When you’re walking into a casino to sit yourself down at the exclusive baccarat table you may be feeling a bit anxious or out of place, however, what will make you keep your cool and own the baccarat table is to understand the baccarat terms being used. Discover more below.
Get Familiar With The Baccarat Terms At These Casinos
A
Action: This is the term used for the hands being played at the table and the money being wagered throughout the game.
B
Baccarat: Refers to the name of the game, and also to the worst hand which is two cards amounting to zero points.
Baccarat en Banque: This is a more complicated version of baccarat which is played mainly in European casinos. It has a different amount of players at the table. It’s also known as Chemin De Fer.
Banco: The Spanish word for the banker. In a live casino, this is the player who has the shoe and deals the cards, even though the name is just symbolic as the player will not manage the bets and money at the table.
Banker Bet: This is one of the three betting options in baccarat. It pays even money and has a house edge of 1.17%, but it also takes 5% commission on your winnings which evens out the low house edge. This bet pays 19:20 on your winnings.
Bankroll: The total amount of money a player has to play baccarat. This term is also used for all casino games.
Banque: This is a version of Baccarat found in some American casinos.
Burning: Removing the top 3-6 cards after shuffling before the start of the game.
C
Callman: The casino employee who turns the card and calls out the points, he also determines the gameplay following the baccarat third card rules. Also called a croupier.
Card Counting: The most popular strategy to use in baccarat. Baccarat Card Counting is the system whereby the players mark which cards have been dealt from the shoe to determine which outcome will be most likely, the player or the banker winning.
Carte: This is the French term for a card, used to ask for a card from the dealer.
Chemin De Fer: This is a more complicated version of baccarat which is played mainly in European casinos. It has a different amount of players at the table. It’s also known as Baccarat en Banque.
Cheques: Special chips specifically made for baccarat to add to the exclusivity.
Commission: This is the fee that the casino charges on winning bets in baccarat, placed on the banker bet which is normally 5%. This is the same as in most other casino games, but with some other games, the commission is charged on the bet itself. It exists to counteract the low house edge of a particular bet.
Coup: The French term for one round of Baccarat.
Croupier: The French word for the callman.
D
Dealer: At the largest casinos, the dealers are the two casino employees who are positioned at either side of the baccarat table with the croupier standing in the middle between them. They only handle the bets and the money at the table, not the cards.
Discard Tray: In a live casino, this is a tray which stores all the discarded cards or those which have already been dealt at the table.
Down Card: This is a card which is dealt to a player face down.
F
Face Cards: The Jack, Queen and King of any suit which are worth zero in baccarat.
Flat Bet: When a player wagers the same bet continuously throughout various rounds of a game without moderation.
H
Hand: The cards dealt and played within one round of baccarat.
High-roller: A player who makes bets with very large sums of money. Baccarat is synonymous with high-rollers because of the very high minimum bets, the exclusive area in the large casino where baccarat is played, and the extremely wealthy clientele this game attracts which can see millions played at the table in a large casino.
House Edge: The built-in casino advantage on a bet.
L
Ladderman: The casino employee who supervises the baccarat table in a live casino from above the table.
La Grand Natural: The winning hand in baccarat – two cards that equal nine points combined.
Le Petit Natural: The second winning hand in baccarat- two cards that equal eight points combined.
M
Mini-baccarat: A smaller version of table baccarat which was used to popularize the game as a staple in all casinos. Mini baccarat is only half the size, with one 7 players to a table. It has much lower minimum bets, and in a live casino there is one dealer who manages the bets, calls the bets, draws the cards, as well as regulates how the game proceeds.
N
Natural: When you are dealt your first two cards and they are a winning hand equalling eight or nine. This ends the rounds, and winnings from bets are collected.
P
Palette: A long rectangular and flat wooden stick used by the croupier to move cards on the table in a live casino.
Pit: Exclusive roped off area in the casino where the high-rolling baccarat table is.
Player bet: One of three bets available in baccarat. It has a house edge of 1.36% and pays even money.
Punto: The Spanish term for the player bet, originating in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Punto Banco: The Spanish name for modern baccarat which originated in the casinos of Mar del Plata in Argentina.
S
Shills: A now outdated practice of hiring an overly-sexualised female who is a casino employee, used to lure people to the Baccarat table in a live casino.
Shoe: An automatic dealing box from which the dealer will take the cards. In a live casino at a regular baccarat table, this will be the player who makes the largest bet, who will then hand it to the player who made the second-largest bet, and so forth. In mini-baccarat, this will be done by the dealer employed by the casino, and online the shoe is automatic.
T
Tie bet: The tie bet is one of three betting options within the game. This bet pays 8 to 1 as the outcome of a tie between banker and player is very rare. It also has a very high house advantage of 14.2%.
Vigorish: The percentage which is taken from the winnings of a bet by the casino.
Upcard: A card which is face-up on the table.
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