Commission

Definition

Commission (colloquially *vigorish* or *juice*) is the percentage the casino takes from a **[banker bet](/glossary/bankeri-panus) win**. The standard rate is **5%**: stake 10 euros and if the banker's hand wins you get back the 10-euro stake plus 9.50 euros of winnings.

## Why it exists

Because of the third-card rules, the banker's hand wins about **50.7%** of decided hands. Without commission the banker bet would have **positive expected value** for the player and the casino would lose money. The commission is precisely the mechanism that returns the bet to the casino's favour — but only narrowly, to a house edge of 1.06%.

## Three things to know

**Commission is taken only from a win.** It is not taken from a losing stake. Its effect is therefore smaller than 5% first suggests — it is not 5% of all money staked.

**Even with the commission the banker bet is the best.** 1.06% versus the player bet's 1.24%. Avoiding the banker because of the commission is a common mistake.

**Commission-free variants are not free.** Some tables offer "no commission baccarat", where a banker win pays 1:1 with no commission — but then a particular hand (usually a banker win on 6) pays only half. That replaces the commission with a **higher house edge**, typically around 1.46%. Check the table rules: "no commission" usually means more expensive, not cheaper.