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What are baccarat roads?
If you’ve ever played baccarat you will have noticed that grids, the Baccarat Roads, cover most of the player interface. The grids are full of various circles, dots, and lines in different colors.
Yes, we know that they look super confusing at first glance, but the truth is that there’s a lot of information to gather from these stats!
(We suggest grabbing a Tzinga—things are about to get advanced.)
Roads
Roads and statistics in games like baccarat, are bound to split the crowd.
On the one hand, you’ll have those stating that baccarat is a game of chance, and therefore, each new hand will be completely unbiased from the other.
On the other hand are those who love to predict and plan their next bet. This article is for those people.
Road views
Passionate baccarat players don’t settle for just one type of road view; they want multiple perspectives to spot patterns and opportunities.
This is why you’ll see different setups of road views when playing baccarat online.
The Bead Plate is the most used, while Big Road, Big Eye Boy, Small Road, and Cockroach Pig all offer their unique take on the game.
Bead Plate
The Bead Plate is read from top to bottom, starting at the upper left corner. This view can show letters (B, P, T) or numbers (0-9) on the circles, depending on your preference.
If we compare these statistics to other table games, it is the one that resembles “standard” statistics the most.
In the image above, you can see that the Banker won, then the Player, followed by a Banker win, a Banker win with a Player Pair, Banker, and Player, for the first six hands.
Bead Plate colors & dots
- Blue big circle: Player
- Blue small dot: Player Pair
- Red big circle: Banker
- Red small dot: Banker Pair
- Green big circle: Tie
Big Road
The Big Road displays the same information as the Bead Plate, but here, the stats are shown from left to right, without the option to see the winning hand’s value.
Looking at the example, we can see that the Banker won once, then the Player won once, after that, the Banker won three times, after which the Player won twice.
While the Bead Plate shows a condensed version of the game history, the Big Road makes it easier to spot patterns.
Big Road colors, dots, and lines
The circles and dots work in the same way as they do for the Bead Plate. Red circles are Banker wins, red dots Banker Pairs, blue circles are Player wins, and blue dots are Player Pairs.
The main difference appears in ties, where a green diagonal line marks it.
Big Eye Boy
Alright, we won’t lie; this is where it gets complicated. If you haven’t had that Tzinga yet, now is definitely the time.
To understand the Big Eye Boy, you’ll need to forget what you learned about the Big Road and Bead Plate colors.
But you still have to read the Big Road to understand the Big Eye Boy. Confused? Perfect, let’s continue.
The purpose of the Big Eye Boy
The Big Eye Boy is all about patterns, specifically repetitive or non-repetitive patterns.
Avid baccarat players believe that the key to success lies in predicting the next step, and understanding if the deck is repetitive or not is a big part of that key.
The red circle signifies a repetitive shoe, while the blue circle signals that the shoe is more chaotic.
How to read the Big Eye Boy
The Big Eye Boy will start to enter data to its grid from the first hand dealt after the first hand in the second column on the Big Road.
Two vertical rows of circles are added to the same grid simply to save space. In theory, the Big Eye Boy doesn’t need the grid.
- If that hand creates a new column on Big Road, you’ll have to compare the road’s first and second columns. If the circles are the same number, a red circle is added to the Big Eye Boy. A blue circle is added if they are not identical.
- If the hand adds to the second column instead of creating a new one, the next circle’s color is determined by checking the cell to the left of the new entry and the cell above the left cell on the grid. If these two are identical, it’s a red circle. If not, it’s blue.
Big Eye Boy colors
- Blue: Symbolises an unpredictable and “choppy” shoe.
- Red big circle: Symbolises a repetitive and predictable shoe.
Small Road
The Small Road is identical to the Big Eye Boy. The difference is that it will skip the column to the left of the current one of the Big Road.
Small Road entries begin after the first entry is made in the third column of the Big Road.
How to read the Small Road
If you’ve got the hang of reading the Big Eye Boy, you’ll read the Small Road just fine.
The rule here is to pretend that the column directly to the left of the current one on the Big Road doesn’t exist.
In other words, follow the steps of Big Eye Boy, but either compare the first and third column or the second cell to the left and the one above that one. This will give you the new entry of the Small Road.
Cockroach Pig
Playing off the Small Road, we have the last baccarat road type, also known as the Cockroach Pig.
Entries to this “road” start after the first entry is made in the fourth column of the Big Road.
The origin of the name “Cockroach Pig”
It is believed that “Cockroach” comes from the Cantonese word kat tsat lo (曱甴路), which translates to Xuntong Road. The simplified “Cockroach” name is used because it’s understood by both Cantonese and Mandarin speakers and resembles the Cantonese pronunciation.
“Pig,” on the other hand, is as simple as a snippet of a direct translation from a Chinese name for the road.
How to read the Cockroach Pig
Like with the Small Road, you’ll here pretend that columns two and three don’t exist.
Just follow the same tactic as when reading the Big Eye Boy, pretend that the two columns to the left of the current one aren’t there, and you are good to go!
The Dragon Tail
The grids shown in the interface are six cells deep (from top to bottom).
When the Big Road lines up wins for one side that exceed the number of vertical cells, the next identical win will be placed to the right of the bottom cell and continue horizontally.
Baccarat players call this pattern a Dragon Tail.
If a Dragon Tail happens and you are reading the Big Eye Boy, you’ll have to pretend that the Big Road is infinitely deep and that the “tail” actually continues vertically, below what’s visible on the screen.
Baccarat predictions
If you find the roads too complicated, you can use the “P?” and “B?” buttons in the upper right-hand corner above the Big Road.
You’ll find these at Evolution’s baccarat tables, where prediction buttons reveal the potential next winning hand based on combined statistics from all roads.
Some call this cheating, others a blessing. It’s up to you to decide if you want to use them or not.
When to use baccarat roads
Some baccarat players swear by the roads of baccarat, while others do well and have fun without even glancing at it.
The truth is that baccarat is an amazingly entertaining game, even without the use of roads.
Therefore, we recommend that you use baccarat roads when you want to enhance your gameplay further and dive deeper into the mesmerizing world of baccarat.
In the end, no other casino game offers such intricate data as baccarat, so if you are looking for excitement, predictions, and patterns, baccarat and its roads are your key to success.
