Card Games
How to Play Dragon Tiger
One card against one card: the fastest round of any card table in the casino.
Dragon tiger compares a single card on the Dragon side with a single card on the Tiger side. The higher card wins, with the ace ranking lowest and the king highest. There are no additional cards, no drawing rules, and no decisions once a bet has been placed.
Because only two cards are dealt, dragon tiger has the fastest round of any table game. That speed means far more bets per hour than baccarat, so a house edge of 3.73% weighs much more heavily than it appears to on a single round.
Basic Rules and Card Ranking
Card values in dragon tiger follow a single ranking that ignores suit. The two cards dealt are compared directly against each other.
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1, the lowest |
| 2 through 10 | Face value |
| Jack | 11 |
| Queen | 12 |
| King | 13, the highest |
Bets and Payouts
The table below uses eight decks, the arrangement found at most dragon tiger tables both live and online.
| Bet | Winning condition | Payout | Probability | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon | The Dragon card is higher | 1:1 | 46.27% | 3.73% |
| Tiger | The Tiger card is higher | 1:1 | 46.27% | 3.73% |
| Tie | Both cards are of equal rank | 8:1 | 7.47% | 32.77% |
| Suited Tie | Equal rank and equal suit | 50:1 | 1.69% | 13.98% |
| Big | The card ranks 8 through King | 1:1 | About 46% | About 3.7% |
| Small | The card ranks Ace through 6 | 1:1 | About 46% | About 3.7% |
At 8:1 the Tie bet carries a house edge almost nine times that of the main bets. At a table paying 11:1 the figure falls to roughly 10.3%, still far above Dragon or Tiger.
How a Round of Dragon Tiger Is Played
A single round of Dragon Tiger follows the sequence below. The same sequence applies at a physical table and at a live dealer table streamed to a screen.
- Place a bet on Dragon, Tiger or TieThe Dragon box sits on the left of the table and the Tiger box on the right, with the Tie box between them.
- Betting closesThe dealer announces no more bets. At an online table, a countdown reaching zero marks the close.
- One card is dealt to DragonThe first card from the shoe is placed face up on the Dragon side.
- One card is dealt to TigerThe second card is placed face up on the Tiger side. No further card is dealt under any circumstances.
- The two cards are comparedThe higher card wins. Suit is disregarded except on the Suited Tie bet.
- Bets are settledWinning bets pay 1:1. When the two cards are of equal rank, half of each Dragon and Tiger bet is taken and half returned.
Compared with Baccarat
Dragon tiger is often described as a shortened form of baccarat. On the arithmetic the two games are some way apart.
| Aspect | Dragon Tiger | Baccarat |
|---|---|---|
| Cards per round | 2 | 4 to 6 |
| Drawing rules | None | Yes, governed by the third card table |
| House edge on main bets | 3.73% | 1.06% on Banker, 1.24% on Player |
| Treatment of ties | Half the stake is lost | The stake is returned in full |
| Rounds per hour | 100 to 140 | 40 to 70 |
A larger house edge combined with faster rounds makes the expected cost of dragon tiger several times that of baccarat at the same stake. Players who want the lowest cost choose baccarat; dragon tiger is chosen for the brevity of its rounds.
Card Counting and Its Limits
Because dragon tiger compares only two cards, the remaining composition of the shoe does affect the probability of a tie. The fewer cards left, the further that probability drifts from its baseline of 7.47%.
The drift only becomes meaningful at the very end of a shoe, and only on the Tie bet. Online tables that shuffle after every round remove the effect entirely, as do live tables using continuous shuffling machines.
Speed of Play and Exposure
Dragon tiger completes one hundred to one hundred and forty rounds an hour. At a stake of 50 units and a house edge of 3.73%, the expected cost of an hour of play falls between 186.5 and 261.1 units.
| Stake per round | Total staked per hour | Expected cost |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 3,000 | 111.9 |
| 50 | 6,000 | 223.8 |
| 100 | 12,000 | 447.6 |
| 250 | 30,000 | 1,119 |
How to turn those figures into session limits is explained on the bankroll management page.
Dragon Tiger Terminology
The terms below are the ones heard most often at the Dragon Tiger table. A wider list is available in the casino glossary.
- Dragon
- The left-hand side of the table, which receives the first card of each round.
- Tiger
- The right-hand side of the table, which receives the second card of each round.
- Suited Tie
- A side bet that wins when both cards match in rank and in suit.
- Half stake
- The rule that takes half of each Dragon and Tiger bet when the two cards are of equal rank.
Dragon Tiger FAQ
Do the Dragon and Tiger bets have equal odds?
Yes. Both win 46.27% of the time and carry a house edge of 3.73% with eight decks. Neither side is better, and previous results do not alter those figures.
Why does a tie take half the stake?
That rule is the source of the dragon tiger house edge. A tie probability of 7.47% combined with the loss of half the stake produces the 3.73% edge on Dragon and Tiger.
Is the Tie bet worth taking?
On the arithmetic, no. A payout of 8:1 leaves a house edge of 32.77%, about nine times that of the main bets. Even the Suited Tie at 50:1 leaves 13.98%.
How does dragon tiger differ from baccarat?
Dragon tiger uses one card per side with no drawing rules, while baccarat uses two or three cards per hand valued in units. Baccarat also carries a smaller house edge, 1.06% on the Banker bet.
Does the card ranking take suit into account?
Not on the main bets. Suit matters only on the Suited Tie bet, which requires both cards to match in rank and in suit.
Why is dragon tiger considered a high-risk game?
Not because of its rules but because of its pace. At one hundred and twenty rounds an hour, far more money is cycled through the game than at other table games, which raises the expected hourly cost accordingly.