Always 8 Baccarat Live from Evolution
Always 8 Baccarat was Evolution’s first live game release of 2025.
Always 8 Banker Baccarat would have been a more accurate name. In this live baccarat adaptation, the Banker’s first card is always an 8. This changes the likely outcome quite a bit.
Playing regular baccarat, a Player versus Banker win is a near 50/50 proposition. With Always 8 Baccarat, a Banker win is the short odds favourite while a Player win becomes the longer odds outside chance. Payouts for this game have been adjusted accordingly to reflect expected outcomes.
Always 8 Baccarat adds to Evolution’s growing range of live baccarat adaptations.
Shortly after launch it was added by most large brands carrying Evo’s live games, including Dafabet, 888 and Stake.
Different Payouts
The payouts for Banker (0.62:1) and Player (1.48:1) bets are clearly displayed on the game’s bet map are are substantially different to regular baccarat Player (1:1) and Banker (0.95:1) win payouts.
The Tie bet pays 9:1 which is higher than the 8:1 on Evolution’s other live baccarat tables. This still doesn’t make it an optimal bet (see below).
Always an 8 for Banker
The Banker’s first card is always an 8. It’s not dealt. Rather it lives as a permanent fixture at the Banker position.
As you can see from the above game pic, the Banker 8 card is present before the deal begins.
The Deal and 3rd Card Rules
The deal order is 2 cards to the Player position then the second card to the Banker position. This follows the regular convention of: 1st card to Player then 1st card to Banker then 2nd card to Player then 2nd card to Banker, but for the fact that here the Banker’s 1st card was already there.
Unlike most Evolution baccarat tables, the deal is from a shuffle machine (containing 8 decks) rather than manually shuffled shoes.
That’s where the differences end.
Third card rules follow convention and are identical to Evolution’s regular baccarat tables.
Card values and win condition are likewise the same (closest to 9 wins).
Always starting with an 8 means the Banker stands a higher chance of scoring a Natural 8 hand given the likelihood of drawing a 10s or picture cards that don’t change the hand total.
Play this game for any length of time and it becomes very noticeable how much more regular Banker wins are than Player wins.
RTP by Bet
Theoretical returns of return to player (RTP) rates for each bet (including the optional pairs side bets) are set out below.
Payouts and RTP rates for regular baccarat main game bets are included for comparison purposes.
| Always 8 Baccarat | Baccarat | |||
| Bet | Payout | RTP | Payout | RTP |
| Banker | 0.62:1 | 98.29% | 0.95:1 | 98.94% |
| Player | 1.48:1 | 98.02% | 1:1 | 98.76% |
| Tie | 9:1 | 95.89% | 8:1 | 89.42% |
| Optional side bets: | ||||
| B Pair | 10:1 | 84.62% | ||
| P Pair | 11:1 | 89.46% | ||
Key takeaways:
- Banker is the optimal bet on Always 8 Baccarat
- Returns for both Banker and Player bets on regular baccarat tables are better, and as always…
- avoid the side bets.
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