California Player Dealer Collection Banking Rules Explained

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(I have received inquiries reference the California (non-Indian Tribe casinos) gaming rules, where the gamblers themselves are the 'player-dealers' and if no one desires to act as a 'player-dealer' than there are corporation bankers at each table.  That is why in all the new YouTube videos popping up, you will see the casino dealer collecting or paying the wins out of stacks of Chips either always on first base or last base.  Those are where the corporation bankers sit.  All the casino does is collect a collection fee from each hand.  And unless it has been changed since I last been out there a few years ago, each wager pays a $1.00 per hundred ($100.00) wager to the house, the casino.  That is no matter the out come, win or lose.)

Rules & How to Play
Type of Game

The game of EZ Baccarat Panda 8 utilizes a player-dealer position and is a California game. The position shall be offered systematically and continuously in a clockwise manner around the table after every two hands. The player-dealer shall collect all losing wagers, pay all winning wagers, and may not win or lose more than the original amount wagered. Once the player-dealer's wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer shall be returned to the respective players. The gambling enterprise does not participate in the actual play of the game and has no interest in the outcome of the play.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to assemble two hands of two or three cards with an accumulated point value as close to nine as possible.

Description of Deck & Number of Decks Used

The game is played using a standard 52-card deck and no jokers. Cards will be dealt using a multiple deck shoe. A minimum of three decks and a maximum of eight decks shall be used during the play of the game.

Card Values & Hand Rankings

The value of each card used in EZ Baccarat Panda 8, shall be as follows: picture cards (king, queen, jack) and 10's have a value of zero, an ace has a value of one, and all other cards have their face value. When the total numerical value of the cards equals ten or more, only the right-hand digit (numeric count) is considered. The ranking of hands for EZ Baccarat Panda 8, in order from highest to lowest rank, shall be:

HAND DEALT    HAND REQUIREMENTS
Natural 9    A two card hand that has a value of nine. A Natural 9 shall only be achieved when the first two cards dealt to a hand is valued at nine, according to the rules above.
Natural 8    A two card hand that has a value of eight. A Natural 8 shall only be achieved when the first two cards dealt to a hand is valued at eight.
Nine or Eight    A three card hand that has a value of nine or eight.
Seven through Zero    A two or three card hand that has a value of seven, six, five, four, three, two, one or zero.
Description of Table Used & Total Number of Seated Positions

The game shall be played on either a standard blackjack table that accommodates up to seven players and a player-dealer position for a total of eight seated positions or a standard baccarat table that accommodates up to thirteen players and a player-dealer position for a total of fourteen seated positions. Within each betting area for each seated player, there shall be five separate betting spaces specifically designated for five separate wagers; the player line, the banker line, the Tie Bet, the Panda 8 wager, and the Dragon 7 Bonus Bet. Each betting space at the table has a fixed amount for wagering limits defining the minimum and maximum amounts that may be wagered. Players must bet at least the table minimum. Back-line betting is permitted.

Method Used to Determine Action & Distribution of Cards

The game utilizes an action button to determine which player receives first action on their wager. The second card dealt to the banker line determines the position of the action button. The player-dealer position is not counted when determining where the action button shall be placed. The other seats, in clockwise rotation, starting with the player to the left of the house dealer and continuing left to right, respectively represent the other number. When determining where the action button will be placed, cards will hold the following values: Ace is one, 2 through 9 have their face value, jack is eleven, queen is twelve, and king is thirteen.

Dealing Procedures & Round of Play

At the start of a game a player is offered the player-dealer position. Once accomplished, the house dealer shall wait for each player to make their wager in accordance with the table limits.

Each player has the following options when placing their wager(s):
The player line which pays 1 to 1;
The banker line which pays 1 to 1;
The Tie Bet, which pays 8 to 1;

If a player placed a wager on either the player line or the banker line, that player may place a wager on the Dragon 7 Bonus Bet, which pays 40 to 1.

If a player placed a wager on either the player line or the banker line, that player may place a wager on the Panda 8, which pays 25 to 1.

Once all wagers are placed, the house dealer deals one card to the right and one card to the left, one by one in rotation, until each hand has a total of two cards each. All cards are dealt face-up. The hand to the left of the house dealer is a community hand that belongs to those that placed a bet on the banker line. The hand to the right of the house dealer is a community hand that belongs to those that placed a bet on the player line. The player's hand is resolved first and then the banker's hand is resolved. The hand that is closest to nine wins. After the house dealer delivers the first two cards to both the Player line and Banker line, the following Baccarat rules are followed.

The player's hand must stand when the hand is valued at 6 through 9, and must hit when the hand is valued at 5 or less.
If the player's hand stands, then the dealer hand hits on a total of 5 or less.

If the player's hand hits for a complete hand then the banker's hand hits using the following rules:
If the banker's hand total is 3, then the banker's hand is dealt a third card unless the third card dealt to the player's hand was an 8.

If the banker's hand total is 4, then the banker's hand is dealt a third card unless the third card dealt to the player's hand was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.

If the banker's hand total is 5, then the banker's hand is dealt a third card if the third card dealt to the player's hand was 4, 5, 6, or 7.

If the banker's hand total is 6, then the banker's hand is dealt a third card if the third card dealt to the player's hand was a 6 or 7.

The following chart shows when the banker hits (H) or stands (S) according to the rules above:

Player's Third Card
0    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9
7    S    S    S    S    S    S    S    S    S    S
6    S    S    S    S    S    S    H    H    S    S
5    S    S    S    S    H    H    H    H    S    S
4    S    S    H    H    H    H    H    H    S    S
3    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    S    H
2    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
1    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H
0    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H    H


The house dealer must use the "house way" when a player requests the house dealer to play an additional wager. House way hands shall be set as follows: player hand hits on five or below and stands on six or more.

How Each Wager Wins, Loses or Pushes

Once both hands have been completed, according to the guidelines above, the player's wagers are settled. The following shall apply for each possible outcome when determining the winner. The player- dealer shall pay and collect all wagers accordingly:
The player-dealer shall pay all winning player line wagers made by players when the player hand is closer to nine than the banker hand.

The player-dealer shall pay all winning banker line wagers made by players when the banker hand is closer to nine than the player hand.

The player-dealer shall collect all losing player line wagers made by players when the banker hand is closer to nine than the player hand.

The player player-dealer shall collect all losing banker line wagers made by players when the player hand is closer to nine than the banker hand.

Tie Bet

For each seated position, there shall be one separate and specifically designated area for the placement of a Tie Bet wager. A player may place a Tie Bet wager even if he/she has not also placed either a Player line wager or a Banker line wager prior to the initial deal.

The player-dealer shall pay all winning Tie Bet wagers when the total of the player's hand and the total of the banker's hand are equal.

The player-dealer shall collect all losing Tie Bet wagers when the total of the player's hand and the total of the banker's hand are not equal.

Backline betting is not permitted on the Tie Bet wager.
See the collection rate schedule for restrictions on the amount that may be wagered on the Tie Bet and any collection fees that may be taken.

The Tie Bet takes into account the total value of the player's hand and the total value of the banker's hand, regardless of the number of cards each hand has, at the completion of the round. Each hand must be played according to the guidelines above. In the event that the player's hand and the banker's hand are of the same value (tie), the tie bet wager shall win. In the event that the player's hand and the banker's hand are not of the same value, the player-dealer shall win the tie bet wager.

All winning Tie Bet wagers shall be paid 8 to 1.

Wagers are collected or paid, to the extent that the player-dealer's wager covers. Once the player- dealer's wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer shall be returned to the players.

Dragon 7 Bonus Bet

For each seated position, there shall be one separate and specifically designated area for the placement of a Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wager. A player may only place a Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wager if they have also placed a wager on either the player line or on the banker line prior to the initial deal.

Back-line betting is permitted on the Dragon 7 Bonus Bet.

See the collection rate schedule for restrictions on the amount that may be wagered on the Dragon 7 Bonus Bet and any collection fees that may be taken.

If the banker hand has a point value of seven using three cards and the player's hand has a value of six or less, regardless of the number of cards, the Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wins. The Dragon 7 Bonus Bet shall lose on all other outcomes.

All winning Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wagers shall be paid 40 to 1.
The player-dealer shall pay all winning Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wagers and shall collect all losing Dragon 7 Bonus Bet wagers. Once the player-dealer's wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer shall be returned to the players.

Panda 8 Bet

For each seated position, there shall be one separate and specifically designated area for the placement of a Panda 8 Bet wager. A player may only place a Panda 8 Bet wager if they have also placed a wager on either the player line or on the banker line prior to the initial deal.

Back-line betting is permitted on the Panda 8 Bet.

See the collection rate schedule for restrictions on the amount that may be wagered on the Panda 8 Bet and any collection fees that may be taken.

If the player hand has a point value of eight using three cards and the banker's hand has a value of seven or less, regardless of the number of cards, the Panda 8 Bet wins. The Panda 8 Bet shall lose on all other outcomes.

All winning Panda 8 Bet wagers shall be paid 25 to 1.

The player-dealer shall pay all winning Panda 8 Bet wagers and shall collect all losing Panda 8 Bet wagers. Once the player-dealer's wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player- dealer shall be returned to the players.

Equipment Used

Rules & How to Play EZ Baccarat Panda 8

EQUIPMENT USED

EZTRAK™: Baccarat Edition is an LCD-based hand tracking system that provides players with valuable statistical data, enabling them to calculate trends and percentages for any type of Baccarat table games including the very popular EZ Baccarat™.

Key Features

Table game min and max amounts

Numbers and percentages for Player, Banker, Tie Bets, Dragon 7 and Panda 8 bets
The occurrence of Naturals
The number of hands per shoe
Previous shoe statistics
A timer (optional) that automatically closes all bets for the hand, speeding up hands per hour.
Collection Rates

For table limits and collection rate schedules for the game of EZ Baccarat Panda 8 please refer to the approval of all California Games Collection rates (BGC ID: GEGR-001174).

Table Layout

(Pic of standard EZ Bac table felt)

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A little more regarding the table games in California and the lawsuit over it.

The California Department of Justice is advancing regulations that would prohibit card rooms from offering modified versions of blackjack and other banked card games, aiming to close a long-debated loophole that allows "player-dealers" systems.
The proposed rules could end decades of friction between tribal casinos and card rooms over how state gaming laws are interpreted and enforced.

Under current practice, card rooms in California are barred from offering games in which players compete directly against the house. However, a system using "player-dealers" provided by Third-Party Providers of Proposition Player Services (TPPPPS) has allowed establishments to host modified versions of blackjack and baccarat.

The DOJ has stated that these modified versions differ from traditional house-banked games only in name, suggesting that the structure still functions as a direct competition between player and dealer.

An economic analysis commissioned by the state projects significant financial consequences if the regulations are enacted. The Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) prepared by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research estimated potential losses of $464 million for card rooms statewide, while tribal casinos could see revenue gains of $232 million.

The SRIA also forecasted that card rooms would lose 364 full-time jobs annually over the next 10 years. These figures have raised concerns among local business leaders and municipal governments that depend on gaming-related tax revenue.

Club One Casino, which relocated to Granite Park in 2021 following the pandemic shutdown, employs 250 workers and contributes roughly $1 million annually to Fresno's general fund. The casino offers poker and modified blackjack games such as Spanish 21.5 and Pure 21.5. A similar gaming setup operates at The 500 Club Casino, situated on the Clovis-Fresno border.

"It's a competitive overreach by the tribal owners," said Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association and owner of Club One Casino in Fresno, in a Fresno Bee report. "They don't like the fact that card rooms are competing with them. So they're pressuring the attorney general."

Kirkland said table games represent roughly 50% of Club One's revenue. "If we can't offer the table games, that's 50% of our revenue. If you take 50% out of your home budget, you're going to feel it and probably have to move," he said. "So this proposal, it would be fatal for card rooms. That's not good for our employees or people."

Critics have also warned that the proposed rules would "significantly cripple municipalities that heavily rely on the tax revenue for community programs such as public safety projects and senior programs," according to Casino Beats.

Card room employees and supporters held a protest outside Attorney General Rob Bonta's Fresno office on Thursday, saying the regulations could result in hundreds of job losses.

Kirkland noted that card rooms contribute to city funds and support nonprofit organizations. "Eliminating these card games from card rooms would have a big impact on the people of Fresno and Clovis, and especially other communities that are highly dependent on card rooms," he said. "There seems to be a concerted effort to eliminate tax-paying card rooms when most people might not realize how much we contribute to the community."

The proposal follows a Sacramento Superior Court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit brought by several tribal casinos against card rooms. The tribes argued that the card rooms' modified blackjack and baccarat games violated state gaming law.

The suit was filed under Senate Bill 549, a 2024 measure that authorized tribes to pursue legal action against card rooms over alleged violations. Tribal operators are expected to appeal the decision.

With the lawsuit dismissed, the DOJ now faces pressure to act through regulation. A state-commissioned impact report estimates that restricting card room operations could reduce patronage by about 50% and cause additional losses in municipal tax revenue.
"Right now we have a fair balance," said Capitol Casino worker Chris Linger. "Tribal casinos have slot machines and full-scale gaming, while card rooms offer table games that help sustain local economies."