EZ Baccarat is a commission-free baccarat variant that changes one critical Banker settlement: when Banker wins with three cards totaling 7, the main Banker wager pushes. Most other winning Banker wagers pay even money. That rare push replaces the familiar 5% commission used in standard baccarat, while the ordinary card values and automatic drawing rules remain baccarat.
Learn the one rule that prices the whole variant
A player can understand most of EZ Baccarat by memorizing one sentence accurately: winning three-card Banker 7 = Banker push.
The wording has three parts. Banker must win; the final Banker total must be 7; and the Banker hand must contain three cards. A two-card Banker 7 that beats Player is paid normally. A Banker three-card 7 that ties does not become the special winning event because Banker did not win.
Washington State’s approved EZ Baccarat rules state that winning Banker wagers pay 1:1 except a winning Banker three-card 7, which pushes. California’s EZ Baccarat filing describes the same core idea together with Dragon 7 and Panda 8 side bets.
Compare five Banker results before comparing house edges
| Banker outcome | Main Banker wager in common EZ Baccarat |
|---|---|
| Banker natural 8 or 9 wins | Pays 1:1 |
| Banker two-card 7 wins | Pays 1:1 |
| Banker three-card 6 wins | Pays 1:1 |
| Banker three-card 7 wins | Push |
| Banker three-card 8 wins | Pays 1:1 |
This is what “commission free” means in practice. The dealer does not take 5% from every winning Banker bet, but one specific winning result is worth zero profit to the Banker bettor.
The variant therefore changes payout settlement, not the underlying baccarat scoring system. Player still follows the same draw/stand rules, Banker still follows the standard third-card table, and closest to nine still wins the coup.
One $25 sequence shows where the surprise occurs
Suppose you make a $25 Banker wager for five coups:
| Coup | Final result | Banker settlement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banker natural 8 beats Player 3 | +$25 |
| 2 | Player 7 beats Banker 5 | -$25 |
| 3 | Banker three-card 7 beats Player 6 | $0 profit; stake returned |
| 4 | Tie 6–6 | Push |
| 5 | Banker three-card 6 beats Player 4 | +$25 |
Coup 3 is the EZ Baccarat lesson. In standard 5% commission baccarat, that winning Banker result would normally be paid at the applicable commission-adjusted rate. In EZ Baccarat, it pays nothing because the special three-card 7 absorbs part of the game’s price.
A new player who hears only “no commission” can mistake the push for a dealer error. It is the opposite: recognizing that push correctly is essential to running the game as designed.
Dragon 7 turns the awkward push into a separate betting event
The same special hand is commonly offered as the Dragon 7 side bet. Under widely used rules, Dragon 7 wins when Banker wins with a three-card 7 and pays 40:1. The side bet and the main wager then move in opposite emotional directions: the Dragon 7 bettor celebrates while ordinary Banker bettors merely receive their stakes back.
Panda 8 is another common EZ Baccarat side bet, typically tied to Player winning with a three-card total of 8 and often paying 25:1.
These side bets are optional. The Banker three-card 7 push is not optional; it applies to the main game even when no one has wagered on Dragon 7.
EZ Baccarat is not Super 6 or every game labeled “no commission”
The baccarat market contains several products that remove visible 5% Banker commission. Their replacement rules are not interchangeable.
Super 6 Baccarat commonly reduces the payout on a winning Banker 6, often to 1:2. EZ Baccarat instead pays ordinary Banker wins 1:1 and pushes the specific winning three-card Banker 7. A casino may also offer other proprietary no-commission schedules.
That means the phrase commission free is not a complete rule. Before betting, identify the exact exception printed on the layout. The exception is where the casino recovers the pricing that visible commission used to provide.
Why the Banker edge changes only slightly
Standard commission baccarat gives Banker a small probability advantage but takes 5% from winning Banker wagers. EZ Baccarat leaves most Banker wins at even money and removes the payout on the special three-card 7 win. Common analysis places the EZ Baccarat Banker house edge around 1.02%, close to—but not identical with—the standard commission game.
A simple long-run cost benchmark is:
Expected loss = total Banker action × house edge
If a player makes $2,000 of Banker wagers and uses 1.02% as the applicable edge, the expectation benchmark is about $20.40. That does not mean the player will lose $20.40 in the session. Baccarat results are discrete and volatile; the number describes average price over repeated action under the stated assumptions.
For detailed numbers, use EZ Baccarat house edge rather than treating this variant overview as the final math table.
Commission removal changes floor work as much as player psychology
Traditional commission baccarat creates an operational task on every winning Banker wager. The dealer may need to calculate 5%, collect immediately or track markers, and resolve unpaid commission before the player leaves or changes chips. EZ Baccarat removes that repetitive accounting.
The trade is a sharper recognition requirement. Dealers must identify the Banker three-card 7 correctly every time. Paying that result at 1:1 gives away the mechanism that protects the game; incorrectly pushing a two-card Banker 7 shorts the player. Supervisors and surveillance therefore shift attention from commission accounting to special-result verification.
From a throughput perspective, that can make the table cleaner and faster. From a controls perspective, it concentrates risk into a memorable but relatively infrequent event.
Seven checks prevent most EZ Baccarat misunderstandings
Before calling a result Dragon 7 or pushing Banker, verify all seven points:
- Was the wager on Banker?
- Did Banker actually win the coup?
- Did Banker use exactly three cards?
- Is Banker’s final baccarat total 7?
- Is the table operating under EZ Baccarat rules rather than another no-commission variant?
- Was a separate Dragon 7 side bet placed before betting closed?
- Does the posted side-bet paytable match the common 40:1 schedule or a different approved version?
Only the first five determine the main Banker settlement. The sixth and seventh govern the optional side-bet payment.
What “EZ” makes easier—and what it does not
EZ Baccarat makes commission handling easier. It does not make the next hand easier to predict, does not turn Banker into a positive-expectation wager, and does not make side bets cheap. The fixed third-card rules still determine draws; roadmaps still describe past outcomes rather than control future cards.
The variant can even increase a player’s hourly exposure if faster settlement leads to more coups. A slightly lower edge on a main wager does not guarantee a lower session cost when the player bets more money per hour or adds high-edge side bets.
Choose the variant by reading the exception, not the marketing label
If you prefer straightforward even-money Banker settlements and dislike commission markers, EZ Baccarat can be easier to follow once you know the three-card 7 rule. If you are comparing it with standard baccarat, compare actual house edge and expected loss rather than the emotional appeal of “no commission.” If you are comparing it with Super 6, look at the exact Banker exception before assuming the games are equivalent.
Continue with standard commission baccarat, no-commission baccarat, and EZ Baccarat house edge for direct comparisons. For side-bet detail, use Dragon 7 and Panda 8; for session pricing, use the expected loss calculator.