Technical Terms Used in the Game of Baccarat
As you move along in understanding the game of Baccarat, one way or another you'll come to find out that the terms used in the game are not all in English. In fact, Baccarat has technical terms in Italian, French, and Spanish. Understanding the meaning of these words within the context of the game will surely help our understanding even better.
Here's a list of technical terms (some of them will be in a foreign language) used in Baccarat.
Action: this term refers to the total amount of money used by a player to wager in the game.
Baccarat: in Italian this would mean zero. Interestingly enough if a hand gets a total of ten in Baccarat that hand will get a zero.
Baccara: this would be Italian for Baccarat.
Banco: in Spanish this would mean banker. This will refer to the dealer or player who deals and plays hands from the shoe. In some variations of Baccarat, the action will be financed by the banker while other variations will have the banker book it. The dealer is usually the banker in a game.
Banker: this term will refer to the one who holds the shoe. This role will be shouldered either by one of the players or usually the dealer. This is essentially the same as the Baccarat term Banco.
Banque: this is the usual type of Baccarat you'll find in North America.
Burn Card: this term would refer to a card that is removed from the deck every time it is shuffled.
Chemin de Fer: this term refers to of Baccarat 's French version.
Coup: French term meaning one round in the game.
Croupier: a French term meaning the dealer.
Dealer: In American Baccarat these are the two house employees who collect losing bets and pays winners. They don't necessarily deal the cards.
Discard Tray: this term refers to the tray that holds the discarded cards.
Ladderman: this term refers to the casino employee who sits on a chair high above the Baccarat table and supervises the game.
Le Grande: French term meaning a natural (i.e. a hand valuing nine that instantly wins).
Palette: the tool used to move the cards.
Punto: Spanish and Italian terms (i.e. English is Point), which refers to the player bet.
Shoe: the wooden device that holds the cards.
Standoff: this term refers to a tie.
Up card: a card in Baccarat that is dealt face up.
These are the terms used in Baccarat. We don't have to be intimidated by the foreign terms used in the game. Understanding these Baccarat terms facilitate our understanding of the game.