EZ baccarat removes the five percent commission from every winning Banker bet and takes the value back through a single hand. When the Banker wins with a three card total of seven, the Banker bet pushes. That hand has a name, the Dragon 7, and it carries its own side bet alongside the Panda 8. For the wider market picture, start at our online casino Canada hub.
The table below sets out how the game behaves. Read it first, then work through the detail beneath.
| Trait | Detail |
|---|---|
| Commission | None on winning Banker bets |
| Banker push | Banker wins with a three card seven |
| Dragon 7 | Pays 40 to 1 |
| Panda 8 | Pays 25 to 1 |
| House edge | About 1.02 percent Banker, 1.24 percent Player |
| Canadian supply | Casino de Montreal, Great Canadian and Parkwest floors, live studios |
What is EZ baccarat?
A commission free version of punto banco baccarat. Cards, drawing rules and hand values are identical to the standard game, and the only change to the main bets is the Banker push on a three card seven.
EZ baccarat is a branded game licensed to casinos rather than a generic rule set.
The name reflects the easier deal. EZ baccarat removes the commission box, the commission tracking and the arithmetic that slows a standard table.
Players see the same Banker, Player and Tie circles they already know.
Who created EZ baccarat?
Francisco Tejeda co-created it after running a baccarat room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. His aim was to remove the commission that dealers had to collect by hand after every winning Banker bet.
Galaxy Gaming later secured distribution rights for the brand.
The idea came from the dealing side of the table rather than the player side. Removing a manual step made EZ baccarat quicker for staff and simpler for guests.
How does the Banker bet work?
A winning Banker bet pays even money with nothing deducted. A standard table pays the same win at nineteen to twenty after the five percent commission.
The difference is paid for by the Dragon 7 push.
A ten dollar EZ baccarat Banker win returns ten dollars profit. The same win on a standard table returns nine dollars fifty.
Pushed Dragon 7 hands return the stake with no profit.
What is the Dragon 7?
A Banker win with a total of seven made from three cards. When it happens, every Banker bet pushes instead of winning, and Player bets still lose.
The Dragon 7 appears on roughly two hands in a hundred.
Seven made from two cards does not count. The Banker must draw a third card and reach exactly seven, and the Banker must also beat the Player.
A Banker three card seven that ties the Player is a tie, not a Dragon 7.
Scoreboards above EZ baccarat tables often mark Dragon 7 hands so players can follow them through the shoe.
Why does the push replace the commission?
Five percent taken from every Banker win and a push on one specific Banker win cost the player a similar amount over time. The push is simply faster to settle.
Dealers never calculate or collect a commission at an EZ baccarat table.
The push removes about the same value as the commission while touching only one outcome. EZ baccarat keeps every other Banker win at full even money.
Does the Player bet change?
No. The Player bet pays even money and loses to any Banker win, Dragon 7 included. Its house edge stays at about 1.24 percent, the same as a standard table.
Only the Banker side of EZ baccarat is affected by the rule.
Player bets gain nothing from the Dragon 7 push. An EZ baccarat Player bet facing a Dragon 7 loses exactly as it would to any Banker win.
Does the Tie bet change?
No. The Tie bet pays eight to one on the common table, as on a standard table, and both main bets push when the hands tie.
Its house edge sits above fourteen percent at eight to one.
Tie bets remain the costliest main wager in EZ baccarat by a wide margin.
An EZ baccarat Tie bet placed on every hand costs more across a session than every Banker bet combined at the same stake.
What is the house edge on Banker?
About 1.02 percent, marginally lower than the 1.06 percent on a standard commission table. Banker remains the cheapest bet in the game.
The saving is small but real.
The lower figure comes from the push rule rather than any change to the cards. EZ baccarat deals the same eight deck shoe as a standard table.
Four hundredths of a percent sounds trivial, yet it adds up across a long EZ baccarat session at high stakes.
Which bet is best in EZ baccarat?
Banker, at about 1.02 percent. Player follows at about 1.24 percent, and every side bet costs far more than either.
A session on Banker alone plays closest to the published figures.
Switching between Banker and Player adds no value. The cards carry no memory from one EZ baccarat hand to the next.
What is the Dragon 7 side bet?
An optional wager that pays 40 to 1 when the Banker wins with a three card seven. It loses on every other outcome.
Its house edge is about 7.6 percent.
The side bet and the Banker push trigger on the same hand. An EZ baccarat player holding both loses the Banker win and collects 40 to 1.
Dragon 7 hands arrive about once in every forty four EZ baccarat deals on average.
What is the Panda 8 side bet?
An optional wager that pays 25 to 1 when the Player wins with a three card eight. It loses on every other outcome.
Its house edge is about 10.2 percent, the highest of the standard EZ baccarat bets besides Tie.
The Player must beat the Banker with the three card eight. A three card eight that ties the Banker does not win the Panda 8.
How often does the Panda 8 hit?
Roughly three and a half hands in a hundred. That is more often than the Dragon 7, which is why it pays less.
Panda 8 has no effect on the main Player bet, which still pays even money.
The bet is named for the panda avatar printed on the EZ baccarat felt beside the dragon.
Are the side bets worth playing?
Both carry house edges seven to ten times higher than Banker. They are optional, and a session that skips them keeps the cost of play near one percent.
Players who enjoy tracking the avatars treat them as entertainment spending.
Budget side bets separately if playing them at all. Mixing them into the main bankroll hides their cost across an EZ baccarat session.
Neither side bet changes the odds on the main Banker or Player wagers at an EZ baccarat table.
Why are EZ baccarat tables faster?
Without a commission to calculate and collect, dealers settle each hand sooner. The brand describes EZ baccarat as the fastest baccarat game on the market by hands per hour.
Faster play also raises hourly cost at the same stake.
Faster tables deal more hands per hour, which raises the total wagered in a session.
Setting a time limit keeps hourly cost in check.
Standard baccarat dealers pause after Banker wins to collect commission. EZ baccarat dealers move straight to the next hand.
What are the drawing rules?
They follow standard punto banco exactly. Naturals of eight or nine stand, the Player draws on zero through five, and the Banker draws according to its total and the Player third card.
No player decision affects the cards.
The dealer applies every rule automatically. EZ baccarat players never choose whether a hand draws.
Third card rules are identical at every EZ baccarat table, so no drawing chart changes between casinos.
How are cards counted?
Tens and face cards count zero, aces count one, and every other card counts at face value. Only the last digit of the total matters.
A hand of nine and six therefore totals five.
A total of fifteen counts as five and a total of seventeen counts as seven. EZ baccarat hands never exceed nine.
Card counting brings no meaningful edge on the main EZ baccarat bets, because the eight deck shoe dilutes card removal.
What are Golden Talons and Divine 9?
Two side bets from the Galaxy Gaming catalogue that EZ baccarat added for casinos at no extra licence cost. Tables that carry them list the rules and paytables separately.
Availability varies by casino.
Casinos choose whether to add them to an EZ baccarat table. Tables without them offer only Dragon 7, Panda 8 and Tie.
Is there a live dealer version?
Yes. Evolution’s Ezugi studio has expanded EZ baccarat across the United States and Canada as a live dealer game, streaming a real shoe and a real dealer to online lobbies.
Live tables follow the same commission free rules.
The live format keeps the commission free Banker bet and the three card seven push. Stakes, side bets and seats depend on the studio build and the operator lobby.
Live EZ baccarat tables deal from a physical shoe on camera.
Where can Canadians play EZ baccarat?
Casino de Montreal runs it on red felt tables with a twenty five dollar minimum. Great Canadian Gaming, Parkwest, River Cree and Pure Canadian Gaming properties list it among their floors.
Live versions reach Canadian players through the Ezugi studio.
Alberta properties such as River Cree and Pure Casino Calgary appear on the brand casino list. EZ baccarat reaches Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia floors through those operators.
Table minimums on Canadian floors vary by casino and by time of day.
How big is EZ baccarat in North America?
The brand reports more than 730 tables in over 140 casinos across the United States and Canada. It describes itself as the most popular baccarat brand in both countries.
Commerce Casino set a North American record for its table count.
Table counts matter to players because a widespread brand keeps the same rules at every casino.
EZ baccarat plays identically in Montreal and in Las Vegas.
Casinos pay the same licence price for EZ baccarat regardless of size, a policy the brand has kept since launch.
How does it compare with standard baccarat?
Standard baccarat deducts five percent from Banker wins. EZ baccarat pays Banker wins in full and pushes the Dragon 7 instead, with nearly identical cost.
Player and Tie bets are unchanged.
Standard tables track commission owed with markers beside each seat. EZ baccarat tables need no markers at all.
Players who already know standard baccarat need no new strategy for EZ baccarat.
How does it compare with no commission live baccarat?
Live studio no commission tables usually pay half on a Banker six. EZ baccarat pushes a three card Banker seven instead.
Both remove the commission by adjusting one Banker outcome.
The Banker six rule touches a more common hand at a smaller cost each time. The EZ baccarat push touches a rarer hand at the full stake.
Is EZ baccarat certified in Ontario?
Registered operators run live and software builds tested by an approved laboratory. The drawing rules, the Dragon 7 push and every paytable are fixed at certification.
Operators display their registration number in the site footer.
Certification is granted per market as well as per title. An EZ baccarat build approved elsewhere is retested before an Ontario release.
Players confirm an operator registration through the regulator public register before playing EZ baccarat.
Does EZ baccarat count toward wagering?
Baccarat often contributes at a reduced rate, and certain bonus terms exclude it outright. The contribution clause matters more than the headline bonus.
Rates differ between operators.
An excluded game can void a bonus rather than simply contributing nothing. That clause matters more than the rate beside EZ baccarat.
What does a Canadian check before playing EZ baccarat?
Four lines decide the table. The Banker push rule, the side bet paytables, the table minimum and the operator registration status all appear before any money moves.
None of it requires a deposit to read.
Setting a deposit limit before an EZ baccarat session takes a minute in the account menu of every registered operator.
Which game pages are worth reading next?
Four pages sit closest to this one. Each covers a game or a rule that touches the subject above, and each stands on its own.
EZ baccarat trades a five percent commission for one pushed hand and two avatar side bets. Bet Banker, skip the Dragon and the Panda, and the table plays close to its published edge.