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Baccarat terms
Here are the words you will hear around a baccarat table, from Banker and natural to shoe, roads and the squeeze, each explained in a line or two.
The game
- Baccarat. A card game where two hands, Player and Banker, race to a total closest to 9. Also the name for a hand that totals 0.
- Punto banco. The casino version, where the house takes every bet and all draws follow fixed rules. "Punto" means Player and "banco" means Banker.
- Chemin de fer. An older version where a player holds the bank and some draws are a choice.
- Mini baccarat. Punto banco at a smaller table with lower limits. The dealer handles every card and the game moves fast.
- Big table. The full-size baccarat table, often in a separate room, where players may handle and turn over the cards.
- Player and Banker. The two hands. Anyone can bet on either one.
The cards and hands
- Natural. A total of 8 or 9 from the first two cards. Both hands stand.
- Stand. Take no more cards.
- Draw. Take a third card. Each hand gets at most one.
- Third-card rules, or tableau. The fixed chart that says when each hand draws. The chart.
- Picture cards. Jacks, queens and kings. Like tens, they count 0.
The bets
- Commission. The 5% taken from a winning Banker bet. Also called vig.
- No-commission baccarat. A version that pays Banker 1 to 1 but pays less on one kind of Banker win, often a win with 6. Commission and no-commission.
- Tie. Both hands finish on the same total. The Tie bet pays 8 to 1.
- Push. A bet that neither wins nor loses. Player and Banker bets push on a tie.
- Pair. A hand's first two cards are the same rank. Player Pair and Banker Pair pay 11 to 1.
- Side bet. Any bet besides Player and Banker. Tie and pair bets.
- House edge. The share of each bet the house keeps over time. Banker 1.06%, Player 1.24%.
The shoe
- Shoe. The box the cards are dealt from, and the whole run of hands between shuffles. Here, eight decks.
- Burn card. A card turned over and set aside after the shuffle. Its value says how many more cards are burned.
- Cut card. A plastic card placed near the end of the shoe. When it comes out, the shoe ends after that hand.
The scoreboard
- Roads. The charts of results on a baccarat scoreboard. How to read them.
- Bead Road or Bead Plate. Every hand in order, one mark each.
- Big Road. Banker wins in red and Player wins in blue, with streaks stacked in columns. The Big Road.
- Big Eye Boy, Small Road, Cockroach Pig. The derived roads. Red when the Big Road repeats, blue when it breaks. The derived roads.
- Dragon. A long run of one side, six or more in a row.
- Dragon tail. A streak that runs past the sixth row of the Big Road and turns right.
- Ping Pong or chop. Banker and Player taking turns.
- Double Jump. Two in a row, then two of the other side, and so on. More patterns.
- Scorecard. The paper card and pen many casinos leave at the table so players can keep their own roads.
The roads show what happened in the shoe. Every hand is independent, so none of them shows what will happen next.
The squeeze
The squeeze is the tradition of revealing a card slowly. At big tables where players may touch the cards, the player with the largest bet on a side often gets that hand's cards. They bend and peel each card a little at a time, from one edge and then another, watching the pips appear one row at a time. The room often calls out for the card it wants.
The squeeze is about suspense and ceremony. It is especially loved in Macau and across Asia. The card's value was fixed when it was dealt, so the squeeze doesn't change the result. Cards that have been bent are usually taken out of play after the shoe.
Lucky 8 and unlucky 4
Baccarat is especially popular with Chinese players, and many bring number traditions to the table. In Chinese, 8 sounds like the word for prosperity, so it is a lucky number, and 8 is also a winning natural. 4 sounds like the word for death, so many avoid it. Our High Score game starts from $8,888 for that reason. High Score and Practice.
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Questions
What is the squeeze in baccarat?
A tradition of turning over the cards slowly, bending and peeling them so the pips show a little at a time. It adds suspense and doesn't change the card.
Why do baccarat players squeeze the cards?
For the suspense and the ceremony. It is a long tradition at big tables, especially in Asia. The card was fixed when it was dealt.
What does baccarat mean as a hand total?
A hand that totals 0, such as a king and a queen, or a 4 and a 6, is called baccarat. It is the lowest total.
What is mini baccarat?
The same punto banco rules at a smaller table, with lower limits. The dealer handles all the cards, so hands go faster.
Why is 8 a lucky number in baccarat?
In Chinese, 8 sounds like the word for prosperity. It is also one of the two natural totals.
What is a shoe in baccarat?
The box the cards are dealt from, and the run of hands between shuffles. An 8-deck shoe gives about 80 hands.
More: How to play baccarat · Baccarat rules · Baccarat third card rules · How to read a baccarat scoreboard · The Big Road and Bead Road in baccarat · Big Eye Boy, Small Road and Cockroach Pig · Baccarat patterns · Baccarat odds · Banker vs Player · Baccarat tie and pair bets · Baccarat strategy · Baccarat simulator and practice