Why are there different casino baccarat table layouts, and why are they different sizes? Are the games different? Which is the best one for me to play? Let's find out!
In this guide, former casino operations manager Peter Nairn will dive deep into the answers to these questions, helping you decide which baccarat table layout is right for you.
Read on to discover:
Let’s get started!
All Baccarat tables have essentially the same game being played on them. And the rules are easy to understand, no matter which table you’re playing on.
The game comes down to the players making a simple decision: ' Do I want to bet ‘Banker’ or ‘Player’?
Please note
When talking about the bet, it will always be capitalized, like ‘Banker’ or ‘Player’. To refer to the person playing or banking, it will always be lowercase, so ‘player’ or ‘banker’.
Once that simple decision is made, the dealer will run the game.
Player and Banker both get dealt a two-card hand, and then possibly a third card, depending on the values of each hand.
There are no other decisions to be made. The values of the cards decide whether the Player side and/or the Banker side gets an additional card.
Pro tip
For more information about how to play Baccarat, I highly recommend reading my dedicated guide. It covers everything, from the basics to advanced tehniques that can maximize your winning chances.
All the different tables are set up with many of the same features.
Each playing spot is numbered (more on how many spots there are on each table and how they are numbered later), and there are the usual chip trays, discard racks (or discard bucket), shuffle machines and (almost always) an 8-deck shoe, plus a tip box in countries that allow tipping.
Now, let’s explore the different types of baccarat layouts and why they matter:
Big Baccarat
It used to be that there was only one size of Baccarat table, and that is the ‘Big Bacc’ table.
There are up to fourteen players, a crew of four dealers (three on the table and one on break), plus at least one floorman and potentially a pit manager or ladderman to oversee the game.
On a busy game there would usually be two floormen with each floorman responsible for watching and tracking the play of the players on one side of the table.
Please note
I use Floorman for brevity, rather than say Floorperson or Floorwoman or Floorman/Floorwoman etc. The women who perform these jobs in casinos are highly skilled and just as capable (and in some cases more capable) than their male counterparts
In the past, Baccarat was traditionally a high-stakes game, always in the High Limit area, and often with its own somewhat secluded ‘pit’ area.
The limits on such a game would usually run from $100 minimum to a $10,000 (or possibly a $20,000) maximum.
It was not unusual to have multiple players betting one side or the other, and perhaps $100,000 or $200,000 (or much more) riding on the outcome of each hand.
It takes a lot of staff to make sure the players and the game are being protected adequately.
The Big Baccarat game is very expensive to run because it has so many staff, it plays very slowly (so the casino doesn’t make very much money based on the cash drop), and there aren’t that many players who want to play a game that requires such a big bankroll to play.
Be aware
Another negative of the Big Bacc game is that the table takes up an enormous amount of space.
A typical Big Bacc table takes up approximately 250 square feet (about 23 square meters).
When compared to a Mini-baccarat game at 125 square feet (about 12 sq. meters), you can see that when the casino is looking at revenue per square foot (a very common method they use to track profitability), the Big Bacc game has some significant disadvantages.
Mini-Baccarat
My perception of the arrival of Mini-Baccarat was the arrival of gaming in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first casino to open there was the Resorts International Casino in May of 1978.
The company had a large casino in operation at Paradise Island in the Bahamas, where they had a large Punto Banco table, and they knew the game was popular with the players from the East Coast.
In Atlantic City, they wanted to offer the same Baccarat game but for the much more casual player, with faster decisions and a lot less payroll.
Additionally, they knew that space was going to be at a premium. So the Mini-Baccarat game was ideal and ticked all the right boxes.
Why is that?
It is a trimmed-down game, played on a table the same size as a blackjack table.
The single dealer deals the game, the players never touch the cards (consequently it’s a much faster and much more secure game), and the odds and bets are identical to those available on the Big Bacc game.
Typically, a Mini-Baccarat table has space for 6 or 7 players.
It would usually offer minimums in line with the blackjack tables on the casino’s retail floor, so perhaps $5 or $10 minimum to a $500 or $1,000 maximum.
Midi-Baccarat
When we decided to put a baccarat game on the floor at the Lady Luck in downtown Las Vegas, I went out and did some research on what was being offered on the Strip by the bigger casinos there.
I reviewed several casinos – Caesar’s Palace, Bally’s and so on, but I decided that the game offered at the Flamingo Hilton suited our purposes the best. It featured the best blend of player comfort, player enjoyment, game security, potential profitability, and cost to run.
It featured everything I wanted for us at the Lady Luck, so I incorporated their rules for our game.
It was played on a Midi-Baccarat table, which was halfway in size between a Big Bacc table and the Mini-Baccarat table and allowed the players to handle the cards.
The game used a single dealer, and the players never took the shoe.
It had room for 9 players, and the table was lower and at a more comfortable height than a Mini-Baccarat table.
It was a very comfortable space to play in, and I liked it more than the Mini-Baccarat game for that reason.
I also liked the fact that the players got to handle the cards, and while this slows the game down significantly, the players love the opportunity to handle the cards.
Because the dealer controls the shoe, there is never a risk of a player losing face by mistakenly drawing a card when the rules don’t call for a card to be drawn.
This is a significant fear for many players.
Midi-Baccarat games typically have higher minimums and maximums than the Mini-Baccarat game, so $10 or $15 to $1,000, going up to $25 or $50 to $2,000 to $3,000 are common.
When talking about minimums and maximums, it’s always a good idea to be aware of what is called ‘yield management’ in the casino business.
Keep in mind
The minimums (and maximums) are flexible based upon how busy the casino is, what the players are comfortable with, and how many tables it’s possible to open with the staff the casino has on hand.
Maximums are usually tied to the table minimum (so for example, a $5 game may always have a $500 maximum).
The Shift Manager may elect to change the minimum to $10, which may automatically raise the maximum to $1,000 if that is their usual maximum for a $10 minimum game.
The Mini, Midi and Big Baccarat Table layouts look quite different.
Let’s explore each of them individually:
Mini-Baccarat Table Layout
The picture below is a typical Mini-Baccarat layout:
Image Source: 24sevenpro
This is the usual layout you would see in most online Baccarat games.
As you can see, it is very similar in size to a blackjack table layout.
The shoe would be to the players right, and to the dealer’s left. The slot to the dealer’s right is the drop box, where the cash is placed once you buy in for chips.
The players spots are all numbered (and unusually for a Baccarat game, this one includes the number 4).
There are the players betting circles for Banker and Player bets, a spot for a bet on the Tie (which pays 8 to 1) and the boxes behind where it says ‘Player’ and ‘Banker’ for marking the commission owed by the players.
5% commission is paid on winning Banker hands. It is usually marked up using chips and/or actual coins in the box numbered for each player and collected at the end of each shoe.
Paying and collecting the commission is a choke point for Baccarat, slowing the game down.
Fun fact
In 2013, two enterprising managers from the MGM Baccarat pit in Las Vegas came up with a version of the game called EZ Baccarat where they eliminated the commission, and consequently sped up the game considerably.
The players loved it because the game runs faster, and the casino loved it because the more hands get dealt, the greater their opportunity to win.
More info on EZ Baccarat below.
Big Baccarat Table Layout
A Big Bacc table can be anything from 12 feet to 16 feet long (4 to 5 meters) and accommodate up to 14 players, 7 on each end.
(And yes, that’s why it’s called Big Bacc)
Image Source: GGBmagazine
As you can see in the Big Bacc table picture above, two dealers to the left wear tuxedos and the cutout opposite them is for the stickman/caller.
The Banker and Player betting areas are clearly visible, and the numbered playing spots are, too.
In this image, the player drawing the cards has a bet on Banker.
The circular wooden disc in the middle of the table is the cover for the discard bucket, and the numbered small boxes in front of the dealers is to record the commission owed by the players seated in those numbered betting spots.
On this table, you can see that the number 13 has been omitted, just as there is never a 13th floor in many Western hotels as it’s an unlucky number.
The shoe is offered to each of the players in counterclockwise order, allowing them to pull the cards from the shoe and expose them.
Exposing the cards is usually referred to as squeezing the cards.
This player with the cards in hand has a bet on Banker and (in theory) has control of the shoe.
Be aware
The dealers must watch the players with the shoe carefully because often the players don’t know the third card rules very well and may inadvertently draw a card when none should be drawn.
As you can imagine, this can pose a significant problem if there are many thousands in action.
This is why some players refuse to take the shoe as it is a big loss of face for them if they make such an error.
Midi-Baccarat Table Layout
A Midi-Baccarat table is midway between the Big Bacc table and a Mini-Baccarat table in size.
This allows for more players to play the game compared to a Mini-Baccarat table, and a more comfortable experience for them, too.
It typically seats 9 players and only has one dealer.
Image Source: Ventsmagazine
The players sometimes get to squeeze the cards, but not always.
The betting limits on a Midi game are often between the Mini and Big Bacc games, so these players could be called ‘mid-rollers’.
The Baccarat Banque
Baccarat Banque, sometimes called Baccarat a Deux Tableaux (French for Baccarat on Two Tables), is another version of Baccarat and can be found in live casinos in Europe, and in many online casinos.
It can be confusing because the game isn’t played on two tables.
It is played on only one, with the table divided into two sections, one to the dealer's left and the other to the right.
The game uses three decks of cards and is usually played on a table like a Big Bacc table.
The game is similar to Chemin de Fer in that the players play against each other.
To start the game, there is an auction to decide who wants to bank the game. The banker usually ends up being the player who puts up the largest stake or the player who was first to start the game.
The designated banker sits opposite the caller in the cutouts in the middle of the table.
The banker retains the bank until the end of the shoe. They can also choose to give up the bank or forfeit it if they run out of money.
The banker always plays the Banker hand and is the only person who is allowed to wager on the Banker hand.
Once the shuffle has been completed, the banker deals out three two-card hands from the shoe, one to the right side of the table, one to the left side of the table, and one to himself.
The hands dealt out to each side of the table become the Player hand for the players on that side, and the cards the banker deals to himself become the Banker hand that the Player hands play against on each side of the table.
So what we have is two Player hands playing against one Banker hand simultaneously.
Fun Fact
In Baccarat Banque, a player can choose to place a bet on the other side of the table, so a player seated to the left of the banker can place a bet on the hand to the right of the banker before the cards are dealt.
Unlike Baccarat, players on Baccarat Banque can choose whether to take a card or not after their initial two-card hand has been dealt.
This is a throw-back to the Chemin de Fer rules.
Generally, the players will never take a card if their initial two cards total 6, 7, 8, or 9.
- The 8 and 9 are natural winners, the hand is over, and no more cards can be drawn if either the Banker or Player hand has a total of 8 or 9.
- If the Player hand is a 6 or 7, the players stand, and if the Player hand is 0 through 4, the players will always draw a third card.
- If the Player two-card hand totals 5, then the players can choose whether to take a third card or not.
- The Banker hand is not limited by any drawing rules in Baccarat Banque.
- The banker can stand or draw against any total on the Player hand.
The Banker hand is playing against two Player hands, and while it’s true the banker can choose whether to draw or to stand, typically the banker will review the Player hand at both sides of the table and make the ‘draw or don’t draw’ decision based on the Player hand that has the biggest bet riding on it, not necessarily the hand that appears to be the weakest and easiest to beat.
EZ Baccarat is a newer version of Baccarat, invented by two managers at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
(Full disclosure: one of the inventors of this game is a personal friend)
The game is highly popular in the US because it has no commission.
It is a much faster game which the players prefer.
The way they eliminated the commission was to make a winning three-card Banker hand of 7 a push, instead of a win.
The truly brilliant part was they added the opportunity to bet on that hand showing up, to make it a bit like a jackpot. It’s called the Dragon 7. Typically, there should be approximately 2 Dragon 7s in every 8-deck shoe, and if you bet it, you get paid 40 to 1 when it hits.
When the shoe is nearing it’s end and no Dragon 7 has hit, the excitement around the table is palpable, and if it does hit before the end of the shoe, the table sounds more like a crap table than a Baccarat game.
Since the patent on EZ Baccarat ran out, there have been other games that seek to copy EZ Baccarat’s ‘no commission’ format, but so far, none have been able to compete with it.
You may see Baccarat referred to as Punto Banco or Chemin de Fer.
Punto Banco is a different name for what is usually called Baccarat in various places worldwide. The games are generally identical, except Punto and Banco are printed on the layout instead of Player and Banker.
Chemin de Fer (French for ‘the railway’), or ‘Chemmy’ (pronounced Shemmy) as it is usually known, was a form of the game that is now mostly obsolete. It gained great fame (some would say notoriety) because it was James Bond’s favorite card game.
The essential differences between Chemin de Fer and Baccarat are that Baccarat is a house-banked game, which means all the players play against the casino. In contrast, Chemin de Fer has the players playing against each other rather than the casino.
Additionally, Chemin de Fer allows the players to decide whether they want to draw a third card.
Baccarat does not allow the players to make that decision; all card drawing decisions are decided by the value of the cards drawn to each hand.
The fact is that whichever baccarat table layout and table size you choose, the game is still Baccarat. The same winning rules and card-drawing options will apply.
If you are just starting out playing Baccarat, I recommend starting on a Mini-baccarat table in a live casino, or online.
The limits will be lower, the dealers will run the game for you so no decisions will be required of you except ‘do I bet Player or Banker’, and it is easy to find the game online or in a live casino environment.
There will be fewer players at the table, too, usually 6 or 7 at a maximum.
My recommendation is to first play baccarat for free, so you can learn how the game works.
You may have a bigger budget, so you may want to start on a Midi-Baccarat game. The bigger table, usually accommodating 9 players, is more comfortable.
Some casinos allow the players to handle the cards and squeeze them into their Midi games. Handling the cards enhances the playing experience, which you may enjoy, although you’re not obligated to do so if you don’t want to.
No one will say anything or think less of you if you pass on handling the cards.
Once you have learned the game on the smaller layouts, you can graduate to the Big Bacc table.
If you’re a very experienced player with a large budget, you may want to jump into a Big Bacc game right off the bat. It is a fun social game, with much to recommend it.
Remember
The Big Bacc games are almost exclusively situated in the High Limit rooms of the casino, so you may have to seek the game out.
Final Thoughts: Quick Recap
There are three sizes of baccarat table layout: the Mini-, the Midi-, and the Big Baccarat table.
Mini-Baccarat is played on a table about the same size as a blackjack table, with room for 6 or 7 players. The dealer has complete control of the game, and it is a pretty fast game compared to the other two table sizes.
The limits are generally low, and the mini layout is the one you will see if you’re playing an online game.
Midi-Baccarat is played on a mid-size table, about halfway between a mini table and the big baccarat table. It seats 9 players, is very comfortable, and may allow the players to ‘squeeze’ the cards, although the dealer will always retain control of the shoe.
The limits usually start at a $25 minimum to a $1,000 maximum and may go up from there.
The Big Baccarat table is about the same size as a craps table and is run by 3 dealers and at least one floorman. The shoe is offered to the players counterclockwise around the table, and the limits are usually some of the best the casino offers.
Baccarat is a fun game.
It’s perfect for a social evening with your friends and very simple to play.
We have a lot of fascinating baccarat articles in the Academy which can help you become a master at the game. Make sure you check them out!
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