Rules of Pai Gow Poker

A combination of an ancient Chinese game and classic American poker, it is played in many of the California card clubs and in Las Vagas as well. The aim of the game is to make two poker hands that beat the banker's hands. The game is played with a 52 cards plus one joker. The joker can be used as an Ace or to complete a flush or straight.

The player is dealt 7 cards. He has to make a five card high hand and a two card low hand. The hands are played and ranked as traditional poker hands. There is one exception - A2345 which is the second highest straight. The 5 card hand must be higher than the 2 card hand. If both hands are better than the banker's hand, you win, if both lose, you lose, otherwise it's a push. The banker also wins absolute ties.

Each player spot has spaces for a bet, low hand, high hand and sometimes the house commission. Typically the banker is the house, but can be a player as well. The banker decides which hands go to which player by throwing three dice from a dice cup; the banker's position is either 1, 8 or 15 and the hands are passed out counterclockwise. The player puts the two-card hand face down in the box closest to the dealer and the five card hand face down in back. Once everybody has set their hand, the dealer turns over and sets the bank's hand. The dealer then compares the bank's hand to the players. There is a 5% commission on winning bets that you can either put out next to your winning bet, or the dealer will subtract from your payoff. The lowest minimum bet is $5.

The strategic decisions in this game are how much to bet and how to set your hand. The simple basic strategy for setting your hand is to make the highest 2-card hand that is less than your five card hand. Since pairs generally win the 2-card hands, and two-pair wins the 5-card hands, the only difficult decisions are when to split two pairs. A ``Pai-gow'' is a hand with no pairs, such as Q J / K 7 8 6 2.

The House Dealer or the player can become the banker who bets against all the players. The players can alternate to be the banker and the banker is typically signified by a white plastic marker. A Bank Player must either cover half or all wagers against him/her. The House will co-bank at 50/50 if the Bank Player so requires. The hand will be set according to house way and the table limit will apply if the House acts as a co-banker. In order to bank, a player must have played the previous hand against the House. The House will wager a sum equal to that player's wager against the house the previous hand. The player may request that a smaller amount be wagered. A Banker must be bank at the same spot of the hand he previously played against the house.

Pai-gow poker is an easy game to play, and since each hand takes long to play and most hands push, you can sustain your bankroll for sometime. In the California card clubs, all betting is done between players, so the option to be the bank alternates among the active players. The rule differences from the IP rules are that the Joker is wild, and the house commission is a flat $1 per hand and a $10 minimum bet.