Cow Cow Baccarat Side bets

Introduction

Cow Cow offers two distinct side bets utilized in the live dealer baccarat experience by SA Gaming. Players must select either the Player or Banker, and the outcomes hinge on the total points achieved by the winning side.

Rules

1. The side bet is based on standard baccarat This assumes the reader has some basic understanding of the topic.
2. There are two types of Cow Cow wagers: one for the Player and another for the Banker.
3. To secure a win on a Cow Cow wager, the selected side must win in the primary game.
4. Players should be cautious when placing a Cow Cow bet, as they could potentially lose up to nine times their initial wager.
5. Both types of Cow Cow bets result in wins or losses based on the total points gathered by the winning hand.
6. If a player wins with a score of nine points, providing they chose correctly, they will collect winnings at odds equal to the achieved points. However, for a win with nine points, a 5% fee is applied, which leads to a payout of 8.45 to 1.
7. If the player bets on the wrong side, they face a loss equivalent to the product of their initial wager and the total points of the winning hand.
8. A tie is a push.

Here are some examples:

• For instance, if a player bets $1 on the Player Cow Cow and the final tally is Player 7, Banker 6, they will win $7.
• Conversely, if they place a $1 bet on the Player Cow Cow and the final score is Player 7, Banker 8, they will lose $8.
• If they gamble $1 on the Banker Cow Cow with a final score of Player 5, Banker 9, their winnings will amount to 8.45.

Analysis

The subsequent table illustrates the number of combinations, the likelihood of each outcome, and the expected returns on all potential results for the Banker Cow Cow bet. The last cell indicates that the ratio of anticipated loss to the original wager is 7.69%. This cannot simply be regarded as the 'house edge' since players may incur losses that significantly exceed the original wager. On average, players can expect to either win or lose about 6.308123 times their base wager. The expected loss compared to the total amount exchanged is 1.22%.

Another table outlines the combinations, probabilities, and return contributions for all possible results linked to the Player Cow Cow wager. The last cell reveals that the expected loss ratio relative to the base wager is 5.51%. Again, this shouldn’t be interpreted as the 'house edge' because players can lose far beyond their base wager. Statistically, the average winning or losing amount for players stands at about 6.305237 times their original bet. The ratio of anticipated loss compared to the amount changing hands is 0.87%.

I was somewhat taken aback to see that the Player Cow Cow bet appeared to provide better odds. To illustrate, here are the average final scores of both betting sides in baccarat:

• -6
• -0.375311

This is particularly interesting given that the Banker generally has a higher likelihood of winning. The Player side, tasked with taking the first action, aims to maximize its point total, while the Banker side, possessing a positional edge, focuses solely on surpassing the Player. This explains why, under certain circumstances, the Banker will hold with a 3 and in others will draw with a 6.

Player win of 7 -7