins at 10 to 1. The profit is $50 and the total return is $55.
The selected hand wins by only 3
The regular Player wager wins, but the Player Dragon Bonus loses. A non-natural Dragon Bonus needs a winning margin of at least 4 points.
Dragon Bonus and the main wager settle independently
Suppose Player wins 7 to 4. A regular Player bet wins at 1 to 1, but Player Dragon loses because the margin is only 3. If Player wins 8 to 3 without a natural, both wagers win: the regular Player bet pays 1 to 1 and Player Dragon pays 2 to 1.
Review each position separately in Recent Hands. Lucky Penny lists the result of every wager so the total return is easy to audit.
Before placing the side bet
- Check the posted pay table. Side-bet rules and payouts can vary by casino.
- Separate payout from probability. A 30 to 1 prize is attached to a rare 9-point win.
- Compare both sides. Player Dragon carries far less house edge than Banker Dragon under this schedule.
- Keep the wager optional. Dragon Bonus is not required to play Baccarat.
Practice each payout on the table
Place a practice chip on Player Dragon or Banker Dragon, deal the hand, and open Recent Hands to review exactly how the side bet settled.
Practice Dragon Bonus on the TableRules and payout reference: Caesars Dragon Bonus Baccarat rules. Eight-deck probability and house-edge figures use published combinatorial analysis from Wizard of Odds.