Baccarat is a casino game of chance played in most European and Nevada casinos. It can be played for high stakes and requires no technical skill to play.

The objective of the game is to predict whether a player or banker will win. If the player wins, the player receives a payout equal to their original bet. If the banker wins, the banker receives a payout of two times their original bet.

To play the game, players sit around a table divided into two halves: some on the left side and some on the right. A dealer deals three hands: one to each group of players. Each hand is dealt from a dealing shoe which holds eight or more decks of cards.

Every card rank is given a numerical value: Aces are worth one, 10s and face cards are worth zero. All other cards are given a pip value, with 2 through 9 pips worth their full denomination.

The dealer then draws a third card if the player’s total is 5 or less, but not with 6 or 7. If the player’s total is 7 or higher, the banker stands.

When the dealer has drawn a third card, the player must choose if they want to draw a second card or not. When the dealer draws a second card, they follow the same rules as for drawing a first card.

In the movie Rush Hour 3, the main character James Carter and his girlfriend Genevieve first play a game of baccarat. Initially, Carter can’t afford to play, but Genevieve covers for him.

While the film is based in France, it has a more American flavor. The characters play in a sticky-floor California card room rather than the tuxedo-laden casinos of Monaco, but the game is the same.

The game’s simplicity makes it a popular choice for many players, and its low house edge and high potential for profit attract high rollers to baccarat tables. It also has a long history of being an international game, with players from Europe and Asia bringing their skills to the United States.

Baccarat was introduced to the world in mid-19th century France, where it soon became a staple of European casinos. Even when public gambling was banned in France, the game continued to be a popular activity for royalty and elites.

It was during this period that the Baccarat factory was first commissioned to design and manufacture glassware for the French court. Its products ranged from windows, mirrors and items of tableware to monumental candelabras that were exhibited at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

By the late 1800s, the company was producing monumental glass vases and lamps that were prized by Victorian collectors. Its work was so impressive that it was commissioned by French monarchs, Emperors and heads of state to design their palaces and other buildings with opulent glasswork.

In the 19th century, the company’s production broadened to include vases that were as milky and ‘opaline’ as fine porcelain, but often featuring hand-painted floral decorations. It also produced a series of opulent crystal chandeliers for the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and was acclaimed for its spectacular lighting fixtures that were commissioned by Napoleon III to decorate his palace in Versailles.