The fastest card game in any Macau pit. Two cards drawn — one Dragon, one Tiger. Bet on whichever you think will be higher.
| Dragon or Tiger win | 1:1 (3.73% house edge — best bet) |
| Tie | 8:1 if you bet tie · loses HALF your bet if you bet a side (~32% house edge — never bet tie) |
| Aces are LOW (=1). The half-loss-on-tie rule means betting Dragon or Tiger has a higher edge than baccarat. There’s no skill — pure coin flip with a small tax. | |
Dragon Tiger is essentially baccarat stripped down to two cards — one for "Dragon," one for "Tiger." Higher card wins. Popular in Asian casinos for its speed (30+ decisions per hour) and simplicity. The basic bet has a 3.73% house edge — worse than baccarat but tolerable; the Tie side bet at 11.6% should be avoided.
Place a bet on Dragon, Tiger, or Tie. The dealer draws one card to each side. The higher card wins, paying 1:1 (less a half-bet "vigorish" on ties — when both cards are the same rank, all Dragon/Tiger main bets lose half). Cards rank Ace-low through King-high; suits don't matter.
There is no strategy beyond bet selection. Stick to Dragon or Tiger (3.73% edge). Avoid the Tie bet (11.6% edge) and any "small/big," "odd/even," or "suit" side bets which typically run 6-10% edge. Trend-based betting ("Dragon won 5 times in a row, must be Tiger's turn") is the gambler's fallacy and doesn't move the math. Card counting can theoretically generate a tiny edge if you track ranks in an 8-deck shoe near the end, but the cut-card placement makes this impractical.
On a single deck, Dragon vs Tiger has 6 × 4 × 4 = 96 ties out of 52 × 52 = 2704 possible draws → ~7.7% tie probability. Wins on Dragon or Tiger split the remaining ~92.3% evenly (~46.15% each). The half-bet loss on ties drives the 3.73% house edge. On multi-deck shoes the tie probability rises slightly (more identical-rank pairs available), pushing the edge up to ~3.86%.
Dragon Tiger originated in Cambodia in the 1990s and spread rapidly through Macau and the rest of Asia. Western casinos picked it up in the 2010s, primarily as a high-speed alternative to baccarat for Asian high-roller rooms.
| Bet | Payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon / Tiger win | 1:1 | ~46% hit, 3.73% edge |
| Tie | 8:1 or 11:1 | ~7.7% hit, 11.6% edge |
| Small (1-6) / Big (8-K) | 1:1 or 0.75:1 | ~6% edge — skip |
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