Pai Gow Poker

For many people, the fast-paced games of the casino are a little intimidating, which is why Pai Gow Poker is so popular. This game is slower paced but in addition, it offers another advantage of players being able to spend ample time playing without going broke. The key with Pai Gow Poker or any poker game for that matter is first to learn the basics, practice building those skills, and then enjoy moving up in the game so you can make money.

For starters, Pai Gow uses a standard 52-card deck in addition to on Joker. This Joker can be used only for two situations in the game, which is as an Ace or to help complete a Straight or Flush. As the player, you would place your bet in the circle located in front of you. Then, the dealer would roll the dice, which helps determine the player that is dealt cards first. Once that determination is made, each player is dealt seven cards to make two individual poker hands.

Five of the cards dealt are then placed in the “highest cards” section of the table while the other two cards go in the “low cards” section. Keep in mind that the five-card hand has to be the highest scoring hand. Therefore, if you were to place your highest scoring cards in the “low cards” section, you would automatically lose. However, to win in Pai Gow, the highest and second highest hands have to beat the dealer’s highest and second highest hands. Even so, if the player or dealer wins just one hand, you see a push, meaning the bet is not won or lost.

While there are some exciting factors associated with Pai Gow Poker, one of the most fascinating elements is that if you like, you can ask to be the banker of the game. In this case, all the players at the table would compare hands with the banker instead of with the dealer. Your job also means you would win all ties. However, as the banker, you pay the winners from their own pocket, as well as collect the losing bets. Even being the banker does not stop the casino from collecting a 5% commission on every hand that wins.

To help you get started playing Pai Gow Poker, let us say you were dealt a hand consisting of an Ace, King, Queen, and Joker of Hearts, along with a 9 and 10 of Clubs and the Queen of Diamonds. In this case, your highest hand would be the Ace/Queen/Joker of Hearts with the 9 of Clubs and the Queen of Diamonds. With this, you would have a pair of Queens. The second highest hand would be the King or Hearts with the 10 of Clubs, being the high cards dealt. If you were to get these hands, you could easily beat the dealer’s highest hand while the second highest could end in a push.

Similar to other types of poker, Pai Gow has specific hand rankings, which are shown below: * Five Aces – Ace/Ace/Ace/Ace/Joker * Royal Flush – 10/Jack/Queen/King/Ace (same suit) * Straight Flush – Any five cards of the same suit ranked in order such as 6/7/8/9/10 of Diamonds * Four of a Kind – Any four cards of the same rank such as 9/9/9/9 (highest ranked cards win if the dealer and player both end up with a Four of a Kind) * Full House – Three cards of a kind along with one pair such as a King/King/King/2/2 (any tie would be broken by the highest ranking three of a kind) * Flush – Any five cards of the same suit no matter the ranking such as 7/8/9/10/Jack of Hearts * Straight – Any five cards of different suits ranked in order such as 4/5/6/7/8, varying suits * Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same ranking such as 8/8/8 * Two Pair – Two sets of pairs such as Jack/Jack and 6/6 * One Pair – Two cards of the same ranking such as 2/2 * High Card – When a player does not have one pair minimum, the highest ranking card would win What most people do not know is that Pai Gow Poker was actually created off the Chinese game of dominoes. Up to seven people can play at once facing one dealer. If you were to play Pai Gow in a formal setting such as a tournament, you would see an elaborate method of dealing used. In this case, seven hands each of seven cards are dealt one card at a time. The remaining four cards are automatically discarded without being seen. Then, the dealer throws three dice, counting the players at the table going counterclockwise, which includes him or herself to determine who is dealt the first hand.

In the game of Pai Gow Poker, the dealer has an obvious advantage since they get the tying hands. Therefore, for this particular game to be fair to all players, everyone needs to be dealt an even number of times during the game. Although you will find Pai Gow played in a number of casinos across the country, it is especially popular in California and Las Vegas.

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