Baccarat has always been a very intimidating game. Played by the nobility and then not by the more fortunate players, baccarat is a complex, austere game where betting excessive amounts of money seems indispensable in order to hope to win. However, in the 1980s, American land-based casinos introduced a much more accessible variant of classic baccarat. Known as mini baccarat, it uses a narrower table and offers much more reasonable betting limits than its larger cousin.
The same Components Revised Downwards
Technically, mini baccarat has few differences from traditional baccarat. The game is played around a table, requires that minimum bets be placed before the game begins and always involves participants betting on the Banker’s hand, or the Player’s hand. However, while all of these elements seem similar, they have been reduced in size for mini baccarat. Indeed, not only is the table smaller in this variant, but the bets are also much lower!
Similarity of rules between baccarat and mini baccarat
Rules of the Game
In mini baccarat as in baccarat, the rules are the same. Participants must bet on either the Banker’s hand or the Player’s hand, hoping that one of them will come as close as possible to a 9. However, it is also possible to bet on a tie between the two hands, although this is less common. In mini baccarat, as in the classic version, Aces are worth one while tens and tricks (King, Queen, Jack) are worth zero. Naturally, the other cards retain their decimal value. Note that tens are ignored in mini baccarat. A player who has a hand consisting of a 6 and a 7 will not get 13 points, but 3 points!
The other Elements of the Game
As specified above, the table that is used in mini baccarat is smaller than the original one. Note that it has approximately the same dimensions as a blackjack table. The master of the game is none other than the croupier, who represents the Bank and the casino. He is the one who deals all the cards to the players. In mini baccarat, the stakes are relatively low. Minimum bets range from $2 to $7, but can still be as high as $500 when played by high rollers. Finally, in terms of atmosphere, you can expect a much quicker game than in classic baccarat, due to a smaller table and lower stakes. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is much more pleasant in mini baccarat where participants compete against each other mainly for the fun of it!