The cardrooms supply the dealer, tables, chips and cards. As a result, a unique structure took shape in California. While casinos of the type operating in Nevada and New Jersey are not allowed in California, the California courts determined that these “player-dealer” games where the players can wager against each other are legal. In these games, players could take turns playing the dealer hand against the other players. In the early 1980s, cardrooms also began to offer non-banked versions of card games such as Pai Gow Poker, which was invented at a cardroom in Los Angeles. At one point, there were over 300 card rooms operating in the state. For more than 100 years after that, regulation of cardrooms was left to local governments. In 1872, California prohibited “banked” card games, usually understood to mean games where the players play against the house.

The California Grand Casino has been offering games like this since it was a Pony Express Stop in the 1850s. In the old west, saloons had card tables where players could play card games against each other, with the players taking turns being the dealer.

California cardrooms have evolved from the old western saloons of the Barbary Coast to modern casinos while keeping the basic idea that players have the chance to play card games against each other.

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