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Matching Dragon

Introduction

The Matching Dragon is a side bet in baccarat located at various venues in Macau. I've heard it can be found at the Lisboa, though my source was uncertain.

This bet consists of 13 different side bets, one corresponding to each rank. Winnings are determined by the number of cards of the selected rank that appear in the subsequent hand, irrespective of whether four to six cards are dealt. Below is the payout table, where all winnings operate on a 'to one' basis.

Matching Dragon Pay Table

Matching
Cards		 Pay Table 1 Pay Table 2
6 100 100
5 60 60
4 40 30
3 20 15
2 3 2
1 1 1
0 Loss Loss

Example : Imagine the following hands:

Player: Q22
Banker: KQ2

A wager on a 2 would yield a payout of 20 to 1 if three twos are dealt, while a bet on a queen would reward 3 to 1 for two queens, and a king would pay even money for just one king. The remaining ten bets would result in losses.

The upcoming table illustrates the different combinations possible for each rank based on the total number of cards dealt during an eight-deck game.

Matching Dragon CombinationsExpand

Rank Total to Appear
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A 3,372,235,347,405,820 1,376,864,854,298,620 227,334,747,041,792 20,748,232,028,160 1,174,231,511,040 40,210,759,680 652,458,240
2 3,374,205,845,711,870 1,372,886,682,968,060 229,384,762,118,144 20,753,336,463,360 1,130,651,443,200 36,344,340,480 652,458,240
3 3,375,668,306,236,410 1,368,547,890,921,470 233,294,440,835,072 20,047,474,974,720 840,162,535,680 0 0
4 3,376,297,590,838,270 1,365,203,603,582,970 237,624,138,319,872 18,841,460,736,000 431,482,026,240 0 0
5 3,369,867,624,655,870 1,381,466,839,506,940 225,192,490,123,264 20,626,123,653,120 1,201,241,210,880 43,303,895,040 652,458,240
6 3,360,312,058,915,840 1,398,234,533,609,470 219,826,491,219,968 18,905,100,472,320 1,079,228,067,840 40,210,759,680 652,458,240
7 3,360,436,360,129,530 1,396,785,482,645,500 222,199,903,375,360 17,958,953,410,560 986,765,414,400 30,158,069,760 652,458,240
8 3,341,662,250,324,990 1,429,319,839,928,320 212,157,913,151,488 14,755,316,551,680 502,955,546,880 0 0
9 3,345,838,246,777,850 1,419,219,581,763,580 219,618,524,149,760 13,491,384,115,200 230,538,696,960 0 0
10 3,372,222,296,173,560 1,376,888,919,302,140 227,325,253,173,248 20,746,767,360,000 1,174,176,276,480 40,210,759,680 652,458,240
J 3,372,222,296,173,560 1,376,888,919,302,140 227,325,253,173,248 20,746,767,360,000 1,174,176,276,480 40,210,759,680 652,458,240
Q 3,372,222,296,173,560 1,376,888,919,302,140 227,325,253,173,248 20,746,767,360,000 1,174,176,276,480 40,210,759,680 652,458,240
K 3,372,222,296,173,560 1,376,888,919,302,140 227,325,253,173,248 20,746,767,360,000 1,174,176,276,480 40,210,759,680 652,458,240

The subsequent table indicates the winning probabilities associated with each rank across varying total card counts, during an eight-deck game.

Matching Dragon Probabilities

Rank Total to Appear
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A 0.67466319 0.27546121 0.04548152 0.00415098 0.00023492 0.00000804 0.00000013
2 0.67505742 0.27466532 0.04589165 0.00415200 0.00022620 0.00000727 0.00000013
3 0.67535001 0.27379729 0.04667384 0.00401078 0.00016809 0.00000000 0.00000000
4 0.67547590 0.27312822 0.04754006 0.00376950 0.00008632 0.00000000 0.00000000
5 0.67418950 0.27638191 0.04505293 0.00412655 0.00024033 0.00000866 0.00000013
6 0.67227777 0.27973652 0.04397939 0.00378223 0.00021591 0.00000804 0.00000013
7 0.67230264 0.27944662 0.04445422 0.00359294 0.00019742 0.00000603 0.00000013
8 0.66854662 0.28595557 0.04244518 0.00295201 0.00010062 0.00000000 0.00000000
9 0.66938208 0.28393487 0.04393778 0.00269914 0.00004612 0.00000000 0.00000000
10 0.67466058 0.27546603 0.04547962 0.00415068 0.00023491 0.00000804 0.00000013
J 0.67466058 0.27546603 0.04547962 0.00415068 0.00023491 0.00000804 0.00000013
Q 0.67466058 0.27546603 0.04547962 0.00415068 0.00023491 0.00000804 0.00000013
K 0.67466058 0.27546603 0.04547962 0.00415068 0.00023491 0.00000804 0.00000013

The next two tables provide insights on the returns for every rank and total number of cards dealt, based on payout tables 1 and 2 in the context of an eight-deck game. The right-hand column lists the overall expected return for each of the 13 betting options.

Matching Dragon Return Table — Pay Table 1

Rank Total to Appear
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
A -0.674663 0.275461 0.136445 0.083020 0.009397 0.000483 0.000013 -0.169845
2 -0.675057 0.274665 0.137675 0.083040 0.009048 0.000436 0.000013 -0.170180
3 -0.675350 0.273797 0.140022 0.080216 0.006723 0.000000 0.000000 -0.174592
4 -0.675476 0.273128 0.142620 0.075390 0.003453 0.000000 0.000000 -0.180885
5 -0.674189 0.276382 0.135159 0.082531 0.009613 0.000520 0.000013 -0.169972
6 -0.672278 0.279737 0.131938 0.075645 0.008637 0.000483 0.000013 -0.175826
7 -0.672303 0.279447 0.133363 0.071859 0.007897 0.000362 0.000013 -0.179363
8 -0.668547 0.285956 0.127336 0.059040 0.004025 0.000000 0.000000 -0.192190
9 -0.669382 0.283935 0.131813 0.053983 0.001845 0.000000 0.000000 -0.197806
10 -0.674661 0.275466 0.136439 0.083014 0.009396 0.000483 0.000013 -0.169850
11 -0.674661 0.275466 0.136439 0.083014 0.009396 0.000483 0.000013 -0.169850
12 -0.674661 0.275466 0.136439 0.083014 0.009396 0.000483 0.000013 -0.169850
13 -0.674661 0.275466 0.136439 0.083014 0.009396 0.000483 0.000013 -0.169850

Matching Dragon Return Table — Pay Table 2

Rank Total to Appear
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
A -0.674663 0.275461 0.090963 0.062265 0.007048 0.000483 0.000013 -0.238431
2 -0.675057 0.274665 0.091783 0.062280 0.006786 0.000436 0.000013 -0.239093
3 -0.675350 0.273797 0.093348 0.060162 0.005043 0.000000 0.000000 -0.243001
4 -0.675476 0.273128 0.095080 0.056542 0.002590 0.000000 0.000000 -0.248135
5 -0.674189 0.276382 0.090106 0.061898 0.007210 0.000520 0.000013 -0.238061
6 -0.672278 0.279737 0.087959 0.056733 0.006477 0.000483 0.000013 -0.240876
7 -0.672303 0.279447 0.088908 0.053894 0.005922 0.000362 0.000013 -0.243756
8 -0.668547 0.285956 0.084890 0.044280 0.003019 0.000000 0.000000 -0.250402
9 -0.669382 0.283935 0.087876 0.040487 0.001384 0.000000 0.000000 -0.255701
10 -0.674661 0.275466 0.090959 0.062260 0.007047 0.000483 0.000013 -0.238432
11 -0.674661 0.275466 0.090959 0.062260 0.007047 0.000483 0.000013 -0.238432
12 -0.674661 0.275466 0.090959 0.062260 0.007047 0.000483 0.000013 -0.238432
13 -0.674661 0.275466 0.090959 0.062260 0.007047 0.000483 0.000013 -0.238432

It’s easy to understand that this side bet can be systematically counted, especially with the allowance of a scorecard and pen. However, the inherent house advantage is significant, particularly in relation to pay table 2. Unfortunately, you’ll need to navigate that aspect on your own.

Internal Links

For additional baccarat side betting options, feel free to check my baccarat appendix 5 .

Written by: Michael Shackleford