Table & Live Games
Baccarat Roadmaps Explained
Live baccarat tables display colourful scoreboards called roads. They are a record of past results. Here is how to read them, and why they cannot tell you what comes next.
Why tables show roadmaps
Roadmaps come from land-based baccarat in Asia, where players traditionally tracked results on paper. Live casino tables now display them automatically. They are useful for following the history of the shoe, and many players simply enjoy them, but they are records, not forecasts.
Colours and symbols
Most tables use red for Banker, blue for Player and green for Tie. Small dots in the corner of a symbol often mark a Player Pair or Banker Pair.
The five common roads
| Road | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Bead plate | Every result in order, filling each column top to bottom, including ties |
| Big road | Streaks: a new column starts whenever the winner changes between Banker and Player; ties are marked on the existing symbol |
| Big eye boy | A derived road comparing the big road's columns to show whether patterns are repeating |
| Small road | A similar derived road that compares columns further apart |
| Cockroach pig | A third derived road comparing columns even further apart |
The three derived roads do not show Banker or Player at all. Red and blue in these roads mean "pattern consistent" and "pattern broken" respectively, based on comparisons within the big road.
Reading the big road: an example
If the results are Banker, Banker, Player, Banker, Banker, Banker, the big road shows a column of two red marks, then a column of one blue mark, then a column of three red marks. This makes streaks and "choppy" switches easy to see at a glance.
Can roadmaps predict the next hand?
No. Each hand is dealt from a shuffled shoe, and the chance of Banker or Player winning changes only very slightly as cards are used. Past results do not create "streaks that must continue" or "patterns that must break". Believing they do is the gambler's fallacy, the same mistake explained in our slot myths article.
A healthy way to use roadmaps
Use roadmaps for what they are: a quick summary of the shoe so far. Decide your budget and bet size in advance, and let the scoreboard add to the atmosphere rather than drive your betting. For the rules of the game, see how to play baccarat.