Comprehensive Guide to Side Bets in Dragon Tiger

Dragon Tiger side bets are wagers that predict a specific outcome in the current round of Dragon Tiger, other than the main bet predictions of Dragon, Tiger, or a Tie. They can be played in both online and brick-and-mortar casinos, offering players extra opportunities to win some extra cash on the side.

Side bets are not part of the main game or rules of Dragon Tiger. As such, their presence is completely optional. Some casinos and software providers choose to offer multiple side bets on their Dragon Tiger tables, while others may not offer any at all. Similarly, these wagers are placed separately from the main bet and can win or lose regardless of its outcome.

Most bets predict the suit, color, or rank of one or both of the Dragon and Tiger cards. However, unlike the main game of Dragon Tiger, there are no industry-wide rules as to how side bets have to work or how much they have to pay. Of course, most offer similar odds and rules regardless of the provider who made the game, but you should still be aware that discrepancies are possible.

How Dragon Tiger Side Bets Work

On a practical level, side bets in Dragon Tiger work the same way as any other wager. The only difference is that you’re predicting something other than the relative rank of the Dragon and Tiger cards. That said, you should probably have a firm grasp on how the game works before attempting to place side bets. If you need a refresher, our Dragon Tiger tutorial can help you.

If you’re playing Dragon Tiger at a physical table in a land-based casino, simply place the chips you wish to wager on the betting position of the side bet you wish to make.

In online or live casino Dragon Tiger, these betting positions will be a part of the standard game overlay. Select the size of your stake, then click on the betting position of the side bet you wish to make.

As with any bet, you can only place side bets during the designated betting period that takes place between rounds. Additionally, side bets have their own minimum and maximum limits, which you’ll need to keep in mind.

Beyond that, every bet’s outcome is determined based on its own rules. This also means that you can only place some side bets if you also have an active main bet, while others can be played regardless of whether you’ve made a Dragon/Tiger/Tie bet or not.

Common Dragon Tiger Bets Explained

We’ll now go through the most common types of Dragon Tiger side bets, explain how they work, and provide valuable info such as their respective odds, payouts, and Return-to-Player rate.

Dragon Big/Tiger Big

The Dragon Big and Tiger Big side bets in Dragon Tiger predict whether the specified card will have a rank of 8 or higher. If the relevant card is 7 or under, the bet loses.

The Big side bet pays even money (1:1).

As a reminder – in Dragon Tiger, Aces count as 1s and are the lowest rank.

For example, a Dragon Big bet wins only if the drawn Dragon card has a rank of 8, 9, 10, J, Q, or K.

Conversely, a Tiger Big bet wins only if the round’s Tiger card is ranked 8 or above.

This means that the bet loses on 7 out of 13 possible results, giving it a 46.15% chance to win. Combined with a 1:1 payout, it has a house edge of 7.69%.

That’s a fairly high house edge by any measure, being more than double the 3.73% house edge of the Dragon and Tiger bets. Compared to these wagers, the Big bets offer the same 1:1 payout while being less likely to win, which makes them strictly worse.

Dragon Small/Tiger Small

The Dragon Small and Tiger Small side bets predict that the specified card will be ranked 6 or lower. The bets lose if the selected card is ranked 7 or higher.

This pair of side wagers is essentially the opposite of the Big side bet. ‘Small’ bets win for ranks 1-6, ‘Big’ bets win for ranks 8-K, and both bets lose if the result is a 7.

As such, they have the exact same odds: 46.15% chance to win for a 1:1 payout, offering a house edge of 7.69%.

This means that the Small side bets have the exact same problem as their Big counterparts – they mostly work the same as Dragon and Tiger bets while having strictly worse odds.

Dragon/Tiger Odd

The Dragon Odd and Tiger Odd bets win if the specified card’s number is an odd number. In this case, this means that the relevant card has to be an A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, or K.

There are two distinct variants of this bet based on how it handles its payouts. There are more Odd cards than Even cards in a standard deck, and different software providers tend to counteract this fact in different ways.

Version 1

The more common version, version 1, simply doesn’t count one of the cards as an Odd card, typically the Ace or the 7. This means that it only wins on 6 out of 13 possible results.

If Version 1 is being used, a winning bet pays 1:1, and the probability of winning the side bet is 46.15%, which adds up to a house edge of 7.69%. This variant of the bet is statistically identical to Big/Small bets.

Version 2

Version 2 counts all 7 cards as odd, and can win on any odd result: A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, or K. However, it offers a smaller payout to compensate: 0.75:1. This variant of the bet has a 53.85% chance to win, and offers a house edge of 6.5%.

The second version is slightly superior, but it’s harder to find. It is currently available with SA Gaming’s Dragon Tiger.

Dragon Even/Tiger Even

Dragon Even and Tiger even bets win if the selected card’s rank is an even number – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or Q. T. In other words, Even bets in Dragon Tiger win on 6 out of 13 possible results and pay even money, which makes them statistically identical to Big/Small bets.

In other words, they have a 46.15% chance to win a 1:1 payout, which means their house edge is also 7.69%.

From a strategic standpoint, they’re still a worse option than Dragon and Tiger.

However, we’ve also come across Dragon Even and Tiger Even bets that pay 1.05:1. Typically, they come paired with Version 2 of Odd bets we’ve described above.

In this case, the bet pays more while having the same 46.15% probability to win, which makes its house edge somewhat lower at 5.26%.

Version 2 of Dragon/Tiger Even is thus slightly superior to most side bets of this type, but it’s still worse than the main bet in terms of RTP. This paytable is also available in Dragon Tiger Live by SA Gaming.

Dragon Black/Tiger Black

The Dragon Black and Tiger Black side bets in Dragon Tiger win if the selected card is black – if its suit is either Clubs or Spades.

Since every deck of cards contains the same number of black and red cards, this means that this side bet has an exact 50% chance to win, assuming a fresh deck.

Both Dragon Black and Tiger Black pay 0.9:1, which makes them slightly different from the other even money bets on this list – it’s technically not even money.

With these odds, the side bet offers a house edge of 5.26%, making it a bit better than side bets such as Big and Small. However, we should point out that this is still worse than the 3.73% house edge of the Dragon and Tiger bets.

Dragon Red/Tiger Red

Dragon Red and Tiger Red side bets win if the specified card (either Dragon or Tiger) is red. I.e, it predicts that the relevant card will be either in the suit of Hearts or the suit of Diamonds.

This wager is basically a direct mirror of the Black bets, offering identical odds, payouts, and house edge. Again, it’s slightly more useful than many other Dragon Tiger side bets, but it’s still statistically inferior to the Dragon and Tiger main bets.

Two Red/Two Black

The Two Red and Two Black side bets in Dragon Tiger win if both cards drawn in the current round are either Red or Black, respectively.

For example, the Two Red bet wins if and only if both the Dragon and the Tiger cards are Hearts or Diamonds. In all other cases (both black or one black/one red), the side bet loses.

The Two Black wager is pretty much just a direct mirror, winning if both cards are either Clubs or Spades.

In both cases, a Tie result returns half of your stake to you, regardless of the colors of the cards. This rule is why the side bet has a house advantage.

Once we take into account any Tie results (, these bets have a 23.08% chance to win. This makes their house edge 3.73%, which is exactly the same as the main Dragon and Tiger bets.

Perceptive readers might notice that this side bet has a very similar math model to the main wager. The probabilities and payouts are different, but both bets get half their money back on a Tie result, which is why their RTP rates are identical.

Two Red and Two Black side bets are available on Dragon Tiger tables from Asia Gaming.

One Red & One Black

The One Red & One Black side bet wins if only one of the two drawn cards (Dragon or Tiger) is black while the other is red, paying even money. It doesn’t matter which card is which color, as long as they are different.

As you’ve probably noticed, Clubs and Spades are Black while Hearts and Diamonds are red. Again, the exact suit of the cards does not matter for the bet. As long as one card is either in the suit of Clubs or Spades while the other is either Hearts or Diamonds, the bet wins.

However, if the outcome of the round is a Tie, the bet loses regardless of the color of the cards, and half of your stake is returned to you.

The odds of drawing a red/black mix from a fresh deck are exactly 50%. However, once we account for Tie results, this bet has a 46.26% chance to win, which gives it a house edge of 3.73%.

Statistically, this bet is identical to the main Dragon and Tiger bets.

Suited Tie

The Suited Tie side bet in Dragon Tiger wins if both cards (Dragon and Tiger) have the same rank and suit, paying 50:1.

It’s essentially a sort of “Tie Plus” bet, offering a huge payout if the two tied cards are also of the same suit.

However, much like the main Tie bet, this side wager has a very low chance to win and a very high house edge of 13.98%. It has a win probability of around 1.69%, which is why it offers such a high payout.

Although its house edge is better than the massive 32.77% of the main Tie bet, the Suited Tie side bet is still a horrible wager to play due to the enormous house advantage.