Baccarat Roadmaps Explained: Big Road, Bead Plate and the Derived Roads
Every live baccarat table shows a grid of red and blue circles that looks like a secret code. These scorecards, called roadmaps, are a tradition in Asian casinos. This Nova88 Malaysia guide explains how each road is drawn, what the derived roads actually measure, the pattern names players use, and the one thing every roadmap reader should remember.
Key takeaways
- Roadmaps are scorecards that record past baccarat results in different visual layouts.
- The Bead Plate records every hand in order; the Big Road groups streaks into columns.
- The derived roads (Big Eye Boy, Small Road, Cockroach Road) use red and blue to show whether the Big Road is repeating or changing, not Banker or Player.
- Pattern names such as Long Dragon and Ping Pong describe the past, not the future.
- With eight decks, roadmaps give no practical edge; use them for enjoyment and keep stakes flat.
What is a baccarat roadmap?
A roadmap is a visual record of the results at a baccarat table. In land-based casinos across Macau and Southeast Asia, players traditionally tracked results with pencil and paper. Live casinos now generate these scorecards automatically, and most tables display five of them at once beside the video stream.
Each roadmap presents the same results in a different way. Some show every hand in order; others group streaks or measure how “orderly” the sequence has been. Learning to read them adds to the atmosphere of the game and helps you follow table discussions, even though, as we explain below, they cannot predict what comes next. If you are new to the game itself, start with our live baccarat rules guide.
Colours and symbols used on roadmaps
| Symbol | On the Bead Plate and Big Road | On the derived roads |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Banker win | Repeating / orderly pattern |
| Blue | Player win | Changing / choppy pattern |
| Green | Tie | Not used |
| Small dot on a circle | Banker Pair or Player Pair occurred | Not used |
The most common mistake new players make is reading red on a derived road as “Banker”. On the derived roads, red and blue have a completely different meaning, which we explain in detail below.
The Bead Plate: every hand in order
The Bead Plate (also called the Bead Road) is the simplest roadmap. Each hand is recorded as one circle, filled top to bottom in columns of six, then left to right. Banker wins are red, Player wins are blue and ties are green. Many tables also print the winning total inside each circle.
Because every hand gets its own cell, including ties, the Bead Plate is the most accurate record of the exact sequence. It is useful for checking how many hands have been dealt from the current shoe and how often ties and pairs have appeared. It does not, however, make streaks easy to see, which is why the Big Road exists.
The Big Road: the main scorecard
The Big Road is the primary roadmap and the basis for all the derived roads. It is drawn with hollow circles using these rules:
- The first non-tie result starts the first column at the top left.
- If the next hand has the same winner, the new circle goes directly below the previous one.
- When the winner changes, a new column starts at the top, to the right.
- Ties are not given their own circle; they are marked as a green slash across the most recent result.
- If a streak reaches the bottom of the grid, it turns right along the bottom row, a shape players call a “dragon tail”.
Example: results B, B, B, P, B, P, P would appear as a column of three red circles, then a single blue, then a single red, then a column of two blue.
The length of each column is the length of each streak, so the Big Road lets you see at a glance whether the shoe has produced long runs or frequent alternation.
The derived roads: Big Eye Boy, Small Road and Cockroach Road
The three derived roads are generated from the Big Road. They do not record Banker or Player at all. Instead, each one asks a single question: is the Big Road behaving in a regular, repeating way, or is it irregular? A red mark means regular; a blue mark means irregular.
| Road | Compares the current Big Road column with | Typical symbol | Starts after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Eye Boy | The column one step back | Hollow circles | Second column, second row |
| Small Road | The column two steps back | Solid dots | Third column, second row |
| Cockroach Road | The column three steps back | Diagonal slashes | Fourth column, second row |
In simple terms, when a new Big Road column begins, the derived road checks whether the two columns being compared were the same length. Equal lengths produce red (orderly); different lengths produce blue (choppy). As a column continues downward, the road checks whether the comparison column also reached that depth. The exact rules are fiddly, which is why live tables calculate the derived roads automatically.
“Banker Ask” and “Player Ask” buttons
Many live tables include buttons labelled Banker Ask and Player Ask (sometimes “B?” and “P?”). Tapping one shows how each road would look if the next hand were won by Banker or by Player. This is a convenience feature for players who follow derived-road patterns: it saves them working out the next red or blue mark by hand.
It is important to understand what the preview does and does not do. It shows the drawing consequence of a hypothetical result. It does not estimate which result is more likely. The probabilities of the next hand are the same whatever the preview displays.
Common roadmap pattern names
| Pattern | What it looks like on the Big Road |
|---|---|
| Long Dragon (streak) | One long column of the same colour |
| Ping Pong (chop) | Many single-circle columns alternating red and blue |
| Double or two-cut | Repeated columns of exactly two |
| Step or staircase | Columns that grow or shrink by one each time |
| Dragon tail | A streak that hits the bottom row and runs right |
These names are part of baccarat culture and make it easy to describe a shoe. They are descriptions of what has already happened.
Do roadmaps predict the next hand?
No. This is the most important point in this guide. In a shoe of eight decks, removing a few dozen cards changes the probabilities of Banker, Player and Tie by tiny fractions of a percent, far too little to overcome the house edge. The Banker bet keeps an edge of about 1.06% and the Player bet about 1.24%, whatever the roadmaps show.
Human brains are very good at seeing patterns in random sequences. A Long Dragon or a Ping Pong run feels meaningful, but streaks of that kind appear naturally in random results all the time. This “gambler’s fallacy” is explained with numbers in our roulette betting patterns guide, and the same logic applies to the Dragon Tiger roadmaps.
Use roadmaps for enjoyment, not as a system. Following a road is fine if it adds fun, but never increase stakes because a pattern seems “due”.
How to use roadmaps sensibly
- Enjoy them as part of the game. Choosing Banker or Player because a road is red is no worse than any other method, since both bets have similar edges.
- Keep stakes flat. Do not double up after losses or raise stakes during a streak; see our bankroll management guide.
- Avoid table-hopping to chase roads. Moving between tables to find a “good” pattern simply increases how many hands you play per hour.
- Set a time limit. Multi-table lobbies make it easy to play for longer than planned.
Live baccarat roadmaps on Nova88 Malaysia
Nova88 offers baccarat tables with full roadmap displays from providers such as SA Gaming, AE Sexy, Evolution and AllBet, all in one live casino lobby.
- Sign in through the Nova88 Login page and open the Casino section.
- Browse the baccarat lobby, where most tables show a mini Big Road preview.
- Join a table to see all five roadmaps beside the video stream.
- Check table rules and limits, then play within your budget.
Related reading: Trusted Online Casino Malaysia.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Big Road in baccarat?
The Big Road is the main baccarat scorecard. Same winners stack downward in a column, and a new column starts each time the winner changes. Ties are marked with a green slash.
What does red mean on the Big Eye Boy road?
On the derived roads, red means the Big Road is behaving in an orderly, repeating way and blue means it is choppy. It does not mean Banker or Player.
What is the Bead Plate?
The Bead Plate records every hand, including ties, in order, filling columns of six from top to bottom and left to right.
Can baccarat roadmaps predict the next result?
No. With eight decks, previous results have a negligible effect on the next hand, and the house edge stays the same whatever the roads show.
What is a Long Dragon in baccarat?
A Long Dragon is a long streak of the same result, shown as a tall column on the Big Road.
What do the Banker Ask and Player Ask buttons do?
They preview how each roadmap would look if the next hand were won by Banker or Player. They do not show which result is more likely.
Responsible gaming. Casino games carry a real risk of financial loss, and results are random. Set a budget before you play, never chase losses, and take regular breaks. Read the Nova88 responsible gaming policy for tools and support. You must be of legal age and permitted to gamble where you live.
Editorial note: payouts, house edge and RTP figures are typical or provider-published values for education only. Always check the rules and paytable of the exact game or table you play.
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