The table is the stage! Not one doubt about it-not one! No fancy gimmicks, no light show, no name brands. Nothing phenomenally materialistic, No pyrotechnics, no strobe or neon lights.

Just the dealer, the chip rack and the shoe. The green felt is the ocean of effortless greatness. The ocean is your place where you basically jump in, splash and wind up swimming to success or sinking to failure. 

Buy-in, sitting at the table and looking at our chip stacks separated by colors directly in front of us.  Then continuously looking at the rack and imagining how many of the dealers chips we can manage to win. The words of the Talking Heads song, 'Burning Down The House', running through some of our heads. "Ah, watch out, you might get what you're after. Cool babies, strange but not a stranger. I'm an ordinary guy. Burning down the house".................. OMG, seriously so fitting!

Great moments and real bad moments and all kinds of in between ones form at the table. Great memories stick, bad memories most of us wipe out pretty darn quick. Real quick in fact.

Lots of players-lots of thoughts.  A few players-no less thoughts indeed.  Thinking to the max. Thinking the average person that doesn't play baccarat would never imagine happens within our heads.  The cards change the way most of us think for whatever reason. We attempt to follow the cards and the only one really thinking about everything is us, not the dealer, not the floor people, not the cards, not the chips and definitely not the table. But the table sure brings lots of drama and reaction out in every single one of us.

Funny how even after a bad session or two or three, we go right back to that same table with complete open arms and a new handshake once again. Really not very rational but in the mind of a baccarat player, 100% normal and expected as well as never really given a second thought at all.

The table does not talk to us, the table does not give us hints, clues or even sarcastic remarks. The table remains silent, always, 24-7-365. But, however I do, and probably the highest majority of us have a very unique bond with the table.

The table has attraction, and an attraction different than most people can realize or even put into words that most people would never understand. That table never really changes. Once in a while, after an extended period of time the table will receive a new felt or even more in frequently, the table will receive a new padded rail. But that is it. The table remains the same.

The table gets pounded on with fists, palms and elbows. The table gets nasty kicks underneath the top of it all the time. Drinks gets spilled on the table so often the pit person has clean rags and heavy duty towels for quick response as if the table is going to melt away. On the other hand, tables are rubbed for good luck as well as having fingers tapped on them as if some sort of special secret voodoo vibes are going to travel along the felt to the shoe for a winning hand. Strange but true, I have occasionally witnessed a table kissed by a player as well.

Tables are continuously accused of taking one's money. Something along the lines of, "hey how did you do last night"?  Answer, "the table took my money and took all of it". Or, "the table was hot, cleaned up and profited $10K". I guess the table determines one's outcome? Oh yeah, some casinos have more than one table of baccarat, been there and done that, walked in with a player partner and first thing out of their mouth's are, "don't sit at that table there's no way you're going to win at that one". So all in all I assume, it's really the table that will determine ones outcome and nothing else.

Tables really do get the brunt of the reason for players that lose. When we win, sometimes we mention that table in our discussions, but only sometimes. In my opinion that's very unfair! But, it is what it is.

Tables, they are loved and they are hated. But when you have say an $8,000 wager up on the bankers side, derived from a $1,500 buy-in with several small winning positive progressions and the cards are dealt, you are almost certain to rub your hands on the table, as if caressing a beautiful woman's face.

Your $8,000 wager along with everyone else's bet is on the bankers side. The dealer flops a 7 and a 4 for the players and the bankers cards are slid to you on top of that table, along its felt and you wedge your fingers along the sides of the cards after the unconscious gentle rub you so graciously and meaningfully gave that table.

In fact another person will usually reach over to your spot and rub the table in a circular motion to somehow give you an advantage. Once again, the table. So you peek and peek at the cards, you flip over a total of a 6. The dealer slides out of the shoe the players card and it travels along the table top from her left side all the way over to the players cards exposed and as it is flipped over, you were calling for a monkey/face and subconsciously thinking Face/10-9-A-2-3-4. The dealer flops over a friggen 7.  Yeah, players up to 8. The dealer quickly pulls a card out of the shoe and slides it to you.  You place your fingers on top of the card and rub it on the table. Probably a good four or five even six circles you make with it on top of the table.  Some kind of magical secret really experienced bac players are forbidden to fully explain, sorry.  You peek and see it is  a one line card. You quickly announce, "lose tie or win. But we have a chance". Your right hand fingers are on the card with the more old-school players poking the middle of it down into the table in order to convince it to be the 3 card you really need. Your left hand is palm down on the table and once again, caressing the table as if it was a beautiful woman's face.

You turn the card from horizontal to vertical and peel it back slightly. You see a dot on the end. You announce, "tie or win can't lose". But once again with the card unexposed you have both of your hands, palms down, rubbing the table. As if mixing up all those advantaged secret voodoo vibes, that will produce a 3 card. Others have once again reached over to your spot and rubbed their hands on the table as well.

Eventually you flop the card and present the 3 while simultaneously slapping the table. And don't worry, the table knows the difference between a winning smack and those notorious losing ones. After all, the table knows.