"Small 6/Big6" (a bet option for baccarat table play) + ‘Lucky 7′

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The new-to-Macau baccarat side bets commonly referred to as ‘Lucky 7’ and its variation ‘Super Lucky 7’ have the potential to mirror the success of a Singapore-market variant known as ‘Dragon Tiger’ baccarat, offered at the Marina Bay Sands casino resort there. That is according to a number of industry experts canvassed by GGRAsia.

GGRAsia first observed the ’7s’ bets in the Macau gaming market during the October Golden Week holidays, that ran on the Chinese mainland this year from October 1 to 7 inclusive.

As of our site visit on October 3, the ’7s’ bets could already be found in most of the casino properties in the city, except for the mass and high-limit areas inside the Cotai casinos of Venetian Macao and its sister property across the road, the Londoner Macao, two properties run by Sands China Ltd.

These new-to-market side bets were later seen available at the Londoner Casino and Londoner Grand Casino within Sands China’s British-themed property. That was at the time of a GGRAsia site visit on Tuesday (October 15) this week.

Singapore-based industry commentator Daniel Cheng told GGRAsia in terms of an overview on the ’7s’ bets in Macau: “It’s always about finding ways to offer players experiences that feel more rewarding,” in terms of available payout.

He added: “This means creating games where players believe they have a better chance of winning, even if the mathematical house edge actually increases. It’s the perception of increased success that drives [players’] engagement.”

Industry sources with knowledge of the matters, told GGRAsia that the ’7s’ bets originate from Singapore’s ‘Dragon Tiger’ baccarat game. The ‘Dragon Tiger’ game has the same game rules as the ‘7s’ bets newly-seen in Macau, but with some minor differences in payouts, GGRAsia observed from the Macau gaming floors, and the Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority’s approved version of  the ‘Dragon Tiger’ game.

One of those sources also noted that ‘Dragon Tiger’ is itself an extension built on the ‘Tiger Baccarat’ game found at Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Singapore property Marina Bay Sands.

The ‘Tiger Baccarat’ game has largely-similar game rules as Macau’s ‘Small 6/Big 6′ baccarat side bets, though the prevailing ’6s’ game in Macau does not have the combinations of ‘Tiger Pair’ and ‘Tiger Tie’ as in the Singapore market, GGRAsia has observed from visiting Macau gaming floors.

‘Dragon Tiger’ has been amongst the popular baccarat side bets in the Singapore market, sources indicated.

‘House advantage’

Banking institution Citigroup mentioned Macau’s ’7s’ side bets in its October survey of Macau premium mass betting.

Citigroup stated: “The rules on this bet are quite simple… More importantly, because this new side bet pays as much as 100-to-1, we expect it to quickly gain popularity amongst players.”

Its analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau wrote: “Based on our understanding, the house advantage of the new ['7s'] side bets is at mid- to high- teens [of percent], more favourable for the casinos versus the Small 6/Big 6 side bets (launched in May 2024).”

Macau-based gaming research specialist Ryan Ho previously told GGRAsia that Macau’s  ‘Small 6’ bet exhibits a “house edge” of 14.33 percent, while the ‘Big 6’ side bet demonstrates a higher house edge of 15.25 percent. He said a previously-introduced side-bet game in the Macau market, known as ‘Lucky Six’, has a house edge of around 16.68 percent.

Mr Cheng noted regarding Singapore’s side bets: “Anecdotal feedback from operators indicates that ‘Dragon Tiger’ commission baccarat is particularly popular at the premium tables at Marina Bay Sands, while ‘Tiger Buffalo’ baccarat with insurance is favoured at Resorts World Sentosa.” That was a reference to the other Singapore casino complex, run by Genting Singapore Ltd.

He added: “A similar trend is observed at [Singapore] mass tables, where non-commission variants of these games are preferred.”

Yet another baccarat side bet, known in Singapore as ‘Wu Song’ baccarat, was “gaining popularity among mass players at Resorts World Sentosa,” Mr Cheng told GGRAsia. He suggested that these popular side bets contributed significantly to house win in both mass and high-limit baccarat play at the two Singapore casinos.

https://www.ggrasia.com/7s-side-bets-likely-macau-hit-after-singapore-experts/

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Many major Macau casino properties were on Thursday offering the new ‘Lucky 7’ side bet format and its variation ‘Super Lucky 7′, alongside the established special bet, ‘Small 6/Big 6’.

The most popular live-table baccarat bets on main floors – whether on Macau peninsula or in Cotai – were priced at either HKD1,000 (US$128.74) or HKD2,000.

The observation was based on a floor tour by GGRAsia on Thursday, the third day of a seven-day mainland China holiday encompassing China’s National Day celebrations on October 1.

Investment analysts have noted that tourism volume in the city is not always a proxy for Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR). Nonetheless, the special administrative region received more than 300,000 visitors – most from the Chinese mainland – on the first two days of the ongoing holidays, that run until October 7 inclusive.

https://www.ggrasia.com/lucky-7-bet-blazes-a-trail-in-macau-for-oct-golden-week/

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A fresh live-table baccarat side bet is due soon in the Macau market, possibly in time for peak demand during the Chinese mainland’s October Golden Week break in the next few days, according to multiple industry sources approached by GGRAsia that have knowledge of the matter.

One version of the side bet is ‘Lucky 7’. Another version, with a variation on rules and payouts, is ‘Super Lucky 7’, said the sources.

The special-bet formats have already been cleared to go live on Macau gaming floors by the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, stated three of the sources. GGRAsia approached the gaming bureau for comment on the topic, but had not received a reply by the time this story went online.

According to industry sources, ‘Lucky 7’ has two tracks in terms of play rules and payouts. The game pays 6 to 1 when play hits precisely a winning ‘player’ hand with a face value of seven points, composed of two cards. It pays 15 to 1 if a winning ‘player’ hand has a face value of seven points, composed of three cards.

The more complicated ‘Super Lucky 7’ has three tracks of play rules and payouts, with the highest payout at 100 to 1. This applies in the precise scenario of a winning ‘player’ hand having seven points, over a ‘banker’ hand of six points, and where each hand involves three cards being drawn.

‘Super Lucky 7’ pays 40 to 1 when a winning ‘player’ hand has seven points and a ‘banker’ hand has six points, in a scenario where one hand has three cards and the other has two cards. The game pays 30 to 1, when a winning ‘player’ hand has exactly seven points versus a ‘banker’ hand of exactly six points, and each side’s hand consists of two cards.

The ‘Lucky 7’ and ‘Super Lucky 7’ are ready for rollout in traditional live-table table game format and the “smart” live-dealer table format, said the sources.

The ‘Lucky 7’ and ‘Super Lucky 7’ game rules for Macau – as described to GGRAsia – are similar to the baccarat variant ‘Dragon Tiger’ at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands resort. That is according to GGRAsia’s review of the the game rules for Dragon Tiger, published online by the city-state’s Gambling Regulatory Authority.

https://www.ggrasia.com/macau-ops-eye-new-side-bet-lucky-7-for-golden-week/

 may24

A fresh side bet option for baccarat table play introduced to the Macau market – known as ‘Small 6/Big 6’  – can currently be seen at the mass and high-limit areas of casino properties operated by MGM China Holdings Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd, based on GGRAsia’s site checks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The bet option offers attractive payout to winning customers but is likely to boost house edge overall, say investment analysts and a gaming research specialist.

Small 6/Big 6 pays 22 to 1, if the winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six is composed of two cards. The side bet pays 50 to 1 for a winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six, composed of three cards.

In early May, when GGRAsia walked Macau casino floors to observe customer traffic during mainland China’s five-day May holiday break, Small 6/Big 6 was available at Sands Macao Ltd and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd casinos, but there was no obvious sign of it being used at that stage either at MGM Macau or MGM Cotai; nor at Wynn Macau downtown, or Wynn Palace in the Cotai district.

In MGM China properties, based on Tuesday and Wednesday’s observations, the same side bet is currently being presented on table baizes with a tiger head illustration. In the Singapore casino market, the bet is being referred to as ‘Small Tiger/Big Tiger’, according to a document lodged online by that city-state’s Gambling Regulatory Authority.

https://www.ggrasia.com/edge-booster-small-6big-6-at-mgm-wynn-casinos-in-macau/