Pai Gow Poker is an Americanized Pai Gow game. Pai Gow is originally a Chinese domino game. Pai Gow Poker is a pretty exciting game because you marry the exciting poker gaming with a unique twist. Strategy is not as difficult if you compare it to a regular poker game but the hand rankings do follow.
Playing Pai Gow Poker is a favorite leisurely game in brick and mortar casinos. It is also becoming to be a favorite among online casinos players.
In this page, we will discuss how to play Pai Gow Poker to help you understand the hand rankings and how the game goes.
Pai Gow Rules
1. Players are dealt seven cards. Players will have to set their hand in two separate poker hands. One hand is a two-card hand and the other hand is a five-card poker hand.
2. Players must set their hand where the two-card hand is strong but it should not be stronger than the five-card hand.
3. To win, players must have a better two-card hand versus the dealer and also a better five-card hand against the dealer. It may be noted that in a Pai Gow Poker, the players are fitted against the dealer and not against each other.
4. If among the two hands, only one wins against the dealer’s hand, the game is push and thus no money exchanges will happen. No one wins.
5. If the dealer’s hands are both higher than the hands of the player, then the dealer wins the bet of the player.
6. In a rare case that the players hand is exactly the same as the dealers hand, the game is called copy and thus the dealer wins.
7. There is usually a 5% commission being taken from the winnings of a player.
8. Pai Gow Poker plays with a Joker, which acts as an Ace.
Game Play
1. The dealer shuffles the cards and spreads seven piles of seven cards drawn one card at a time. The remaining four cards from the deck of 53 cards (52 regular cards plus a joker) go to the discard.
2. Then, the dealer rolls 3 dice to determine which player will get the first pile of seven cards.
3. Once the first player is determined, the dealer gives the next piles to each player starting from the left of the first player.
4. Players will then place their bets and sets their seven cards in two separate hands. A two-card hand and a five-card hand.
5. After this, the showdown. Players who win against the two hands of the dealer wins even money on their bet. Players who win only one hand against the dealer will push and no winning is given to their bet. Players who loss in the two hands of the dealer losses their bets. In case of copy or if the players hand is exactly the same as the two hand cards of the dealer, the player losses his bet.
This is how Pai Gow Poker is played. If you are ready to play, you can now visit Pai Gow Casinos and play.
