Pai Gow Poker has become a popular game in casinos. The poker name refers more to the hands used to determine who wins rather than the style of play. This game isn’t played against a table of betting and bluffing experts, but against the dealer based simply on cards dealt. It’s a more leisurely paced game for the patient player. Pai Gow Poker is based on the Chinese dominoes game of Pai Gow but uses cards rather than tiles for play. But as a result, traditional Chinese beliefs have been incorporated into the game.
Pai Gow is played at a table similar to a black jack table. If you decide to play, first you’ll place your bet. Keep in mind that the house takes a 5% commission on a winning hand. Some players “pre-pay” the commission by adding an extra 5% to their bet when they place it. Once bets have been placed, the order of the deal is determined either by a roll of the dice or a random number generator. This ritual is based on the original dominoes game and is to ensure a random deal. Another part of the ritual that might mystify newcomers to the game is that the cards are dealt to all seats, even empty seats. Hands dealt to empty seats are referred to as “dragon” hands and some casinos allow them to be played by other players in the game.
Each player is dealt seven cards. The object of the game is to arrange the seven cards into the two best possible hands. One hand will be a traditional five card poker hand and this hand must be the highest or strongest hand. The second hand is a two card “low” hand. Though keep in mind that “low” here means it cannot be stronger that your five card hand, not that it should be lower in value than the other hands dealt. So, if you are dealt seven cards that include a pair of kings and a pair of threes, the two card hand would be the pair of threes. The five card hand would be the kings. Making a mistake in this can result in a fouled hand. But uncertain novice players can ask the dealer to help them set their hand the “house way.”
Remember, I mentioned that you play against the dealer. This is where the house way comes in. The dealer will arrange his cards following pre-determined rules known as the house way. If both your hands beat both the dealer’s hands, you win. If you only beat one hand, you “Push” and get your money back. Of course, if both hands lose to the dealer’s hands, you lose. Learning to arrange and play the hands is a bit of an art and is made more complicated by the addition of the Joker which is a limited wild card.
The five card hand follows traditional poker rankings. In it the joker can be used in a straight or flush, but otherwise acts as an ace. So, if you’re familiar with traditional poker hands, you’ll be able to set your five card hand. The two card hand is more limited. There are no straights or flushes in it but only pairs and high cards. In the two card hand, the joker always plays an ace. So a joker can give you an ace-high hand but doesn’t pair with other cards. The general strategy is to try to arrange your cards with the highest two card hand that you can create without your two card hand beating your five card hand.
Pai Gow poker offers another difference from other casino games. A player can act as the banker for a round. Casinos usually have a process for alternating banking rounds between players and the house. To act as the banker, a player must be able to cover the bets made at the table, but the advantage to the banking player is that he banks the 5% commission on winning hands. So, if you have the bankroll to play as a banker, it is to your advantage to do so.
