Baccarat Glossary Explained

Full Glossary of Baccarat Terms

Baccarat isn’t just a game of sheer luck. It is also a casino game that involves some knowledge to ensure that you get the upper hand. There are some terms you have to know before you play Baccarat for real money at online casinos.

Here are the terms you are likely to encounter when you play Baccarat at online casinos:

A

Action – A term that is used to describe the total amount of money you wager during a full gambling session. Action can also be used just to describe a bet or a wager on a game.

B

Baccarat – The worst hand you could get in Baccarat. The name of the game means zero in Italian. You get ‘Baccarat’ when the total of your three cards is zero consisting of King, Queen, Jack or ten.

Banco – The Spanish word for bank or banker. In Baccarat, ‘banco’ refers to the player who has the shoe is the one who deals with the cards. This is typically used at land-based casinos where other players play at a Baccarat table.

Banco Prime – The privilege of a player nearest to the dealer’s right to match the bet amount wagered by the casino if more than one player has called ‘banco’.

Banker Bet – A banker bet is one of the three different bets you can choose in Baccarat. The payout for winning banker bets is 1:1. However, there is usually a 5% commission that will be deducted from winning bets. A banker can also refer to a casino staff who manages the game, runs the shoe, deals the cards, and ensures a smooth fair play.

Banque – A Baccarat variant played at two conjoined tables. Banque tables are more popular at land-based casinos in Europe. The Banker will sit in the middle and will play with one bet against two. The player can bet one at each table. ‘En banque’ in French means ‘Zero in bank’ in English.

Bankroll – The amount of money a player plans to spend and risk on gambling.

Burning – Just like in Blackjack, there is also ‘card burning’ in Baccarat. The top three to six cards are discarded right after shuffling and before the start of a new game to ensure fair play.

C

Caller – Callers are staff members at land-based casinos who turn the cards, calls out the points, and deals additional cards

Carte – Cart is ‘hit me’ in French. It means you are requesting another card from the dealer.

Chemin De Fer – This is a variation of Baccarat that is referred to as European Baccarat. Chemin de Fer means ‘railway’ or ‘railroad’. It is a version in which the shoe with cards moves across the table in land-based casinos. In Chemin De Fer, the player deals the cards and takes bets, acting as the bank.

Cheval – Cheval means ‘across’ in French. Depending on the Baccarat variant, you win a ‘cheval’ bet when both active players win the bets. This bet is only used in European versions of Baccarat.

Cheques – Baccarat is played with special chips called cheques in land-based casinos.

Commission – You might have more chances of wins when you place bets on the banker’s hand. To increase the casino’s house edge, the Banker bet comes with a 5% commission. For example, if the bet is 18.37د.إ, at 1:1 payout, the win would be 36.73د.إ. A 5% commission for this case would be 1.84د.إ, so the actual win is 34.90د.إ. A casino may even lower the commission to 4%. There are also No Commission Baccarat games at online casinos wherein the game will not deduct from your winnings if you bet on the banker.

Coup – A French term that describes a round of Baccarat where one Banker hand and one Player hand are dealt for a round.

Croupier – A French term for the dealer. This may be used across casinos both online and land-based.

Cut – ‘Cutting’ the cards commonly means the decks are divided in half after the cards are shuffled. Typically, the dealer shuffles the cards and places them face-down on the Baccarat table at land-based casinos.

Cut Card – A cut card is a special plastic card that is used for cutting the deck once the cards are shuffled. In land-based casinos, a player gets to put the cut card in the deck and the dealer makes the actual cut at that exact point of the deck. The cards are then placed back in the shoe.

D

Dealer – Dealers are casino professionals who are in charge of dealing the cards, drawing extra cards to the Player and Banker hands, and making sure every game runs smoothly.

Deux Tableau – Another term for Baccarat en Banque.

Discard Tray – This is where discarded cards are placed.

Down Card – A card turned face down. A down card is sometimes also called a hole card.

Dragon Bonus – A Dragon Bonus is a popular side bet in Baccarat that lets players to not only place a bet on Player or Banker but to also bet on the number of points with which the winning hand will beat the other one. The Dragon Bonus pays out if the hand wins with a natural (an eight or a nine) or if the margin is more than four points in Baccarat.

F

Face Cards – All cards which have portraits on them are called face cards. These are Jacks, Queens and Kings of any suit.

Fading – A term used for placing bets against a person. In sports betting, it usually describes betting against an unsuccessful bettor and in open dice games, it’s used to refer to betting against the person casting the dice. In Baccarat, it is applicable only to land-based games.

Flat Bet – A flat bt is when you wager the same amount regardless if the hand is a winning or a losing one.

H

Hand – A hand is the card dealt and played in a game of Baccarat.

High Roller – A high-roller is a gambler who plays with high stakes at casinos.

House Edge – The house edge is the casino’s advantage over the player. In Baccarat, betting on the player comes in with a house edge of 1.24%. The banker bet has a house edge of 1.06%, while tie draw bets give the casino a house edge of 14%.

L

Ladderman – A ladderman is one of the three dealers who is responsible for running the game of Baccarat at land-based casinos.

La Grande – La Grande is derived from the French word ‘The Big One’ which is a natural nine and ultimately the best hand in Baccarat.

La Petite – Again from French ‘The Little One’. The second best hand in a game of Baccarat that totals eight naturally.

Layout – The table layout in Baccarat has boxes where gamblers get to place their bets. Know that you can bet in mainly three ways Player, Banker, or Tie in Baccarat. In some Baccarat game variants, you can even place wagers on side bets.

Loss Bet – Because of its higher house edge, a bet against the bank is referred to as a loss bet.

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M

Match Play – Match play bonuses are offered by casinos to give players advantage to bet on their games. Depending on the casino rules, Baccarat can be considered an even-money game and players can take advantage of the match play bonus and get rewards double their actual money bet without needing to double their bet amount.

Mini Baccarat – A mini baccarat table is a smaller version of the full-size Baccarat table. The mini variant of the game also allows lower table limits and even a faster-paced gameplay.

Monkey – A ‘monkey’ is a slang term used for a ten-value card that is a face card or a ten.

Muck – An eight card deck that contains 52 cards each and used at the start of the shuffling in a game of Baccarat.

N

Natural – The easiest way to win in Baccarat is for your total value of your cards to get nine. When the two cards you are dealt with total either eight or nine. Getting a natural is considered as the best hand in a game of Baccarat.

P

Palette – A palette is a long wooden tool used by the dealers to move the cards around the table during the game of Baccarat.

Pass – A pass is getting a win in a round of Baccarat.

Pit – A pit is an exclusive area in a land-based casino that is separated by a red rope where the high-rollers play Baccarat at high stakes.

Player – A player is one of the three available bets you can do in Baccarat. Winning player bets pays 1:1 which leaves the house with an advantage of 1.24% at most online casinos.

Punter – A punter is a person playing a game of Baccarat. This term is commonly used by Baccarat players in the United Kingdom.

Punto – The word ‘punto’ means player in Spanish.

Punto Banco – ‘Punto Banco’ is one of the most widespread Baccarat versions known to some Baccarat players worldwide. This Baccarat game variant was developed in the 1950s in Argentina, making its way to Cuba and then the USA. Punto banco means Player Banker.

Push – A push is a bet that is neither a winning nor a losing one in Baccarat. You usually get your bets back if the round results in a push.

R

Railroad – A Railroad is another Baccarat version that is sometimes referred to by its French equivalent Chemin de Fer.

Run – A run is a side bet option allowing players to bet on a series of hands in Baccarat.

Shoe – A shoe is typically an automatic dealing machine used in Baccarat to prevent mistakes in manual dealing. The shoe can contain six or eight decks and is used in both land-based and online casino table games.

Shooter – A shooter can be a term used to describe the bank in Baccarat.

Shuffle Up – ‘Shuffle up’ is a term used to refer to the early shuffling of the cards by the dealer in a game of Baccarat.

Skill – A skill is a joke made when a player is enjoying a good run in Baccarat.

Standoff – A standoff is a term that is used to describe an outcome of a round when both the Player and the Bank hands have the same value and are joined in a tie in Baccarat.

Streak – If you have a streak in gambling, it means you’ve had a number of the same consecutive results such as several wins in a row or several losses in a row.

Super Pan Nine – A super pan nine is another variation of Baccarat popular at poker casinos in Los Angeles in the USA. All players are typically dealt three hands-down cards where the player can act as the bank in a game of Baccarat.

T

Table of Play – This is the set of rules which describe the scores that allows players to receive a third card.

Tie – Aside from Player and Banker, the Tie bet is one of the three bets you can make in a game of Baccarat. If a hand ends a tie, it will result in a push which means that the player and the banker will get their wagers back. Tie bets have the highest house edge of 14%.

U

Upcard – A card turned face-up in Baccarat.

V

Vigorish – A vigorish is the percentage which is taken from the winnings of a bet by the casino.

VIP – An acronym for a very important person. In casinos, this term is used to refer to high rollers

Now that you know all these terms used in Baccarat at online casinos, you can now play the game for real money. Playing a Baccarat can be quite exciting when you are completely knowledgeable of the casino table game, especially when you win!