Glossary

The words you will hear around a baccarat table, in plain English. Several of them are French, a reminder of where the modern game grew up.

Baccarat

As a word, the name of the game and also the term for a hand worth zero. Usually traced to the Italian for zero.

Banker

One of the two hands dealt in every coup. It acts second and follows the tableau. Despite the name, betting on it does not make you the bank.

Bead plate

A grid recording the result of each coup in order, usually read down the columns. A record of the past, not a guide to the future.

Burn cards

Cards removed from the top of a freshly shuffled shoe before play. The first card is turned over and its value decides how many more are discarded face down.

Chemin de fer

An older French version in which the bank passes around the players and the person holding a hand can choose whether to draw on 5.

Commission

The 5% the house takes from winning Banker bets, so that a win at evens becomes a win at 0.95 to 1.

Coup

A single round of baccarat, from the first card dealt to the settling of bets.

Cut card

A plastic card placed near the end of the shoe. When it appears, the dealer completes the coup in progress (under some house rules, one more as well) and then reshuffles.

Draw

To take a third card. Whether a hand draws is fixed by the rules, never by a player.

House edge

The average share of every stake the house keeps over a long run of bets. 1.06% on Banker, 1.24% on Player, 14.36% on a tie paying 8 to 1.

La grande

A natural 9, the best possible hand.

La petite

A natural 8, beaten only by a natural 9.

Midi baccarat

A smaller table, often with a lower minimum, between the full high-limit table and mini baccarat.

Mini baccarat

Punto banco played quickly at a small table, with the dealer handling every card and lower stakes.

Natural

A two-card total of 8 or 9. It ends the coup at once and nobody draws.

No-commission baccarat

A variant that pays Banker at evens but pays only half when Banker wins with a total of 6.

Pair bet

A side bet that the first two cards of a hand will be a pair. Much higher payout, much higher house edge.

Player

The other of the two hands in every coup. It always acts first. You do not have to bet on it just because you are playing.

Punto banco

The version of baccarat played in most casinos today, with fixed drawing rules and the house banking every coup. The version taught on this site.

Push

A bet that neither wins nor loses: the stake is simply returned. Player and Banker bets push when the coup is a tie.

Road

Any of the scoreboards (big road, bead plate and others) that track results. Popular, colourful and of no predictive value.

Shoe

The box that holds the shuffled decks and lets the dealer slide out one card at a time. Most punto banco shoes hold eight decks.

Squeeze

The habit of revealing a card slowly by bending it back from one edge or corner. Pure theatre; it does not change the card.

Stand

To take no further card. Player stands on 6 or 7; Banker always stands on 7.

Tableau

The printed rules for drawing a third card, especially the Banker chart that depends on the Player's third card.

Tie

A coup in which both hands finish on the same total. A bet on the tie pays 8 to 1 at most tables.