Key facts
- Dragon tiger deals one card to the Dragon and one to the Tiger. The higher card wins; kings are high and aces low, and suits do not count.
- With 8 decks the two cards tie 7.47% of the time, in our calculation. If a tie costs you half your Dragon or Tiger bet, the house edge is 3.73%; if it costs the whole bet, 7.47%.
- Evolution's live version pays 11 to 1 on a tie and 50 to 1 on a suited tie. In our 8 deck calculation those bets carry edges of 10.36% and 13.98%.
- Singapore's regulator-approved rules at one casino return Dragon and Tiger bets on a tie but pay only half on a win with an 8, a version we calculate at 2.08%.
- Dragon tiger is not on the list of table games approved for Melbourne's casino. In Victoria the name only appears as a baccarat side wager.
Dragon tiger game in one minute
Dragon tiger is a two-card game: one card for the Dragon, one for the Tiger, and the higher card wins. Evolution describes it as "a two-card version of Baccarat". There is no drawing chart, no third card and nothing to decide once the cards are out. You choose a side, or a tie, and wait about as long as it takes to flip two cards.
- Bet on Dragon, Tiger or Tie before the deal. Some tables add side bets.
- Deal. The first card goes to the Dragon, the second to the Tiger.
- Compare ranks. King is the highest card, then queen, jack, 10 down to 2, and ace is the lowest.
- Settle. The higher card wins at 1 to 1. If both cards share a rank, the tie rule for that table applies.
Suits only matter for a suited tie bet. A queen of hearts and a queen of spades are a tie.
Dragon tiger rules: the tie decides the price
On a symmetric game like this, the casino needs some way to win. Dragon and Tiger have identical chances, so the house edge comes entirely from how the table treats a tie. With an 8 deck shoe the second card matches the rank of the first 31 times out of the 415 cards left, or 7.47% of the time, in our calculation.
| Tie rule on a Dragon or Tiger bet | Where we found it | House edge, 8 decks (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|
| Bet returned on a tie, but a win with an 8 pays only 1 to 2 | Resorts World Sentosa rules approved by Singapore's regulator | 2.08% |
| Half the bet lost on a tie | Some tables; check the rules screen or sign | 3.73% |
| Whole bet lost on a tie | Some tables; check the rules screen or sign | 7.47% |
The Singapore version is a neat illustration. Because a tie gives your money back, the casino takes its edge elsewhere: if the winning card is an 8, you are paid only half your stake. That costs you about 2.08% over the long run, the cheapest of the three rules on these numbers. A table that keeps your whole bet on a tie costs more than three times as much.
Evolution's page for its live game does not say which tie rule its Dragon and Tiger bets use, so read the game's rules screen before you bet. It is the single most important number on the table.
Payouts and house edge on every bet
| Bet | Pays | Wins (8 decks) | House edge (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon or Tiger | 1 to 1 | 46.27% | 2.08% to 7.47%, by tie rule |
| Tie, any suits (Evolution) | 11 to 1 | 7.47% | 10.36% |
| Suited tie (Evolution) | 50 to 1 | 1.69% | 13.98% |
| Big or Small, Red or Black (Singapore rules, a 7 loses) | 1 to 1 | 46.15% | 7.69% |
A tie bet at 11 to 1 needs a tie one time in twelve, or 8.33%, to break even. Ties come 7.47% of the time with 8 decks, so the bet returns about 90 cents in the dollar. With 6 decks the suited tie gets worse, 18.01% in our calculation, because there are fewer cards of the exact same rank and suit left to match.
The Big, Small, Red and Black side bets in the Singapore rules all lose when the card is a 7. One rank in thirteen is a dead loss, which is where the 7.69% comes from. Compare that with the main bet and they are poor value.
Pundit tip: if a table will not tell you its tie rule, assume the worst one. A dragon tiger table that keeps your full bet on a tie costs more than single zero roulette.
Dragon tiger strategy
There is no playing strategy, only a betting one.
- Bet Dragon or Tiger. They are mirror images, so pick either and stay there.
- Find the best tie rule. The gap between 2.08% and 7.47% dwarfs any other choice you can make.
- Skip the tie and suited tie. Both cost more than 10% of what you stake.
- Ignore the roads. Evolution says its interface includes "statistics and roads to assist you to predict the outcome of future rounds". Past cards do not predict future cards; a shoe of eight decks barely changes after a few dozen hands. Our gambler's fallacy page explains why streaks feel meaningful when they are not.
- Count the hands. Dragon tiger rounds are very quick. If you play 150 hands an hour at $10 and a 3.73% edge, that is $1,500 bet and about $56 expected loss, in our calculation.
Dragon tiger compared with baccarat
Both games ask you to back one of two hands. Baccarat uses two or three cards a side and a fixed drawing chart, and its banker bet costs 1.06% on 8 decks in our calculation. Dragon tiger strips all of that away, and even on the friendliest tie rule costs about twice as much. If you like the format, the baccarat strategy page shows the cheaper bets.
Do not confuse this game with Victoria's "Dragon Tiger" baccarat side wagers. In October 2025 the VGCCC approved Dragon Tiger, Big Dragon and Small Dragon side wagers on baccarat at Melbourne's casino. Those are separate bets on baccarat hands, with their own pay tables, and they are not the two-card game on this page.
Dragon tiger in Australia
We found no standalone dragon tiger game in the VGCCC's list of table games for Melbourne's casino. Online dragon tiger, including live streamed tables, is a casino-style game that cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It is not an offence to play, but offshore sites are outside Australian consumer protection. If you want a sense of where this game sits on price, our house edge explainer and the best odds casino games ranking put the numbers side by side, and the casino war page covers the other one-card game.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you play the dragon tiger game?
Bet on Dragon, Tiger or a tie. The dealer gives one card to each side and the higher card wins. Kings are highest and aces lowest, suits are ignored, and there are no extra cards or decisions after the deal.
What happens on a tie in dragon tiger?
It depends on the table rules. Some tables take half of your Dragon or Tiger bet, some take all of it, and one approved version in Singapore returns it but pays less on certain wins. That single rule moves the house edge from about 2% to 7.5%.
What are the dragon tiger rules for the tie bet?
The tie bet wins if both cards are the same rank. Evolution pays 11 to 1, and a suited tie bet that needs the same rank and suit pays 50 to 1. With 8 decks we calculate edges of 10.36% and 13.98%.
Is there a dragon tiger strategy?
Only one: bet Dragon or Tiger, never the tie, and choose the table with the kindest tie rule. Dragon and Tiger are mirror images, so neither side is better, and the roads on the screen cannot predict the next card.
Can you play dragon tiger in Australia?
Online dragon tiger is a casino game that cannot legally be offered to people in Australia. We found no standalone dragon tiger game in the VGCCC list of approved Victorian casino games; Victoria's Dragon Tiger is a baccarat side wager.
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