On this page
3 Giving 8 Baccarat Side Bet
Introduction
3 Giving 8 is a baccarat side bet found at the Hippodromo casino in London. It pays 200 to 1 if the Banker hand starts with a two-card total of three and the Player hand draws a third card of an 8.
To avoid confusion, as usual when writing about baccarat I the lower case when referring to the player playing the game and upper case when referring to the Player bet.
Rules
The 3 Giving 8 side bet wins if all of the following are true:
- The Banker hand has three points after two cards
- The Player hand has 0 to 5 points after two cards, thus drawing a third card.
- The third card drawn to the Player hand is an 8.
These set of conditions may seem arbitrary, but this is the only situation where the Banker hand will stand on a two-card total of three points.
Analysis
The following table shows my analysis of the 3 Giving 8 bet, when a win pays 200 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 8.68%.
3 Giving 8 — 200 to 1
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 200 | 22,708,577,366,016 | 0.004543 | 0.908634 |
| Loss | -1 | 4,975,689,698,137,340 | 0.995457 | -0.995457 |
| Total | 4,998,398,275,503,360 | 1.000000 | -0.086823 |
I hear the Empire casino in London offers the same bet, but pay only 180 to 1. The following table shows the odds under those stingier rules. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 17.77%.
3 Giving 8 — 180 to 1
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 180 | 22,708,577,366,016 | 0.004543 | 0.817771 |
| Loss | -1 | 4,975,689,698,137,340 | 0.995457 | -0.995457 |
| Total | 4,998,398,275,503,360 | 1.000000 | -0.177686 |
External Links
Discussion about 3 Giving 8 in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.