The score of the player and dealer are compared, the winner is the one which is greater. Winning bets on the banker pay 19 to 20 (or even money less a 5% commission), winning bets on the player pay 1 to 1, winning bets on a tie pay either 8 to 1 or 9 to 1, depending on where you play. Regardless of whether the tie pays 8:1 or 9:1 it is a very bad bet and should be avoided.

Bets made on the banker and player pay even money when won. A winning banker bet, however, is subject to a 5% house commission. So, if you made a $5 banker bet and won, you would receive $5.00 minus 5% ($0.25), which would actually be $4.75. If the two hands tie, neither bet wins nor loses any money. If you made a tie bet, however, you would receive an 8:1 payoff.

The dealer will pay even money to winning banker bets and consider the 5% an IOU. As the dealer plays through an eight deck shoe he/she will keep track of the commissions every player owes. At the end of the shoe or when a player wants to leave mid-shoe the dealer will collect on the commissions. Make sure you don't run out of money with outstanding commissions.

Although winning banker bets are subject to a 5% commission, they are still good bets to make since banker hands actually win more frequently than player hands. All things considered, the banker and player bets give you about the same odds. In both cases, the house edge is quite small. In fact, it is only 1.17% for bets on the banker, and 1.36% for bets on the player. From a statistical standpoint, you are slightly better off wagering on the banker, albeit not by much.