Pai Gow Poker is a mixture of the ancient Chinese
game of Pai Gow with classic American poker. It's played with
a standard 53 card deck, including a Joker. The Joker can
only be used as an Ace, or to complete a Straight or a Flush.
The game is one-to-one, the player (or players) plays against
the banker, each competing to make the best possible hand.
Due to a rather slow pace and a lot of ties pai gow poker
is less intense than most casino games and a modest bankroll
can usually last a long time.
An interesting element of Pai Gow Poker is that any Player
can request to be the Banker. In this instance, all Players
compare their hands to the new Banker rather than the Dealer.
The new Banker wins all ties, pays any winners from their
own pocket, and collects any losing wagers. However, the Casino
still collects a 5 percent commission on any winning hands
as in Baccarat (Punto Banco) and Mini-Baccarat.
One 52-card deck is used plus one Joker, which can only be
used as an Ace or to complete a Straight or any Flush.
How to play Pai Gow Poker
After individual wagers are placed in the circle in front
of the Players, the Dealer then rolls the dice to determine
which Player is dealt cards first. Next, the Players are each
given seven cards with which to make two separate poker hands.
The cards are arranged into two hands: a 2-card hand and
a 5-card hand. The five cards must be placed in the Highest
Cards section and the remaining two cards must be placed in
the Low Cards section. The five-card hand must always be the
highest-scoring hand. If you place the highest-scoring cards
in the Low Cards section, you will lose automatically.
The highest 5-card hand is a royal flush and the highest
2-card hand is Aces. With a Joker, the highest 5-card ranking
hand is four Aces and a Joker.
The 5-card hand must be higher than the 2-card hand. For
example, if the 2-card hand is a pair of fours, the 5-card
hand must contain a pair of fives or better.
The object of the game is for the player to have both hands
to rank higher than those of the banker. If the player wins
on one hand but loses on the other, it's a push and no money
changes hands. If one hand ranks the same as the banker's
hand, it's a tie but in this case the banker wins. Winning
hands are paid even money, less a 5% commission. Losing hands
lose the amount wagered.
Pai Gow Poker Hand Rankings
(Typically the same as classic poker rankings)
- Five Aces - A-A-A-A-Joker.
- Royal Flush - 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit.
- Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit ranked
in order (for example, 6-7-8-9-10 of hearts).
- Four-of-a-kind - Four cards of the same rank (for
example, 5-5-5-5) The highest-ranked cards would win should
the dealer and player both have four-of-a-kind.
- Full House - Three-of-a-kind and one pair. Ties
are broken by the highest-ranking three-of-a-kind (for example,
K-K-K-7-7 beats a 10-10-10-A-A).
- Flush - Five cards of the same suit, regardless
of ranking (for example, 5-8-9-Q-K of spades).
- Straight - Like the 'Straight Flush' above but
not of the same suit. That is, five cards of different suits
ranked in order.
- Three-of-a-kind - Three cards of the same ranking
(for example, Q-Q-Q).
- Two Pair - Two sets of pairs.
- A Pair - Two cards of the same value.
- High Card - If no one has at least a pair, then
the highest-ranking card (highest in value) of each player's
five-card hand decides the winning hand.
Pai Gow Payoffs
You must win both hands outright to receive a payout. All
winning wagers are paid out at even money (1 to 1) - less
commission. The house wins if both of the dealer's hands are
winners, or if one hand wins and the other hand is a draw.
Any other combination results in a push.
There is a 5% commission on all player wins, which will be
deducted from your payout. Thus, a $10 winning wager will
return $19.50 (player’s $10 wager plus $10 in winnings minus
the $0.50 commission). No commission is collected on losing
hands or ties. So, apart from the commission, the payoffs
on all winning wagers are basically at even money.
House advantage 2.5%
Where to play Pai
Gow Poker:
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