Pai Gow Poker is a popular form of poker game which is also known as double-hand poker. This game was created in 1985 by Sam Torosian, a Bell Card Club owner in the United States. The game is played with a 52 card deck and a joker. The joker card can be used as a wild card to form a straight or flush. O therwise, it is considered an Ace. Basics of Pai Gow Poker Pai gow poker shares similarities with other poker games but uses a 53-card deck: the standard 52 cards plus the joker. It is played with a dealer and a maximum of 6 players around the pai gow poker table. The object of the game is to beat the “banker”. Pai gow poker is played with a standard 52-card deck with one joker added to it. You should know that the joker may be used to either complete a five-card straight or a flush. Otherwise, it’s considered an ace. The Joker in Pai Gow Poker Instead of acting as a whatever-card-you-want wild card, the joker in Pai Gow is called a 'bug.' It acts as an ace unless it can be used to fill out a straight or a flush. This also means that you can have five aces, which is the best possible five-card hand in Pai Gow.

• What Is A Joker In Pai Gow
• Pai Gow Tiles
• Joker In Pai Gow
• What Is The Joker In Pai Gow Poker

By H. Scot Krause

History of Pai Gow Poker

The game of Pai Gow originated in China more than a century ago and was played at that time with tiles, like Dominoes, and dice. The Chinese word origin meant “make nine.” The conversion to a poker game happened around 1985 in a California Card Room.

Today, Pai Gow Poker is a table game, increasing in popularity in many casinos around the country. While it is a poker game, it is far less intimidating than sitting down at a live poker room game. One main difference is that in Pai Gow Poker you are playing against the dealer’s hand only, while in a live poker game you are playing against all the other players at the table and not the dealer at all (who gets no hand to play and only deals the cards.)

Another major difference is you are playing a seven-card hand, splitting your dealt cards (there is no re-draw) into two hands; your best 5 card hand (high hand) and your best 2 card hand (low hand), therefore your 2 card hand cannot be higher than your 5 card hand. As an example you cannot use an ace in your 2 card hand with a king high in your 5 card hand. We will get more into how to set your hand later.

After betting (more on how to bet later) and setting your 2 hands, you place them face down in the two appropriate spaces on the table layout in front of you and wait for the dealer to reveal his/her cards. The challenge is to beat both the high and low hand of the dealer’s.

If you win both, you win, usually minus a “commission” paid to the house. However, there are variations of the game like “No Commission Pai Gow” and “Face-Up Pai Gow” (both games played with some slightly different rules) where the dealer’s hand is laid out face up giving you an edge in setting your own hand. If you win one and lose the other it’s a “push” and you save/keep your original bet. If you lose both ways, then you lose your bet.

That was a rather quick synopsis of the game. Now we will look at how to play. As with any table game, you buy-in by laying your money on the table (along with your player’s club card.) We will use $10 as the table minimum and our buy-in is $100 for this example. The dealer will exchange your $100 for chips, giving you 20 $5 chips unless you ask for something different. You might want some smaller $1 chips for side bets—more about those later. You place $10 (2 chips) on the wager spot in front of you.

There can be as few as one player and a maximum of six players because the game uses one 52-card deck, plus a joker, and 7 hands with 7 cards (including the dealer’s) equals 49, the max number of hands you can get from a single 53-card deck. Two decks are actually utilized, one being shuffled in an auto-shuffler machine while the other deck is in play.

The deal is determined by a button (sometimes dice are used) that the dealer presses to assign a random order in which the first hand will be dealt. As an example, let’s say the number 2 comes up. The player seated in the number 2 spot at the table will receive his/her cards first. All 7 cards are dealt out to each player at once; the first 7, the next 7 and so on until all players have received their hands. Now you can look at your cards and determine how to set your 2 hands.

Once you have set your cards and returned them to the table face down and all players have done the same, the dealer will reveal his/her hand and set it according to house rules, placing their 2 card hand on top and their best 5 card hand beneath it. Then the dealer will turn each of the players’ cards over and either collect on losers, knock the table for a push, or pay the winners.

If you beat the dealer on both hands, the bet is paid off as even money, minus the commission. The commission is generally 5%, so in our example of a $10 bet, if you win you would receive $9.50 plus your original $10 bet back for a total of $19.50. The commission is due primarily to the relatively low house edge in Pai Gow. The house edge in this game can vary on how you play and set your hand, but following some basic strategy the house edge is about 2.7% to 2.9 %, not too bad for a novelty table game. It is possible to also lower the house edge by “banking,” whereby the player may bet against the dealer, and other players at the table. For more on banking, see below.

Setting Your Hands

Once you have your 7 cards, you must decide on how to set your 2 hands. Standard poker ranking rules apply to Pai Gow with one twist. Called “the wheel,” the A2345 straight is the second highest straight in most Pai Gow games. As it is not observed everywhere, you may want to ask about this strange rule when you sit down to play. Obviously, three of a kind, a straight, flush, four of a kind, straight flush or royal flush within your 7 cards should be held together as your high card hand and play your 2 best remaining cards as your low hand.

Notice that a full-house should be played differently. The three of a kind should be played as your high hand and the pair played as your low hand. If the dealer has a straight or higher, you will lose your high hand, but you have a good chance to win your low hand with a pair. Obviously, you want to win both the high and low to be paid, but you may want to protect your bet and win at least one of the two hands. While a full house might also accomplish the same thing (winning your high hand against the dealer) if your other two cards are very low cards, you will most likely lose your low card hand and still end up with a push. In a face-up game it becomes apparent what to do against the dealers hand.

Another dilemma is when you have two pair. Most experts agree that if you have two low pairs, like 8’s and 3’s, keep them together for your two pair high hand and put your remaining best two cards into your low hand. But if you have high pairs, like kings and jacks, you may want to split them hoping to beat the dealer both ways. Three pair is easy. Keep your lowest two pair together for your high hand and your highest pair as your low hand. This is actually a very good hand and it has a good chance to win both ways.

Finally, if you are in doubt about how to set your hand there is no harm in asking the dealer. They will tell you how to set it according to house rules; the way they (the casino) would set your hand. You can usually also ask other players at the table for their opinion.

Using The Joker

The joker card is wild in some ways. It is sometimes referred to as a “bug” because of its quirky use. It can only be used as an ace or as any card in a straight or flush, including a straight flush or royal flush.

What is a “Pai Gow?”

I was once sitting at a table when a guy walks up, plops down his money and says, “I want a Pai Gow!” The table laughed. He was serious but obviously didn’t understand the game at that point. Unlike Blackjack where the name implies a great hand, the opposite is true for Pai Gow.

A Pai Gow is the worst hand possible. A “nothing-burger.” It is a 7-card hand of little or no value in terms of poker ranking hands. The worst possible Pai Gow hand would be a 9 high with all 7 cards.

Pai Gow Poker Side Bets

A downside to Pai Gow is that a royal flush is worth no more monetarily to your bet than a single ace when you are playing against the dealer’s hand. In other words, a royal flush will still only get you even money (less the commission) and you would still have to win your low hand to collect on it! And essentially you have the same result holding an ace high in your high hand and say, a king high in your low hand, against a dealer’s king and queen high in the same positions. The payout is the same. This is where side bets become of interest.

The game of Pai Gow Poker itself plays fairly slowly, especially with a full table of players, so you have plenty of time to set your hand and chat among players. But it can be a little boring. The side bets bring some real fun and excitement to the game and also some strategy changes in setting your hands.

The most popular side bet is known as Progressive Fortune Pai Gow. If you have made the side bet for this you could win all or part of the progressive jackpot bonuses for specific hands, like a royal flush (with or without the joker,) 5 aces, etc., as listed on the payout table posted on the table. The highest hand, receiving the top prize progressive jackpot, is for a 7 card straight flush (no joker.) If you are betting the required amount, the dealer will place an “Envy” button above your hand, meaning you are entitled to a cut of the jackpot if anyone at your table hits one of the bonus hands listed.

Pai gow poker betting boxes

Fortune Pai Gow is another variation side bet on the game. Players can place a bet on making hands of three of a kind or better and get paid according to pay table posted. This is where setting you hand may also change wherein you can use cards from all 7 cards to make straights, flush’s, etc.

Emperors Challenge is another commonly found side bet allowing players a sort of “insurance” bet when you have a 7 card Pai Gow hand. The lower your Pai Gow, the higher your payoff if you make that bet. You may also find other side bets. Check the table before you play.

Banking in Pai Gow Poker

One way to gain and advantage in Pai Gow is to bank whenever you have the opportunity to do so. Ask the dealer how and when you may bank. You must have enough chips on the table to pay off all potential winning bets based on the number of players at the table and how much they are all betting. Some casinos will let you “co-bank” with them if you don’t have enough to cover all bets. You reduce the house edge when you bank to about 1.5%.

As the banker, the 5% commission you pay on winnings is handled differently than as one of the regular players at the table. As an example, as just a regular player at the table, if you were to play five hands and won three of them, losing two of them, you would pay the 5% commission due on your three winnings bets. However, if you become the banker, the commission you pay is only on your net winnings at the end of the hand being played. So, if you were to win three hands (and lose two) you would be ahead by one bet, and only have to pay commission on that one bet.

Overall, the game usually plays fairly even, with a lot of pushes! You won’t win a lot playing straight bets without side bets or banking, but unless you just get a horrible run of cards (which can happen in any poker game) you shouldn’t lose a lot either! Good luck and have fun!

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OBJECT OF THE GAME

To win your bet having both of your hands rank higher than both of the designated Player/Dealer. Hands are played and ranked as traditional Poker hands.

THE DECK

Pai Gow Poker is played with a total of 53 cards consisting of 52 cards and the Joker. The Joker is fully wild, if the two-card hand (front) consists of a 'Joker', it will automatically play as a 'pair'.

HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED

1. A House Dealer controls the shuffling and dealing of the cards, and also controls the orderliness of the game and takes time collections on each hand. One of the seven (7) players becomes the designated Player/Deal­er. The remaining players will each play their hands against the Player/Dealer's hand.
2. The Player/Dealer is the only oppo­nent. The Player/Dealer is determined in a new game by starting at seat #1, continuing clockwise. Each player in turn has the opportunity to become the Player/Dealer. As the Player/Dealer, you have the option to be the Player/Dealer for two consecutive hands. You may play one hand and pass the Player/Dealer option, or you may pass the option completely.Once the Player/Dealer has been estab­lished, they select where to start the action. Action is determined either by a dice cup or a randomly gener­ated machine. The seat where the action starts will receive the first pile of cards, and receive the first action from the Player/Dealer, continuing clockwise.
3. Wagers are placed in the small circles on each seat. The amount you wager may not be altered once the play of the hand begins. There is an optional bonus 'fortune bet' if your hand contains a straight or better. The payout chart is below. As a player, you must bet at least the table minimum. However, there is no maximum limit for the Player/Dealer position.
4. Once the cards have been delivered, the players set their hands by mak­ing a two (2) card hand and a five (5) card hand. The five (5) card hand must not rank lower than the two (2) card hand. They will then lay both hands face down distinctly separate next to their wager. When all hands are set, the House Dealer will reveal the Player/Dealer's cards and ar­range the two hands the way the Player/Dealer wants them to be set. The hands are then compared in turn to the Player/Dealer's hand. Player hands that copy every card in that section with the Player/Dealer hand will lose that section.

SETTLING THE HANDS

1. If player beats the player/dealer on the front AND the back, the hand is a WIN.
2. If player beats the player/dealer on either the front OR the back, and loses on the other, the hand is a PUSH.
3. If player loses the front AND the back, that hand is a loss.
4. The Player/Dealer can only receive ac­tion on the amount he wagered, i.e., if the Player/Dealer wagers $100.00 and loses $50.00 to the action hand and wins $50.00 from the next hand, he cannot win or lose any more money. When all trans­actions are completed, the hand is over.
5. Every seat has multiple numbers of betting circles. When there is a betting circle(s) not wagered, the other player(s) has the right to wager on it. The player with the most money wagered on a seat makes the decision on how the hand is played.

What Is A Joker In Pai Gow

The Fortune Bet pays according to the following pay table: (The hand does not need to be set with the bo­nus hand together, it can be split up and still qualify for the Fortune Bonus. The Joker can be used to complete the bonus hand.)

STANDARDS OF PLAY

Fortune Pai Gow Poker adds a bonus bet element to the traditional game of Pai Gow Poker played in California Cardrooms. Each player competes against the player/dealer to make the best possible hand.

Pai Gow Tiles

In Fortune Pai Gow Poker, a player can place an optional Fortune Bonus Bet. A player that wagers at least $5 on the Fortune Bonus Bet qualifies for and Envy Bonus prize.

TYPE OF CARD DECK USED

Fortune Pai Gow Poker is played with a standard fifty-two (52) card deck including a joker for a total of fifty-three (53) cards.

Joker In Pai Gow

What Is The Joker In Pai Gow Poker

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