Cal games are casino table games that are found in California B&M cardrooms. Most of them closely resemble well-known games like Pai Gow Poker and Blackjack, but the rules have been slightly altered to make them legal in California.
Games that are banked by the house are not permitted at commercial cardrooms in the state. Therefore, Cal Games are structured such that there's a “player-dealer” who books the wagers with the other players and handles the payouts. In most of these games, the opportunity to be the player-dealer rotates around the table, but anyone can decline and participate as solely a regular player.
In practice, there's usually a permanent player-dealer, supplied by a third-party corporation, who collects all the losing wagers while paying out the winners. All the other players are expected to pass when it's their turn to be the player-dealer. We have even heard that certain cardrooms have banned patrons who insisted upon their right to act as player-dealer.