Aug 19 2026
First-Carding the Dragon Bonus Baccarat Side Bet
The Dragon Bonus (DB) baccarat side bet is by far the most popular baccarat side bet in the domestic market. Internationally, I have not seen it that much in my travels, but maybe I just haven't been to the right places. I considered card counting DB in this post, where I concluded that counting was useless.
The Win-Rate of the Average Blackjack Card Counter
In “Blackjack Attack, Playing the Pro’s Way, 2nd edition” (BA), author Donald Schlesinger presents the “World’s Greatest Blackjack Simulation.” One of his achievements was to determine the win-rate per 100 hands for six-deck blackjack, using the Illustrious 18 (see
Exploiting Loss Rebates in Baccarat
I recently received an e-mail from an individual at an overseas casino, asking if I would review his casino's baccarat loss rebate program for advantage play vulnerability. Like many similar programs, it included not only the standard loss rebate, but also incentives like airfare, room, food & beverage, and agent's commission.
The Not-So-Illustrious 18
Illustrious: (1) clear, conspicuous, distinguished (2) famous, eminent, outstanding. – Webster’s New World College Dictionary ©, 1996
