Baccarat Terminology
| Updated: Understanding Baccarat Terms for a Better Gaming Experience
Baccarat is one of the classiest games you can play at a casino, with many land-based casinos dedicating special areas of their gaming floors to baccarat tables. In the past, baccarat tables were accessible exclusively to high rollers, as the game was well known for its high-stakes wagers. Nowadays, baccarat has become more accessible, with many online variations offering low betting limits and making the game suitable for a wider range of players.
One of the many reasons players enjoy baccarat is the game’s simplicity. With straightforward rules and gameplay that require few decisions or actions, baccarat is suitable for both beginners and experienced players. If you want to enjoy a few baccarat sessions, you can head to the nearest brick-and-mortar casino offering the game, or simply register with almost any online casino and choose from various virtual and live-dealer baccarat tables. Before you start wagering real money on the game, however, we recommend becoming familiar with the terms you might encounter while playing. To make this process easier, we have provided definitions of popular baccarat terms, helping you better understand the game whenever you wish to test your luck.
-
Sign Up Bonus
Up to $100
100% Bonus!9.7 -
Sign Up Bonus
Up to $30000
100% Bonus!9.4 -
Sign Up Bonus
Up to $1000
200% Bonus!9.3
Table Personnel Terminology
Callman – Large baccarat tables are staffed by three dealers, each of whom performs a distinct duty. One of these dealers is referred to as the callman, or caller, and is positioned in the middle of the table, facing all players. The callman is responsible for handling the cards, placing them in the corresponding areas of the layout, determining whether additional cards can be drawn according to the predetermined drawing rules, and verbally announcing the winning hand, hence the name “callman.”
Croupier – Croupier is derived from the Old French word croupe, which was used to denote the back part of a horse. Initially, the word croupier referred to a person who stood behind a player and backed them with extra cash during a betting session, hence the analogy with a horse’s rump. The word’s meaning gradually evolved, and it is now used for a casino representative. In baccarat, it refers to the callman who oversees the game and announces the results of the coups.
Dealer – A distinction should be made between the callman, or croupier, and the other dealers in baccarat. A dealer stands on either side of a large baccarat table, while the callman is positioned in the middle. Unlike the callman, these dealers do not come into direct contact with the cards. They handle the money on the table, paying winners and collecting the chips of losing players.
Ladderman – The role of a baccarat ladderman is similar to that of a pit boss in craps. The ladderman is responsible for overseeing the game and sits in a special high chair positioned above the baccarat table, enabling them to keep close track of all the action.
The purpose of the ladderman is to ensure that everyone follows the rules and to prevent or correct mistakes made by the caller or the two dealers. Laddermen also intervene if disputes occur at the table. If a ladderman spots a cheater, they call security or surveillance but do not leave their high perch above the table. Sometimes, one ladderman may be responsible for overseeing several baccarat tables at the same time.
Pit – Tables with high limits are normally kept separate from other casino games on the main floor and placed in a roped-off area called a pit. This atmosphere of exclusivity makes baccarat particularly alluring to high rollers, as it enables them to gamble for higher stakes away from the noise of the main casino floor.
Shill – The practice of shilling has almost become obsolete, but in the past, many casinos hired shills, also called starters, to attract more betting activity. A shill would take a seat at an empty baccarat table without revealing that they worked with the house. Once seated, the shill would secretly bet with the house’s money while pretending to be a regular player.
Not surprisingly, casinos predominantly employed young and attractive women or men as shills at their baccarat tables. A shill should not be mistaken for a proposition player. The latter is also a casino employee and, as such, is on the house’s payroll, but uses their own money when betting at the tables.
Table Equipment Terminology
Cheques – Cheques are chips intended specifically for play at baccarat tables. They are a different size from the chips used in other table games, further contributing to the sense of exclusivity associated with baccarat.
Continuous Shuffle Machine – Often abbreviated as CSM, a continuous shuffle machine is a special card-shuffling device used at blackjack and baccarat tables. At the end of each coup, the caller collects the discarded cards from the table and places them back into the CSM. Its mechanism operates continuously, shuffling the decks throughout the game and ensuring the randomness of the deal. These machines are used at some tables primarily because they speed up the game, as the callman does not have to shuffle the decks manually at the end of a shoe.
Cut Card – This is a plastic card inserted near the end of the baccarat shoe to indicate when the callman should reshuffle. After reaching the cut card, the callman must deal enough cards to finish the current coup and then play one final hand before reshuffling and starting a new shoe.
Discards – Discards are cards that have already been dealt from the shoe and are no longer in play until the reshuffle. They are stored in a discard tray until the cut card is reached and a fresh shoe begins.
Lammers – Lammers are small laminated discs used by dealers to mark commissions on winning banker wagers.
Layout – Large baccarat tables can accommodate up to twelve players, with six players sitting on either side of the caller. In contrast, mini baccarat tables can accommodate no more than seven players. The table layout contains the commission and betting boxes, with the available bets and their payouts printed on it.
Marker – A marker is a piece of paper that a player must sign when borrowing credit from the house.
Muck – The muck is a freshly shuffled baccarat shoe containing eight French decks of 52 cards each.
Palette – This is a flat wooden bat used by the caller to move cards around the table. In player-banked games, the palette also indicates which player is currently acting as the banker. The palettes used at high-roller tables in luxurious casinos are often exquisitely crafted pieces of equipment decorated with elaborate ornaments, further adding to the sophisticated atmosphere at the tables. Palettes have been an essential piece of equipment at baccarat tables since the 15th century.
Rule Card – Rule cards contain the fixed rules by which baccarat and chemin de fer variations are played.
Baccarat Variations
Baccarat à Deux Tableaux – This baccarat variation features the banker hand playing against two player hands at the same time. It is also known as Baccarat en Banque and is found mostly in European gambling venues. Interestingly, spectators observing the game are permitted to place bets if the participating players cannot cover the banker’s bet entirely. The name of the variation translates as “baccarat on two tables.”
Chemin de Fer – This is one of the most popular variations of the game and is available mainly in European casinos. In Chemin de Fer, players take turns acting as the banker in a clockwise rotation. In effect, they bet against each other rather than playing against the house. US casinos moved away from Chemin de Fer in favor of baccarat toward the end of the 1950s. The name of the variation means “railway” in French.
Dragon Tiger – This distinctive baccarat variation is particularly popular in Asian casinos, especially those in Macau. The main difference is that the player and banker hands consist of one card instead of two. The objective is to predict which of the two hands will receive the higher-ranking card. The characteristics of this variation allow players to make various proposition bets.
Mini Baccarat – Mini baccarat follows the same rules as the standard variation of the game. The key difference lies in the size of the semicircular table, which is smaller and managed by a single casino staff member instead of three. Consequently, the smaller table can accommodate fewer players, usually up to seven.
Baccarat Bets Terminology
Banker Bet – The banker bet is one of three possible betting options in baccarat, along with the player and tie bets. Winning banker bets offer even-money payouts, but the house collects a 5% commission from these wagers. In effect, banker bets pay at a rate of 19 to 20. This wager yields the smallest house edge, at only 1.06%.
Loss Bet – This term refers to a wager made against the banker.
Player Bet – The player bet is one of the three possible bets you can place in baccarat. It has a house edge of 1.24%.
Tie Bet – This is the last of the three main bet types in baccarat. Players are generally advised to avoid it because the tie bet gives the house a higher advantage of 14.36%. With this wager, you are betting on the player and banker hands ending in a tie, meaning they have the same total.
Baccarat Hands
Baccarat – The term baccarat is also used to refer to the worst possible hand in this game, with a total value of zero. It is similar to a roll of 2, 3, or 12 in craps, which causes pass line bets to lose. In baccarat, this worthless total always loses unless the other hand, whether player or banker, also has a total of zero and the result is a push.
Le Grand – This is a natural, defined below, with a total of 9.
Le Petit – This is the “smaller” natural, with a total of 8.
Natural Hand – Naturals are the strongest pat hands you can receive in any card game. In baccarat, naturals are pat hands with a total of either 8 or 9. No additional cards are drawn to a natural. Such a hand loses only to a higher natural. For example, a banker total of 8 loses if the player hand has a total of 9.
Etiquette and Player/Dealer Actions
Banco Prime – This rule is used primarily in player-banked baccarat variations such as Chemin de Fer, meaning games in which one of the players at the table assumes the role of banker. In such games, the role of banker rotates, with players taking turns after each coup. Similar to the small blind in poker, the banker posts a forced bet at the start of the coup.
One of the players can match the banker’s bet by calling out banco. Sometimes, several players announce banco, but in such instances, the privilege is awarded to the player sitting immediately to the banker’s right. That player announces banco prime to indicate this privilege.
However, many gambling experts believe that baccarat is not a countable game because it follows fixed drawing rules. Baccarat is a symmetrical game, as no card ranks provide a greater advantage to either the player or the house.
Carte – This French word translates as “card.” The term is used to request an additional card from the callman.
Card Burning – This action involves the dealer discarding cards from the freshly shuffled shoe before the game begins. Unlike blackjack, where only one card is burned at the start of a new shoe, baccarat callers burn multiple cards. The callman first takes one card from the shoe, and the number of pips it shows determines how many cards must then be burned. Note that face cards have a value of 10 instead of 0 when cards are burned. Therefore, if the dealer first draws a queen, they will remove ten cards from the shoe.
Fading – This term is used in player-banked variations of baccarat when the players cover all or part of the banker’s bet.
Flat Betting – Flat betting involves wagering the same amount of money on each baccarat coup. In contrast, players using betting progressions vary the size of their wagers depending on the result of the previous coup.
Pass – To pass means to win a hand in baccarat.
Push – When the player and banker hands have the same total, they are said to “push.” The same term is used in blackjack to denote a tie, in which case no money changes hands because neither the house nor the player wins or loses.
Shuffling Up – This occurs when the dealer at the baccarat table unexpectedly decides to shuffle the shoe before reaching the cut card.
Squeezing – This is a practice among some baccarat dealers who gradually reveal the face-down cards on the table. Although squeezing the cards adds to the game’s entertainment value, it has no impact on the order in which the cards leave the shoe.
Squeezing is sometimes permitted in player-banked games as well, but only one person is allowed to squeeze the cards for the player bet and another for the banker bet. These are usually the two people at the table who have placed the largest bets on the player and banker hands.
Stand-Off – This is another term for a push, or tie, between the player and banker hands.
Miscellaneous Terms
Baccarat Bankroll – Your bankroll is the amount of money you bring to the baccarat table to use during a betting session.
Coup – A coup is a single round of play at the baccarat table.
Court Card – A court card is another term for a face card, such as a jack, queen, or king.
Casino Commission – The casino commission is the 5% fee the house collects from each winning banker bet. In some casinos, you may find baccarat tables where this percentage is reduced to 3% or 4%, causing the house edge on banker bets to drop even further.
Down Card – This term refers to a card dealt face down on the table.
Face Cards – These are the jacks, queens, and kings in a baccarat shoe. They are worth zero points in the game.
House Edge – The statistical long-term advantage the casino holds over players is called the house edge. Baccarat is one of the games with the lowest house edge, although the exact percentage depends on the selected bet. The banker bet gives the house its lowest edge, at only 1.06%. This percentage increases to 1.24% for player bets and 14.36% for tie bets.
High Roller – A high roller is an important patron in the eyes of casino personnel because they wager substantial amounts of money in baccarat and other table games.
Monkeys – When passing baccarat or blackjack tables, you may hear players shouting, “Monkey! Monkey!” They are referring to the face cards in the shoe, which are also called “courts”. Players may also refer to them as “monarchy cards.”
The nickname is said to have arisen from a mispronunciation of the word “monarchy” that sounded like “monkey.” It later caught on among English-speaking players, who sometimes use it as well.
Punto – Punto is a Spanish word denoting the player bet. Allegedly, the term first emerged in gambling venues in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata.
Shooter – Shooter is used to refer to the bank or the player who assumes the role of banker in player-banked baccarat variations.
Upcard – A card dealt face up is called an upcard.
Whale – A whale is essentially the same as a high roller, meaning a gambler who plays with a substantial bankroll and bets large amounts of money on each coup.