One of the first things you should learn about how to play baccarat is knowing the baccarat table layout. Being familiar with it can help you avoid silly beginners' mistakes such as placing your bets at the wrong place or not paying your commission.
This section is written for the use of land-based baccarat casino games. Learning how to play online baccarat does not require you to know the baccarat table layout as everything is done automatically although it can't hurt.
Baccarat tables are easy to understand: you have numbered spots for each seat. Some baccarat layouts offer room for 24 players, some for 16, but in all of them you cannot find "Seat 13" as it is thought to be unlucky. You sit and place your bet in the appropriate spot.
To make sure that you are familiar and comfortable playing at the baccarat table before you venture into a casino, you can download free online baccarat games and practice using our selected baccarat casinos and get familar with the layout before you play with real money.
On the appropriate spot you have three places to place your bets: on the place marked "Player", "Banker" or "Tie". A line would separate between each betting option. On some baccarat layouts there would be small circles printed on the layout where can place your bets, such marks usually help players not to place bets at wrong locations during the game.
On the baccarat layout there is also a spot for the commission, which is a 5% of each winning Banker-bet you make. For example, when you win on a $30 Banker bet then the caller would place $1.5 in chips on the commission spot in front of you. This is made to remind you, in an elegant way, that you owe the house the 5% of your winning bet. This is done automatically in online baccarat.
After you and all the other players have placed your bets the game begins. Most baccarat variants such as Chemin de Fer and the popular American variant Punto Banco use the same baccarat table layout. Small changes might appear on the layouts at different casinos, but that's only a matter of style. The basics of the baccarat table layout are always the same.
In front of you there would be the baccarat caller. He is the casino employee that oversees the game. He knows the exact rules and announces the moves made during the game. The caller tells players when they must hit and stand; he collects commissions and informs players on their status during the session.
To the callers left and right there's a dealer standing. He is responsible for the players sitting at his side of the baccarat table. The dealer transfers cash money into chips for players and players can ask him for any kind of help. You can ask the dealer for a pen and paper to keep track on your bets, and you may request from him a copy of the table's rules of baccarat.
John Palmer - Editorial Team
Baccarat VIP's 2003-2014 Copyrighted Material.