Once baccarat players learn how Big Eye Boy compares adjacent Big Road columns (lookback L = 1), the next question at the scoreboard is always the same: why does the bottom half of the display need both the Small Road (小路) and the Cockroach Pig (曱甴路)?
The answer comes down to even versus odd column lookback. Small Road uses a 2-column lookback (skipping 1 Big Road column, L = 2), which means it always compares Banker columns against earlier Banker columns and Player columns against earlier Player columns. Cockroach Pig uses a 3-column lookback (skipping 2 Big Road columns, L = 3), which crosses sides to compare every column against the opposite side three columns earlier. Below is how both roads work, why they diverge dramatically on the same shoe, and how to inspect them side by side in our free Baccarat Calculator & Road Decoder.
Small Road vs Cockroach Pig: structural comparison
Both grids apply the exact same two derived-road rules as Big Eye Boy. Neither road cares whether Banker or Player won the hand; on both grids, red never means Banker and blue never means Player. Instead, Red (=) means the Big Road repeated its structure at that lookback distance, and Blue (≠) means the structure broke. For a broader overview that also includes Big Eye Boy and the main boards, see our three derived roads comparison and complete guide to reading baccarat roads.
| Dimension | Small Road (小路) | Cockroach Pig (曱甴路) |
|---|---|---|
| Lookback Distance (L) | L = 2 columns back (skip-1 column) | L = 3 columns back (skip-2 columns) |
| Scoreboard Symbol | Solid filled dot (●) — see all scoreboard symbols | Diagonal forward slash (/) |
| Earliest Trigger Cell on Big Road | Column 3, Row 2 (or Column 4, Row 1 if Column 3 has only 1 bead) | Column 4, Row 2 (or Column 5, Row 1 if Column 4 has only 1 bead) |
| Rule 1 — New Column (Row 1 of Col c) | Compares finished Col (c − 1) depth with Col (c − 3) depth (2 columns further back) | Compares finished Col (c − 1) depth with Col (c − 4) depth (3 columns further back) |
| Rule 2 — Continuing Down (Row r ≥ 2 of Col c) | Checks Col (c − 2) at Row r (3 cases: bead at Row r → Red; stopped 1 row above → Blue; stopped >1 row above → Red) | Checks Col (c − 3) at Row r (3 cases: bead at Row r → Red; stopped 1 row above → Blue; stopped >1 row above → Red) |
| Same-Side vs Cross-Side Comparison | Same-side: compares Banker columns with Banker columns and Player columns with Player columns | Cross-side: compares Banker columns with Player columns 3 steps back (and vice versa) |
| Big Road Rhythm That Produces Pure Red | Period-2 rhythms (e.g., 3-2-3-2-3-2 or 4-1-4-1-4-1) plus flat chop or equal pairs | Period-3 rhythms (e.g., 2-1-1-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-3-2-1) plus flat chop or equal pairs |
How Rule 1 and all 3 cases of Rule 2 apply to L=2 and L=3
Before tracing our worked shoe, make sure you have the exact plain-English rules for both lookback distances. Every mark on Small Road (L = 2) and Cockroach Pig (L = 3) is decided by whether the new Big Road bead started a column at Row 1 or continued down a column to Row 2 or deeper:
- Rule 1 (New Column at Row 1 of Column c): When a hand changes sides and starts Column
cat Row 1, look at the column that just finished (Columnc − 1) and compare its bead count against the columnLsteps further back—Columnc − 3for Small Road, or Columnc − 4for Cockroach Pig:- Case 1A (Same depth): Both columns have the same number of beads → Red (=).
- Case 1B (Different depth): The two columns have different bead counts → Blue (≠).
- Rule 2 (Continuing Down to Row r ≥ 2 of Column c): When the same side wins again and moves down Column
cto Rowr, lookLcolumns back at Columnc − 2(Small Road) or Columnc − 3(Cockroach Pig). Rule 2 always has three cases, never two:- Case 2A (Has a bead at Row r too): The reference column reached at least Row
r→ Red (=). - Case 2B (Stopped at Row r − 1, one row above): The reference column ended on the exact row above Row
r(the first missing row) → Blue (≠). - Case 2C (Stopped more than one row above Row r): The reference column already finished two or more rows higher up → Red (=).
- Case 2A (Has a bead at Row r too): The reference column reached at least Row
Worked divergence shoe: BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT (18 hands)
To see why a live scoreboard needs both Small Road and Cockroach Pig, examine this 18-hand shoe (11 Banker wins, 6 Player wins, and 1 Tie on Hand 18):
BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT
On the Big Road, BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT builds 7 columns with depths 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2 (plus 1 green Tie slash on Column 7, Row 2). Every Banker column (Columns 1, 3, 5) runs 3 beads deep, while every Player column (Columns 2, 4, 6) runs 2 beads deep:
Bead Plate
Big Road
Big Eye Boy
Small Road
Cockroach Pig
Why Small Road (L=2) plots 11 consecutive RED dots
Look at the Small Road panel above: it consists of a single column of 11 consecutive Red solid dots that drops to Row 6 on its 6th entry and bends 5 cells to the right along Row 6 as a pure Red Dragon Tail! Why does Small Road never plot a single Blue dot on this shoe?
Because Small Road looks 2 columns back, it always compares odd columns with odd columns (Col 3 → Col 1, Col 5 → Col 3, Col 7 → Col 5, all depth 3) and even columns with even columns (Col 4 → Col 2, Col 6 → Col 4, all depth 2). Here is the engine-verified trace of all 11 Small Road marks:
- Hand 7 — Col 3, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Looking 2 columns back, Column 1 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 8 — Col 3, Row 3 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 3. Column 1 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 3 too → Red (=).
- Hand 9 — Col 4, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1A → RED): Player starts Column 4. Rule 1 compares finished Column 3 (3 beads) with Column 1 (3 beads). Same depth → Red (=).
- Hand 10 — Col 4, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Column 2 (depth 2) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 11 — Col 5, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1A → RED): Banker starts Column 5. Rule 1 compares finished Column 4 (2 beads) with Column 2 (2 beads). Same depth → Red (=).
- Hand 12 — Col 5, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Column 3 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=) (reaches the bottom of Small Road Column 1 at Row 6).
- Hand 13 — Col 5, Row 3 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 3. Column 3 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 3 too → Red (=) (turns right along Row 6 to start the Small Road Dragon Tail).
- Hand 14 — Col 6, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1A → RED): Column 5 has 3 beads. Column 3 has 3 beads. Same depth → Red (=).
- Hand 15 — Col 6, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Column 4 (depth 2) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 16 — Col 7, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1A → RED): Column 6 has 2 beads. Column 4 has 2 beads. Same depth → Red (=).
- Hand 17 — Col 7, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Column 5 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=) (11th straight Red mark; Hand 18 is a Tie and adds no mark).
Why Cockroach Pig (L=3) breaks into 8 alternating slashes (R B R B B R B R)
Now look at Cockroach Pig on that exact same 18-hand shoe. Because Cockroach Pig looks 3 columns back, it does not open until Hand 10 (Column 4, Row 2)—three hands after Small Road opened on Hand 7. More importantly, because 3 is an odd number, Cockroach Pig compares Banker columns (depth 3) against Player columns (depth 2) three steps earlier!
Here is the mark-by-mark breakdown of all 8 Cockroach Pig entries from BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT:
- Hand 10 — Col 4, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): Cockroach Pig opens here. This bead is at Row 2. Looking 3 columns back, Column 1 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 11 — Col 5, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1B → BLUE): Banker starts Column 5. Rule 1 compares finished Column 4 (2 beads) with Column 1 (3 beads, 3 columns further back). Different depth → Blue (≠).
- Hand 12 — Col 5, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Looking 3 columns back, Column 2 (depth 2) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 13 — Col 5, Row 3 (Rule 2, Case 2B → BLUE): This bead is at Row 3. Looking 3 columns back, Column 2 stopped at Row 2, one row above Row 3 → Blue (≠).
- Hand 14 — Col 6, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1B → BLUE): Player starts Column 6. Rule 1 compares finished Column 5 (3 beads) with Column 2 (2 beads). Different depth → Blue (≠).
- Hand 15 — Col 6, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Looking 3 columns back, Column 3 (depth 3) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=).
- Hand 16 — Col 7, Row 1 (Rule 1, Case 1B → BLUE): Banker starts Column 7. Rule 1 compares finished Column 6 (2 beads) with Column 3 (3 beads). Different depth → Blue (≠).
- Hand 17 — Col 7, Row 2 (Rule 2, Case 2A → RED): This bead is at Row 2. Looking 3 columns back, Column 4 (depth 2) has a bead at Row 2 too → Red (=) (Hand 18 is a Tie on Column 7, Row 2 and leaves Cockroach Pig unchanged).
Side-by-side ledger: all 18 hands across Big Road, Small Road, and Cockroach Pig
To see the exact hand-by-hand divergence between the two grids—alongside Big Eye Boy (L = 1) for full context—here is the complete 18-hand ledger for BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT:
| Hand | Big Road Position | Rule Triggered | Big Eye Boy (L=1) | Small Road (L=2) | Cockroach Pig (L=3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 (BBB) | Col 1, Rows 1–3 (Banker, depth 3) | Pre-start | — | — | — |
| 4 (P) | Col 2, Row 1 (Player) | Pre-start | — | — | — |
| 5 (P) | Col 2, Row 2 (Player, depth 2) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #1 RED (Col 1 has Row 2) | — | — |
| 6 (B) | Col 3, Row 1 (Banker) | Rule 1 (Row 1) | #2 BLUE (Col 2=2 vs Col 1=3) | — | — |
| 7 (B) | Col 3, Row 2 (Banker) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #3 RED (Col 2 has Row 2) | #1 RED (Col 1 has Row 2) | — |
| 8 (B) | Col 3, Row 3 (Banker, depth 3) | Rule 2 (Row 3) | #4 BLUE (Col 2 stopped at Row 2) | #2 RED (Col 1 has Row 3) | — |
| 9 (P) | Col 4, Row 1 (Player) | Rule 1 (Row 1) | #5 BLUE (Col 3=3 vs Col 2=2) | #3 RED (Col 3=3 vs Col 1=3) | — |
| 10 (P) | Col 4, Row 2 (Player, depth 2) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #6 RED (Col 3 has Row 2) | #4 RED (Col 2 has Row 2) | #1 RED (Col 1 has Row 2) |
| 11 (B) | Col 5, Row 1 (Banker) | Rule 1 (Row 1) | #7 BLUE (Col 4=2 vs Col 3=3) | #5 RED (Col 4=2 vs Col 2=2) | #2 BLUE (Col 4=2 vs Col 1=3) |
| 12 (B) | Col 5, Row 2 (Banker) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #8 RED (Col 4 has Row 2) | #6 RED (Col 3 has Row 2) | #3 RED (Col 2 has Row 2) |
| 13 (B) | Col 5, Row 3 (Banker, depth 3) | Rule 2 (Row 3) | #9 BLUE (Col 4 stopped at Row 2) | #7 RED (Col 3 has Row 3) | #4 BLUE (Col 2 stopped at Row 2) |
| 14 (P) | Col 6, Row 1 (Player) | Rule 1 (Row 1) | #10 BLUE (Col 5=3 vs Col 4=2) | #8 RED (Col 5=3 vs Col 3=3) | #5 BLUE (Col 5=3 vs Col 2=2) |
| 15 (P) | Col 6, Row 2 (Player, depth 2) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #11 RED (Col 5 has Row 2) | #9 RED (Col 4 has Row 2) | #6 RED (Col 3 has Row 2) |
| 16 (B) | Col 7, Row 1 (Banker) | Rule 1 (Row 1) | #12 BLUE (Col 6=2 vs Col 5=3) | #10 RED (Col 6=2 vs Col 4=2) | #7 BLUE (Col 6=2 vs Col 3=3) |
| 17 (B) | Col 7, Row 2 (Banker, depth 2) | Rule 2 (Row 2) | #13 RED (Col 6 has Row 2) | #11 RED (Col 5 has Row 2) | #8 RED (Col 4 has Row 2) |
| 18 (T) | Tie slash on Col 7, Row 2 | Tie (no derived mark) | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
Watch out for Rule 2's third case on both roads
In BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT, every column has depth 2 or 3, so Rule 2 only ever hits Case 2A (the reference column has a bead at that row too → Red) or Case 2B (the reference column stopped at Row 2, one row above Row 3 → Blue). What happens if Banker wins Hand 19 (Row 3) and then wins Hand 20 (Row 4) down Column 7?
- On Hand 19 (Column 7, Row 3), Cockroach Pig looks 3 columns back at Column 4 (depth 2). Because Column 4 stopped at Row 2, one row above Row 3 (Case 2B), Cockroach Pig marks Blue (≠). Meanwhile, Small Road looks 2 columns back at Column 5 (depth 3), which has a bead at Row 3 too (Case 2A) → Red (=).
- If Banker then wins Hand 20 (Column 7, Row 4), the colors flip! Small Road looks 2 columns back at Column 5 (depth 3), which stopped at Row 3, one row above Row 4 (Case 2B) → Blue (≠) (finally ending Small Road's 12-dot Red Dragon Tail!). At the exact same moment, Cockroach Pig looks 3 columns back at Column 4 (depth 2), which stopped at Row 2, more than one row above Row 4 (Case 2C!) → Red (=)!
That two-hand sequence (Hands 19 and 20 if Banker keeps streaking down Column 7) is the single best test of derived-road mastery: only the first row past a shorter reference column turns Blue (Case 2B); every deeper row down that streak turns Red (Case 2C). Try tapping + Banker twice in the interactive sandbox below to see both cases trigger live!
When to focus on Small Road vs when to focus on Cockroach Pig
When you are reading a live baccarat table scoreboard or analyzing a shoe in our practice simulator, comparing Small Road against Cockroach Pig tells you immediately what kind of multi-column rhythm has occurred in the Big Road:
- Small Road (L=2) isolates 2-column (Banker vs Player) symmetry: Whenever Banker consistently streaks to one depth (say 3 or 4) while Player consistently stops at a different depth (say 1 or 2), Big Eye Boy (
L=1) and Cockroach Pig (L=3) both look choppy because their odd lookbacks compare Banker against Player. Small Road (L=2) filters out that side-to-side difference and turns solid Red because Banker matches Banker and Player matches Player. - Cockroach Pig (L=3) isolates 3-column repeating cycles: Suppose the Big Road produces column depths of
1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2(two singles followed by a double, repeating every 3 columns). Here, Small Road (L=2) breaks repeatedly because columns 2 steps apart do not match, whereas Cockroach Pig (L=3) locks onto the 3-column period and prints a long Red streak! - Look at Hand 19 (Ask B / Ask P) on our worked shoe: At the end of
BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT, Column 7 sits at Row 2 (2 Banker beads + 1 Tie). In the Next-Hand lookup box, Small Road and Cockroach Pig give opposite colors on Hand 19:- If Hand 19 is Banker (Col 7, Row 3 — Rule 2): Small Road checks Column 5 (depth 3, has a bead at Row 3 too) → Red (=), while Cockroach Pig checks Column 4 (stopped at Row 2, one row above) → Blue (≠).
- If Hand 19 is Player (Col 8, Row 1 — Rule 1): Small Road compares finished Column 7 (2 beads) with Column 5 (3 beads) → Blue (≠), while Cockroach Pig compares finished Column 7 (2 beads) with Column 4 (2 beads) → Red (=).
Compare Small Road and Cockroach Pig live in the Calculator
Test your eye on BBBPPBBBPPBBBPPBBT in the interactive sandbox right below this article: tap + Banker or + Player to deal Hand 19 and watch Small Road and Cockroach Pig move in opposite directions. To go deeper into derived-road fluency:
- Open this exact 18-hand shoe inside the free Baccarat Calculator & Road Decoder to inspect every mark alongside our extended lookback grids.
- Learn how our interactive training platform works, start Module 1 for free, or explore all 6 course modules covering Big Eye Boy, Small Road, and Cockroach Pig.