Pai Gow Poker Rules
Pai Gow Poker uses many rules that are commonly known in standard poker, such as: The game is played with standard fifty-two cards and a joker from a single deck only. As in other games, the joker is used to complete a hand like straight flush, flush, straight or royal flush, and it can be used instead of an Ace. As far as the rules of Pai Gow Poker are concerned, all you need to know is described above. Once all players are done setting up their hands, the dealer will arrange their hand. After that, they’ll compare their hands to the players’ hands and pay the winners. The rules for Pai Gow Poker are practically identical whether you’re playing pai gow poker online or in a land-based casino. However, there are two small differences; one of them can cost you money. The first difference is the number of players. Online, it’s you against the dealer. How to Play Pai Gow Poker. Pai Gow poker is played with a standard English deck of 52 cards plus the joker, or bug. The joker can only be used as an ace or a card that completes a straight or flush. Players and the dealer receive seven cards they place into two hands: five cards and two cards.
Pai Gow Poker is a casino table game and is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one joker. The rules are fairly simple. After making a bet, each player is dealt seven cards and must make two poker hands: A standard five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand. The five-card hand is often called 'behind', or the 'bottom,' 'high,' or 'big' hand, while the two-card hand is called 'in front', 'on top', or the 'small,' 'minor,' or 'low' hand.
Pai Gow Poker Rules And Strategy
When forming your two hands from your seven cards, the five card hand must be higher than the two-card hand. In other words, if you are dealt A-A-3-5-7-10-J and you can‘t make a flush, you must include the pair of aces in the five-card poker hand, not the two-card poker hand.
Five-card hands follow the standard what-beats-what rules, with two exceptions: some casinos count A-2-3-4-5 as the second-highest straight. This is the case in some places in Nevada. Additionally, having a joker in the deck introduces the possibility of five of a kind which beats a straight flush.
The best two-card hands are pairs and then simply high cards. Straights and flushes don’t matter in the two-card hand. The worst possible 2-card hand is 2-3, while the best is a pair of aces.
The Joker in Pai Gow Poker
Instead of acting as a whatever-card-you-want wild card, the joker in Pai Gow is called a 'bug.' It acts as an ace unless it can be used to fill out a straight or a flush. This also means that you can have five aces, which is the best possible five-card hand in Pai Gow.
Showdown
Once players have set their two poker hands, they place their hands in front of them, the two-card hand in front, and the five-card in the back (hence those nicknames). All the players at the table are playing to win both hands against the 'banker.' The banker can be the dealer, or one of the players at the table, like in Baccarat.
Determining Who Wins
Each player compares his hands to the banker’s hands. If both the player’s hands beat the banker’s, the player wins. If one of the player’s hands beats the banker’s hands but not the other, it’s considered a push or draw and the player takes back his money. If the banker’s hands beat the player’s, the player loses. In the case of a tie, the banker wins. This is one of the ways the house keeps the advantage. If a player is banking, the house takes a commission from the winning hands and doesn't need an advantage.
OBJECTIVE OF PAI GOW POKER: Create two poker hands (1 five-card and 1 two-card) that beats both of the dealer’s corresponding hands.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-7 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 52-card decks + 1 Joker
RANK OF CARDS: A,K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2
TYPE OF GAME: Poker
AUDIENCE: Adult
INTRODUCTION TO PAI GOW POKER
Pai Gow Poker, or Double-hand poker, is a westernized version of Pai Gow, a Chinese domino game. The game was created in 1865 by Sam Torosian of the Bell Card Club. Players play against the dealer.
THE DEAL & THE PLAY
Before the deal, each player (excluding the dealer) puts up a stake.
The deal is Pai Gow is more sophisticated than other poker games:
The dealer deals seven hands of seven cards, discarding the remaining four cards. Each card is dealt one at a time, face-down. The dealer rolls three dice then counts the players at the table, starting with themselves and moving clockwise, up to the number rolled by the dice. The player who the dealer ends on gets the first hand dealt, and other hands are received counter-clockwise.
Players examine their cards and split them into two hands- a five-card hand and a two-card hand. Poker hand rankings are sustained, with one exception, A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest straight or straight flush. Five aces is the highest hand (using Joker as a wild card). For the two-card hand, the highest pair is the best hand possible. Pairs beat unmatched cards every time.
Players must arrange the cards in their hands so that the five-card hand is higher ranked than the two card hand. For example, if your two-card hand is a pair of aces, your five-card hand must have two pairs or better. Hands must stay secret throughout the duration of the game.
After the hands are arranged, players place their two stacks face-down on the table. When all are ready the dealer exposes their hands. Players then expose their hands, comparing their five-card hand with the dealer’s five-card hand, and their two-card hand with the dealer’s two-card hand.
- If a player beats both hands, the dealer pays them the stake.
- If a player wins one hand and the dealer another, no money is exchanged. This is referred to as a “push.”
- If the dealer wins both hands they collect a stake.
- If a dealer wins one hand and ties the other, or both hands or tied, the dealer still wins a stake.
REFERENCES:
Pai Gow Poker Rules In Vegas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pai_gow_poker
https://www.pagat.com/partition/paigowp.html