Baccarat Glossary

Baccarat has a long standing tradition as one of the most popular casino table games. However, this is not a game for just anyone. It is a series of rules and bets that must be followed to be successful. This is why many casinos have begun offering classes in baccarat gambling to help educate their patrons.  Often online casinos will also provide a guide to the various bets and strategies.

To get started on the right path to successful baccarat play it helps to know the terms and words used at the tables. Below you will find a list of the most commonly used words and what they mean. This will help you better understand what the game is all about.

Action:

This is the amount of money that any given player has bet on the outcome of the hand. This varies per table and the rules of the house.

Baccarat:

A table game requiring little skill where the face cards of the deck all equal zero in points value.

Banco:

Bank or dealer. This is the player that is in possession of the shoe or cards. This term is not widely used in the gambling world today but has popped up in some of the older online casinos.

Banker:

Same as above. The player that is acting as the dealer.

Bankroll:

This is the total amount of money that a player intends to wager at any given table or in the casino as a whole.

Burn Card:

A card that is removed from the deck and placed in the discard pile after the shuffle has been completed. Neither the bank nor the player will know the value of the card.

Chemin De Fer:

This is the French version of the baccarat. Several online casinos use this in referring to variations of the common game.

Coup:

Refers to one round of play in baccarat. Normally all bets have been placed and all cards have been dealt.

Croupier:

This is a French word meaning caller. This is the person that controls the action of the game. However, there are variations where only the dealer has the control, known as mini-baccarat.

Cut:

The act of dividing the deck into two parts after the shuffle and before the cards are dealt.

Cut Card:

This is a card that is presented to the player that is making the cut. This is normally made of solid colored plastic and features the name of the casino. In online baccarat this is usually feature in an animated side view even though no cut happens.

Deal:

This simply means that the cards are distributed to the players. In online baccarat you would use the deal button to start the game and begin betting as well.

Dealer:

The player who distributes the cards and who is controlling the action. This is dependent upon the version that you are playing and varies widely by country and style.

Discard Tray:

A tray where the unused cards are placed once a hand has been finished. This is animated in online play to give the players a feeling of realism.

Down Card:

A simple reference to a card that is dealt face down and remains that way throughout play until the player has been called.

Edge:

This is a statistical advantage that the house has over the players. Most often you will see gambling experts refer to this number in percentage form when advising on what games should be played.

Face Card:

Any card that is a king, queen or jack. In baccarat these cards equal zero in value. Depending on the part of the world these might also be referred to as picture cards because they depict a picture.

Flat Bet:

Refers to a player that is betting the same amount each and every hand.

Natural:

This refers to an 8 or a 9 that is dealt on one of the first two cards.

Shoe:

This is the holder for the cards. Most of the casinos use multi-deck shoes that will allow them to easier fool the card counters and so on. The shoe is in the possession of the dealer during the standard baccarat game play.

Standoff:

This is a tie between the player and the dealer.

Up card:

Any card that is dealt to players that is facing up for all too see during the regular game play.