Always 9 Baccarat Live from Evolution

Evolution have added Always 9 Baccarat to their lineup of live baccarat variations. It joins Always 8 Baccarat which launched at the beginning of 2025.

You can play it, subject to GEO restrictions, it at any casino carrying Evolution’s live games including Frumzi, 888 and Leo Vegas.

What is Always 9 Baccarat?

The premise of Always 9 Baccarat is simple. Like regular baccarat you are betting on whether the Banker or Player positions will be dealt the highest value (or closest to 9). You can also bet Tie.

The twist on this table is that the Banker’s first card is always a 9. In fact the 9 card is permanently fixed to the Banker position on the table. The deal (from a shuffle machine with 6 decks) then becomes 2 cards to the Player position, followed by a second card to the Banker.

Third card rules, card values and win condition (closest to 9) are as per regular baccarat.

The fact that the Banker always begins with a 9, makes it the odds on favourite to win. Remember almost a third of the shoe is comprised of zero value cards (10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings) meaning there’s a good chance the Banker position will be a natural 9 after receiving it’s 2nd card.

When playing Always 9 Baccarat, an outcome like the below example is not uncommon.

The higher frequency of Banker wins shows on the game’s roadmap. The red circle stacks represent consecutive Banker wins. The smaller blue stacks are Player wins. Banker wins are more common. Banker win streaks are bigger.

Banker the favourite, but lower payout

The payout for the Banker win is reduced (v regular baccarat) to account for the higher win probability. Conversely, the payout for Player win has been increased.

Always 9 Baccarat Payouts and RTP by bet

Payouts and theoretical return to player (RTP) rates for all Always 9 Baccarat bets are shown below. Equivalent main game bets for regular baccarat are also shown for comparison purposes.

	Always 9 Baccarat		Regular Baccarat
Bet	Payout	RTP	Payout	RTP
Banker	0.56:1	98.44%	0.95:1	98.94%
Player	1.65:1	98.25%	1:1	98.76%
Tie	9:1	95.99%	8:1	89.42%
Optional side bets:
Banker Pair	10:1	84.62%
Player Pair	11:1	89.46%

Key takeaways:

• Regular baccarat tables offer a better RTP on both Banker and Player bets
• For Always 9  Baccarat, Banker bet is optimal but if you prefer payout volatility, the Player bet returns almost the same
• As (almost) aways, avoid Tie and side bets