Baccarat Glossary

The baccarat terms below are organised alphabetically. Each entry includes a brief definition and, where relevant, a link to the cluster guide that covers the topic in depth.

A

Action. The total amount wagered across a session, not the amount won or lost. A player who bets RM50 per hand for 100 hands has RM5,000 in action even if their net result is plus or minus only a small amount. The house edge applies to action, not to net stake.

B

Baccarat. The game itself. The name comes from the Italian (or Old French) word for “zero,” referring to the hand value of tens and face cards. In older usage, “baccarat” also referred specifically to a hand totalling zero. Today the term covers all variants of the game (Punto Banco, Chemin de Fer, Baccarat Banque, and modern hybrids).

Baccarat Banque. A historical French variant using three hands (one Banker, two Player) with a permanent Banker role. Rare outside specific European casinos and rarely offered online.

Banker. One of the two hands dealt in every baccarat round, and the bet type that wins when the Banker hand has a total closer to 9 than the Player hand. The Banker bet pays 1:1 minus a 5% commission, with a 1.06% house edge (the lowest standard bet in the game). Despite the name, “Banker” is just a bet label, not a person or seat. Our bet types and payouts guide covers the math.

Bead plate (珠盤路). The simplest baccarat scoreboard. Records every hand chronologically with coloured circles (red for Banker, blue for Player, green for Tie). Read top-to-bottom then left-to-right. Also called the bead road or beat plate. Covered in detail in our patterns and scoreboards guide.

Big. A side bet that wins if the hand uses a total of 5 or 6 cards (at least one third card drawn). Typical payout 0.54:1, house edge 4.35%.

Big eye boy (大眼仔). The first of the three derived roads, invented at Casino Lisboa in 1970. Tracks whether the shoe is producing consistent or breaking patterns by comparing the current Big Road column to the one immediately to its left.

Big road (大路). The canonical streak-tracking scoreboard. New columns mark outcome changes (Banker to Player, or vice versa); same outcomes continue down the column. Streaks longer than 6 hands bend right and continue sideways as “dragon tails.” The basis for all three derived roads.

Burning cards. The practice of removing the first few cards from a fresh shoe before play begins (typically based on the value of the first card revealed). A traditional practice in physical baccarat, sometimes replicated in live dealer studios.

C

Caller. At a full-size baccarat table, the dealer who announces results and applies the third-card drawing rules. In mini baccarat and most online tables, a single dealer handles all roles.

Card counting. A technique of tracking which cards have been dealt to identify favourable deck compositions. Effective in blackjack; almost useless in baccarat. Edward Thorp and Peter Griffin’s analyses show a perfect counter gains approximately 0.01% per hand in baccarat, an amount swamped by variance. See our advantage play guide.

Chemin de Fer. The original French variant of baccarat, where the player holding the Banker hand has a real decision about drawing a third card on certain totals. James Bond’s actual game in Ian Fleming’s novels. Almost extinct in modern play. See our Chemin de Fer guide.

Cockroach pig (小強路). The third derived road, comparing the current Big Road entry to the column three back. The slowest-reacting of the three derived roads. The name comes from the Cantonese 小強 (siu keung, “Little Strong”), Cantonese slang for cockroach.

Commission. The 5% fee taken from winning Banker bets in standard Punto Banco. A winning RM100 Banker bet pays RM95 instead of RM100. The commission exists because the third-card drawing rules give the Banker hand a structural advantage; without it, the Banker bet would favour the player. See our rules guide for the mechanics.

Coup. A single hand or round of baccarat. From the French (as is much of the game’s terminology).

D

Dragon (龍). A long streak in the Big Road, especially one that runs the full 6-cell column and bends sideways into a “dragon tail.” Considered visually significant by pattern-followers; mathematically meaningless for predicting future hands.

Dragon Bonus. A pair of side bets (one on Player, one on Banker) paying when the nominated side wins by 4 or more points, or with a natural. Tiered payouts up to 30:1 for winning by 9 points. House edges: 2.65% on the Player side, 9.37% on the Banker side. Covered in our side bets guide.

Dragon 7. A side bet specific to EZ Baccarat, paying 40:1 when the Banker hand wins with a three-card total of 7 (which is the hand that pushes the main Banker bet under EZ rules). House edge 7.61%.

Dragon Tiger. A simplified one-card-per-side game often offered alongside baccarat. Closer to a pure coin flip than baccarat proper. Listed in our variants guide for completeness, though technically a different game.

E

Edge sorting. An advantage-play technique that exploits asymmetric patterns on the backs of certain card decks (manufacturing imperfections that make the long-edge pattern on one side slightly different from the other). Made famous by Phil Ivey and Cheung Yin Sun’s 2012 wins at Crockfords Club (£7.7 million) and the Borgata ($9.6 million). Now classified as cheating in UK and US courts. See our advantage play guide.

EZ Baccarat. A commission-free variant where the Banker bet pushes (instead of paying) when Banker wins with a three-card total of 7. Banker house edge 1.02%, marginally better than standard 1.06%. Adds optional Dragon 7 and Panda 8 side bets.

F

Fibonacci system. A progressive betting system where bet sizes follow the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…). Used as a Martingale alternative. Does not change the underlying house edge; see our betting systems guide.

H

Hand value. The numerical value of a baccarat hand: card values added together, modulo 10. A 7 and an 8 totals 15 but the hand value is 5. Hand values run from 0 to 9 with no possibility of busting.

House edge. The casino’s average profit per unit wagered, expressed as a percentage. Baccarat’s standard house edges: Banker 1.06%, Player 1.24%, Tie 14.36% (at 8:1) or 4.85% (at 9:1). Calculated from the probability of each outcome multiplied by its payout.

L

Labouchere. A betting system that uses a sequence of numbers and cancels two of them after each win, adding numbers after each loss. Also called the cancellation system. Does not beat baccarat or any other game with a fixed house edge.

Lightning Baccarat. Evolution Gaming’s branded variant with random multipliers (2x to 8x) on selected cards, paying enhanced wins when those cards appear in the winning hand. Higher variance than standard baccarat. See our Lightning Baccarat guide.

Live dealer baccarat. Online baccarat streamed from a professional studio with a real dealer dealing real cards. Same rules and math as physical and RNG baccarat; what differs is presentation, atmosphere, and typically higher table minimums. The dominant online baccarat format for Malaysian players. See our live baccarat guide.

Lucky 6. A side bet paying when Banker wins with a total of 6. Multiple payout variants exist; the 12:1 version carries a brutal 29.98% house edge, the 15:1 version 13.82%. Also called Super 6 in some markets. Common at Asian live tables.

M

Martingale. The classic progressive betting system: double your bet after every loss until you win, then return to the base bet. Produces lots of small wins followed by occasional catastrophic losses. Does not beat the house edge; see our betting systems guide.

Mini Baccarat. A lower-stakes, faster-paced version of Punto Banco played on a smaller table. Same rules and same math as full-size baccarat; the only differences are pace and table minimum.

Modulo 10. The mathematical operation used to calculate baccarat hand values: drop the tens digit, keep the units digit. A raw total of 15 becomes a hand value of 5; a raw total of 24 becomes 4. The operation keeps every possible hand value between 0 and 9.

N

Natural. A hand totalling 8 or 9 on the first two cards. When either side has a natural, the hand ends immediately with no third card drawn for either side. The closer-to-9 natural wins; matching naturals tie.

No Commission Baccarat. A variant where Banker wins pay 1:1 with no commission, EXCEPT when Banker wins with a total of 6 (which pays 1:2). The Banker house edge rises to 1.46%, worse than standard. Also called Super 6 or Punto Banco 2000. Notably, on No Commission tables the Player bet (1.24%) is actually better than the Banker bet (1.46%), reversing the standard advice.

P

Pair bet. A side bet paying when the first two cards of the nominated side form a pair (same rank, suit irrelevant). Standard payouts 11:1 with a 10.36% house edge. Player Pair and Banker Pair are separate bets.

Panda 8. A side bet specific to EZ Baccarat, paying 25:1 when the Player hand wins with a three-card total of 8. House edge 10.19%.

Ping pong. An alternating pattern in the Big Road where outcomes switch each hand (Banker, Player, Banker, Player). Visually distinctive and a favourite signal among pattern-followers; statistically meaningless.

Player. One of the two hands dealt in every baccarat round, and the bet type that wins when the Player hand has a total closer to 9 than the Banker hand. Pays 1:1 with no commission. House edge 1.24%. Like “Banker,” the name is a bet label, not a seat or a person.

Punto Banco. The standard form of baccarat played at virtually every Malaysian-facing operator and at Genting Highlands. No player decisions, automatic third-card drawing, 5% Banker commission. See our Punto Banco guide for details.

Push. An outcome where neither side wins. In baccarat, Player and Banker bets push on a Tie (the stake is returned, no profit or loss). The Tie bet itself wins on a Tie.

R

Road / Roads. Collective term for the five baccarat scoreboards: bead plate, big road, big eye boy, small road, and cockroach pig. The two primary roads (bead plate and big road) record actual results; the three derived roads (big eye boy, small road, cockroach pig) analyse patterns within the big road. See our patterns and scoreboards guide.

RTP (Return to Player). The complement of house edge, expressed as the percentage of wagered money returned to players on average. A 1.06% house edge corresponds to a 98.94% RTP. Online operators typically publish RTP rather than house edge; the math is identical.

S

Shoe. The box that holds the shuffled decks from which cards are dealt. Most baccarat shoes hold 6 or 8 decks; 8 is dominant. The shoe is reshuffled when a designated cut card is reached.

Side bet. Any optional wager beyond the three main Player, Banker, and Tie bets. Side bets typically carry much higher house edges (5% to 30%+) than the main bets. See our side bets guide.

Small. A side bet paying when the hand resolves in just 4 cards (no third card drawn on either side). Typical payout 1.5:1, house edge 5.27%.

Small road (小路). The second of the three derived roads, comparing the current Big Road entry to the column two back. Reacts more slowly than big eye boy, more quickly than cockroach pig.

Speed Baccarat. Evolution’s fast-paced variant where each round runs approximately 27 seconds, double the rate of standard live baccarat. Same rules, same math, twice the hand rate.

Squeeze Baccarat. A theatrical variant where the dealer (or a designated player) slowly reveals the cards by bending them, building suspense. Same math as standard, much slower hand rate, common in high-roller settings.

Super 6. Alternate name for Lucky 6, or in some markets the name for the No Commission Baccarat variant. Context determines which is meant.

T

Third-card rule. The fixed rules determining whether each hand draws a third card after the initial two. Player draws on 0-5, stands on 6-7, naturals on 8-9. Banker’s drawing depends on Player’s third card under a lookup table covered in our rules guide. Mechanical and automatic in Punto Banco; the player has no input.

Tie. An outcome where both hands have the same final value. The Tie bet wins (pays 8:1 standard, 9:1 at some operators); Player and Banker bets push. House edge 14.36% at 8:1, 4.85% at 9:1.

Tiger. A family of side bets first introduced at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore as part of Tiger No Commission Baccarat, now spreading across Macau. Small Tiger pays 22:1 on a Banker 2-card win of 6 (house edge 14.33%). Big Tiger pays 50:1 on a Banker 3-card win of 6 (house edge 15.25%). Tiger Tie pays on a tie at 6 with a 30.74% house edge.

V

Variance. The statistical spread of short-run outcomes around the expected long-run average. A bet with low variance (Banker at 1:1) produces results close to its expected value over a few hundred hands. A bet with high variance (Tie at 8:1) produces wild swings even over many hands. House edge tells you the long-run cost; variance tells you the short-run noise. See our strategy guide for how variance interacts with bankroll discipline.