A glossary of baccarat terms

The lexicon of Baccarat is quite simple in comparison to that of other gambling games like Backgammon, Poker, or Perudo. In fact, Most Baccarat terms are related not to the ranking or denomination of particular hands or moves, but to the specific names of each one of the participating sides and to the betting terminology of the game and its related elements. With that short introduction, let us move then to the actual glossary of terms for Baccarat.

Baccarat:
French homologue to “Baccara” an Italian word that means “zero” and that originally named the game before it was renamed in France.

The Player:
one of the two sides that are debating for the best hand of cards. In the Baccarat variant, know as “Punto Banco”, the Player is known as Punto.

The Bank, or Banker:
opposing side to the Player. The player hand and the Bank hand will dispute the victory according to their total value. In the Baccarat variant, know as “Punto Banco”, the Bank is know as Banco, but in other variations like Mini Baccarat, the name remains the same.

Bettors:
also know as players, are the casino customers that sit at a Baccarat table to play for money placing wagers on the Player, Bank or on a tie between them.

The call man:
the casino employee, or the person, who runs the Baccarat game. Under his/her responsibilities, a call man must shuffle the cards (depending on the variation being played) call the total value of each hand (the Player’s and the Banker’s), indicate when to draw a new card and to whom, and declare which hand is the winning one.

The dealers:
the two casino employees in charge of collecting losing bets and paying out the winnings to the respective bettors. In the variant Mini Baccarat, there is only one dealer who plays the combined roles of call man and dealers by him/herself. In France, the name given to the dealer is “Croupier”.

Now, let us enter the territory of the betting and money related terms:

Bankroll:
refers to the total amount of money a specific player/bettor counts on to play the game and place bets on a specific hand.

Auction:
refers to the player bidding on the Bank hand in the Baccarat variant “Chemin de Fer”.
Vigorish, Vig or Juice: the 5% commission paid to the house by the winner of a Bank hand.

VIP:
A bettor who is well known for his/her high stake wagers.

Lammers:
is a term that refers to marked up commissions.

Some other terms you will hear at Baccarat tables:

The shoe:
the place where the card decks are placed.

To Burn:
the act of discarding a certain amount of cards from the deck before the beginning of each game.

Broadway:
the can that holds discarded cards.

Sabot:
French term for the Shoe.

Rule Card:
a card containing all the Baccarat rules.

Down Card:
a card that is facing down.

Face cards:
jacks, queens, kings, and aces cards.

Lace or Comb:
to randomly insert individual cards in different places of a Baccarat deck.