Baccarat is one of the most popular games at live dealer casinos. Live dealer casinos do not use the random number generator to simulate dealing of cards. Cards are actually dealt from decks shuffled and placed in a shoe at a real baccarat table. The process is captured live in video cameras and streamed across the Internet to the player’s computer. Today many online casinos offer live dealer games, which can be accessed through the games menu in the main lobby.

There are two types of players who go for live dealer baccarat games. The first type is the player who is uncomfortable with random number generator simulated games because he is unable to trust the software. There is no reason for this because the software is independently tested, but some players feel more confident with mechanical visible dealing of cards. The second type of player is the one who prefers baccarat variants with side bets. Online casinos usually offer a single baccarat variant. Live dealer casinos have a greater variety. One of the more popular variants is Baccarat Dragon Bonus, because it offers larger payouts.

The main game in Baccarat Dragon Bonus is played in the normal manner. The players can wager on the Player, Banker or Tie bet. The Player bet pays even money. The Banker bet pays even money less a 5% commission. The Tie bet usually pays 8 to 1. In many casino games players can wager on the side bet only if they have placed a wager on the main game. However, this is not a requirement in Baccarat Dragon Bonus. Players can place a wager only on the Baccarat Bonus Side bet if they so desire. The essence of this side bet is that it pays in a graduated manner depending on the margin of the win. The details of the Baccarat Bonus side bet are discussed below.

The Dragon Bonus bet in live dealer can be placed on the Player hand or on the Banker hand. The payouts are identical in either case. If the hand bet upon is a natural winner the payout is even money. If the hand bet upon is a natural but ties with the other hand then the bet pushes. The payouts on non-natural hands are more exciting. If a non-natural hand wins by 9 points then the payout is 30 to 1. If a non-natural hand wins by 8 points then the payout is 10 to 1. If a non-natural hand wins by 6 or 7 points then the payout is 4 to 1. If a non-natural hand wins by 4 or 5 points then the payout is 2 to 1. In all other outcomes the bet loses. Hence the price that has to be paid for the larger payouts is losing the bet even if the hand bet upon wins by a small margin.

Though the payouts for the Dragon Bonus bet on the Player and the Banker hands are identical the bets are by no means equivalent. This is because the chances of winning in each case are different. For each of the non-natural paying wins, the probability of winning in the case of the Banker bet is less than the probability of winning in the case of the Player bet. In all the Banker bet will win 30.07% of the times and the Player bet will win 30.78% of the times. Thus translates to a house edge of 9.4% for Banker bet and 2.7% for the Player bet. Therefore the Player Dragon Bonus bet is the one to go for.