Startegies of Pai Gow Poker

Intelligent gambling is playing a game with a casino advantage of less than 3%. Pai Gow is one such game, in fact amongst the top ten best casino games with a low advantage. It is a combination of an old Chinese game and classic American poker. It requires a standard deck of 53 cards with a joker. The player is supposed to set two hands--a high and a second highest--trying to beat the banker's two hands.

Pai Gow rankings are the same as standard poker hands. There is only exception which is the joker and it can be played as an ace or the high card to finish a straight, flush, straight flush or royal flush. Each player receives seven cards and must make two poker hands, the high hand made up of five cards and the low hand with two cards. The highest five-card hand is five aces and the highest two-card hand is two aces based on poker rankings. You have to win both hands to win your bet. All players play against the banker. The banker may be the dealer or a player. The house receives a commission on all winning hands.

A Pai-Gow Poker table has 6 seats and a dealer. The player's high hand is displayed closest to the space in front of them, while the 2nd highest or low two-card hand is placed on top of the high hand towards the dealer. A 'chung' or marker is set in front of the banker. Moving counterclockwise, the dealer deals seven hands of seven cards face down. This equals 49 cards with 4 left in the deck. The dealer throws the dice to decide which player gets dealt first.

The most essential element of the game is that the five-card high hand must be ranked higher than the two-card low hand. Any hand that is set incorrectly will automatically lose. Most casino dealers will help in this placement and the dealer sets the bank hand according to the fixed house rules. Once all hands are set, the dealer will compare the player's hand rank with the banker's hand for payouts. If one of your hands is ranked higher than the dealer's and the other is lower, this is a tie and your bet remains on the layout. If the banker beats both of your hands then you lose. If both hands are identical the banker wins.

A win pays even money less a 5% commission. Casinos have different rules as to how many times a player can act as banker. Typically, the dealer will ask each player to alternate as a banker. There is a player advantage if the casino allows you to be banker every second or third hand. In casinos, the banker must have sufficient chips to cover all the other players' wagers. Some card rooms offer to co-bank at 50/50 with other players.