Baccarat is a card game, played in casinos worldwide. It is also available online. The goal of the player is to form a hand that has a higher point value than the banker’s hand. The points are determined by the number of pips on each card: a face card counts as zero, and aces count as one.

The game has a history that goes back hundreds of years. It has been a favorite of many celebrities, and is still played for high stakes in luxury casinos. In fact, it has a reputation as the most exclusive and glamorous casino game.

Typically, players sit around a large table divided into two halves, to the left and right of the croupier. The croupier handles the cards and deals them in a special box, known as a shoe. The cards are dealt one at a time, face down.

After the croupier deals each card, the players are free to make bets on their hand or the banker’s hand. Traditionally, each player’s turn to play a hand is called a “coup”. If a player wins the coup, they retain their right to be the banker; if they lose it, their right to be the banker passes to the next player in the counter-clockwise rotation.

When a player makes a bet, they must wager a sum of money, or chips. The croupier then takes these bets and puts them into a pocket in the shoe. The croupier then places a numbered area on green felt on the table, and then deals a set of cards to each player and banker.

The croupier also takes bets on the banker’s hand, and puts them into the same pocket in the shoe as the player’s bets. The dealer then draws cards from the shoe until a player’s hand or the banker’s hand matches the score.

If the total of the banker’s hand is less than or equal to 2 or 3, then the player has the option to stand or draw a third card. If the total of the banker’s hands is more than or equal to 6 or 7, then the player must call for a third card.

Before playing the game, it is important to understand the rules. There are different versions of the game, depending on whether you are playing Punto Banco or Chemin de Fer.

There are eight 52-card packs that the croupier uses to deal each round of cards. Each pack is shuffled together before the cards are dealt.

The game is played in a special area that is blocked off from the main area of the casino. The table is a very large size, and has 12 seats, six on either side of the croupier.

Each seat has green felt covering it and a numbered area marked 1 to 12. The croupier deals cards from the shoe, one card at a time, face down.

During the game, the croupier takes bets from players, and the dealer draws cards from the shoe until a player’s or banker’s hand matches the score.