Pai Gow

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Text Box: This is a casino gambling game based on the Chinese Domino game Pai Gow but played with poker combinations. It can be played by up to seven players. A pack of 52 cards plus one joker is used. The joker is a wild card which can be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush. This is often confusing to a new player. It is not a true wild card because it can only be used as an Ace or to complete a flush, straight, or straight flush. You cannot use it with two pair to make a full house, or with three of a kind to make four of a kind, unless they are Aces. Pai Gow Poker is played on a table similar to a blackjack table. There are positions for 6 players, but the seats are numbered in the opposite direction from non-Asian games, so spot number one is the last position going clockwise. Each player position has a betting circle and two boxes, one for the high hand and one for the low hand. The game is dealt using an automatic shuffle machine. The cards are delivered to each position on the table whether there is a player there or not, in packs of seven cards. This leaves four cards left at the end of the deal. When the dealer determines that he has four cards left, and each position plus his own has seven cards, the players are allowed to look at their cards. The dealer starts delivering cards based on a number selected from either a Random Number Generator (RNG) or by the use of a dice cup (the Chung) containing three dice. The dealer’s hand is counted as number one, then position number one is counted as two, position two is counted as number three, and so on around the board to position number six which is counted as number seven. (This does get easier to follow very shortly.) If the RNG says 5, the first seven card hand is delivered to the seat numbered four because if you count the dealer hand as 1 and go counter-clockwise as the table is numbered past 2, 3, & 4, you are at seat four but hand five. They get the first hand and the rest of the hands are delivered clockwise to 3, 2, 1, 7, 6, and 5. Since it is a random number each hand, no one knows where the hands will start so there is no predictability to bet on. On each deal you play against the Banker. Before the deal, each player puts up a bet. All players other than the dealer look at their cards and divide them to form two hands - a two card hand and a five card hand. The relative values of the five card hands are the same as in poker, with one exception: A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest type of straight or straight flush, ranking below A-K-Q-J-10 but above K-Q-J-10-9. Five aces is the highest hand, beating a straight flush. For the two card hand, any pair beats any two unmatched cards, but no other combinations are possible. How to Play The player must arrange the cards so that the five card hand is higher than the two card hand (so if the two cards were a pair of aces, the five card hand would have to contain two pairs or better). Players are not allowed to discuss their hands at any stage. The players place their two hands face down, and when all are ready, the dealer's seven cards are exposed. The other players may not touch their cards from this point on. The dealer forms the seven exposed cards into a five and a two in the same fashion as the players, but there are specific guidelines on some of the hands, called “The House Ways”. These determine how the dealer must set the hand in certain situations. The House Way isn't set to win all the time, but to keep losses down so that the casino wins in the long term. Then all the players' cards are exposed. The result between the dealer and each player is determined by comparing the player's 5 card hand with the dealer's 5 card hand and the player's 2 card hand with the dealer's 2 card hand. If the player wins both hands the dealer pays the amount bet by the player. Most Casinos charge a 5% commission on this win. If the dealer wins one hand and the player wins the other, no money changes hands. This is called a "push". If the dealer wins both hands the dealer wins the player's bet. If either hand is tied, called a Copy Hand, the dealer wins that particular hand. So if the dealer wins one hand while the other is tied, or if both hands are tied, the dealer wins. If one hand is tied and the player wins the other it is a push (no money changes hands). Banker In most Casinos the players can also be the Banker. The opportunity to do this rotates clockwise around the table with each player being eligible to take a turn as often as it comes around. If a player decides to be the banker, he (or she) is responsible to pay any of the other players that win on that hand, but gets to keep anything that the other players lose. The player can announce the amount of the bank against the house up to the amount of his last bet. For instance, if the player had a $300 bet he can announce a $300 Bank. In that instance the house will take a hand and play it against the player that is banking for $300. If the house wins, the player that is banking loses his bet against the house, and still has to face the hands dealt to the other players. Since the banker wins all ties, the person banking has about a 2.5% advantage, but if he draws a bad hand, all the percentages in the world won’t help. He has to pay everybody that wins. Since the hands start with a random number, it can happen either way. Strategies 2 pair Always split, unless: Two pairs of 6s or below - don't split. The hand contains an ace - play the ace in the 5 card hand. 3 pair Always play the highest pair in the 2 card hand. 3 of a kind If three Aces, play a pair of Aces in the 5 card hand and Ace high in the 2 card hand. Otherwise, play the three of a kind in the 5 card hand and the remaining high cards in the 2 card hand. Straight / Flush / Straight Flush Set the 5 card hand as whichever hand gives the better 2 card hand. Full House Set the three of a kind in the 5 card hand and the pair in the 2 card hand. 2 sets of 3-of-a-kind Split the higher set into a pair and a single - play the pair in the 2 card hand and play the smaller 3-of-a-kind in the 5 card hand. For example, with K,K,K,10,10,10,5 you should play K,K and 10,10,10,K,5. Four of a kind If 2 to 6, play it in the 5 card hand. If 7 to 10, split into pairs, unless a pair or an ace and a face card can be played in the 2 card hand. If J to K, split into pairs, unless the hand also contains a pair of 10s or higher. If Aces, split into pairs, unless a pair of 4s or higher can be played in the 2 card hand. Royal Flush Play in the 5 card hand. If Royal Flush with two pair, split as per two pair rule. Split, if an A, K or a pair can be played in the 2 card hand and a straight or flush in the 5 card hand. 5 Aces Split, unless a pair of Ks can be played in the 2 card hand. Variations There are various side bets that Casinos offer in Pai Gow, such as Fortune Pai Gow. The player has the option to place an additional bet that he will get three of a kind or better, and an Envy Bonus where the other players get something if they bet that one player will hit a really big hand.

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