Pai Gow Poker, commonly known as Double Hand Poker, is a variation of Pai Gow in which cards are used in place of pai gows, or Chinese dominoes. Although it’s an enjoyable game to play, it can be a little challenging at first to grasp the basics. Look it over.
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How to Play Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow Poker is a card version of the Pai Gow Chinese domino game. It’s a fun, easygoing casino game that’s gained a lot of popularity. Learning how to play Pai Gow Poker is actually rather simple. You’ll be playing Pai Gow Poker in no time if you have a basic understanding of the five-card hands that are linked with regular poker plus a few easy rules!
A conventional 52-card deck plus one joker is used in Pai Gow Poker. Along with the dealer, a maximum of six players can be seated around the table.
The goal of the game is to defeat the banker, which is quite obvious. A player-dealer “team,” the dealer, or another player at the table can all serve as the banker.
Making two poker hands out of the seven cards handed allows you to accomplish this:
- A five-card “high” hand (also referred to as the huge hand or back hand)
- A two-card “low” hand (front hand/small hand, etc.)
Your low hand must be defeated by your high hand. Your high hand must be superior to a pair of fives, for instance, if your low hand is a pair of fives.
The dealer shows your hands and the banker’s hands once you’ve set them. Then, three things could happen:
- The player wins their wager and both hands.
- The player forfeits their wager when the dealer wins both hands.
- In the event if the player wins one hand and the dealer wins the other, the hand is a push and no money is exchanged—aside from the commission, which will be discussed later.
In Pai Gow Poker, ties go to the dealer. For instance, the dealer wins the hand if you and the dealer both hold the low hand of A-K.
Dealing the game
One unique deal technique in Pai Gow Poker. Following shuffling, the dealer divides the cards into seven face-down piles, each with seven cards (one for the dealer, one for each player), plus four extra cards that are discarded, called muck, if they are not needed.
Fun fact: The dealer put the cards into the piles, forming each one like a dragon with a head, body, and tail, before the invention of card shufflers.
The banker is at the top of the list, with seats numbered one through seven. The cards are dealt by the dealer in a counterclockwise motion, with a randomly selected number determining who is dealt first.
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Setting Your Pai Gow hand
Pairs and high cards are the only possible outcomes for the two-card hand. The conventional poker hand rankings are applicable for the five-card hand. The five-card hand’s superior ranking over the two-card hand is crucial. For instance, the five-card hand must be superior to the two-pair if the two-card hand contains a pair of aces.
The joker can only be used to finish a straight or flush. The joker must be an ace if neither of these circumstances holds true. (Although there are variations in some casinos’ policies concerning the joker, this is the most typical.)
A player is dealt a pai gow, or non-hand, if they are unable to make a pair or better with their cards. An example of this would be if you were dealt Q-9-7-6-5-3-2.
Pai Gow Showdown
The two-card hand is placed in front and the five-card hand is placed behind once players have set their hands. As a result, the two-card hand is frequently referred to as being “on top,” “small,” “minor,” “in front,” or “low,” whereas the five-card hand is referred to as being “bottom,” “high,” “behind,” or “big.”
A hand is fouled and, depending on the casino, is either reset in accordance with house regulations or forfeited if it is set wrongly, such as when the two-hand hand ranks higher than the five-card hand.
The cards must be placed in accordance with house regulations if the dealer or casino is acting as the banker. On the other hand, a player may select how to set their hand if they are the banker in that specific hand. A player must place their hand in accordance with house regulations if they co-bank with the dealer.
Pai Gow Poker side bets
Pai Gow Poker variations, which are distinguished by side bets that have the potential to boost a player’s earnings, are becoming more and more popular in casinos. These side bets do not increase or decrease the wager for the hand.
As an alternative, the player is placing an additional wager on whether they will receive a straight flush, royal flush, full house, three of a kind, or four of a kind. Obviously, the bonus payout increases with hand strength.
Among the most typical—and well-liked—are:
- Good fortune Pai Gow: Permits participants to wager on excursions or superior
- Pai Gow Madness: Lets participants place two auxiliary wagers
- Emperor’s Challenge: Permits participants to place a pai gow side wager
- Advancing Good fortune Pai Gow: This game lets players wager on side wagers where the winner is a combined seven-card straight flush.
There are also envy bonuses at some casinos. Players bet a certain amount on the chance that a different player at the table would hit a premium hand in these.
Pai Gow side bets have a negative expectation, far more negative than the game of Pai Gow alone, much like any wager made by a casino. If you don’t already feel like gambling, stay away from them.
Pai Gow Poker strategy
Since there are no betting rounds in Pai Gow Poker, success mostly depends on how the cards are dealt. It is true that some skill is required when positioning one’s hand to provide one the best chance of outsmarting the dealer.
Players frequently have hands that can be configured in a variety of ways, each with potentially quite different results.
If a player is dealt K, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 9, for instance, they can choose to position their hand like this:
- K, 9/K, Q, J, 10, 9 (mediocre top hand, very strong bottom hand)
- Q, J/K, K, 9, 9, 10 (mediocre top hand, strong bottom hand)
- 9, 9/K, K, Q, J, 10 (strong top hand, fairly strong bottom hand)
Therefore, the top option would probably be the best if a player wanted to almost certainly guarantee a push; nonetheless, because the bottom option offers the player a significant opportunity to win, it would be the most profitable play. It comes down to personal taste and intuition in some of these close calls. Unless the player is co-banking with the dealer, as previously mentioned.
Ask the dealer if you’re ever unsure about how to set your hand. The majority of casinos let them assist you, and they’ll be glad to. Another poker variation that has grown in popularity over the years is Pai Gow, which is also a lot of fun to play.
Also Read : Exploring Spanish 21: Rules & Winning Techniques
1. Learning the Basics
Learn the 10 basic 5-card hands in traditional poker
Pai Gow is a variation of poker in which the usual five-card hand is utilized. Instead of competing with the other players at the table, each player is up against the dealer’s hand. Before you play Pai Gow, you should become familiar with the basic five-card poker hands.
- Royal flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and a 10 of the same suit.
- Straight flush: 5 consecutive cards of the same suit like ace, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of clubs.
- 4 of a kind: 4 of the same cards, but different suits.
- Full house: 3 cards of the same ran plus 2 cards of the same rank.
- Flush: 5 cards of the same suit.
- Straight: 5 cards in sequence but can be from different suits, like 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
- 3 of a kind: 3 of the same cards.
- 2 pair: 2 matching cards of the same ranking and 2 matching cards of another rank.
- A pair: 2 matching cards.
- High card: the highest ranking card in the hand.
Make your best 2 hands out of the cards you’re dealt each round
Every round in Pai Gow poker, you are dealt seven cards. After receiving your cards, you must arrange your finest two-card and best five-card hands. You need to have a stronger 5-card hand than a 2-card hand. The best you can do with your two-card hand is a pair.
- Not every one of the 5 cards needs to be a part of your hand. For example, if you have 3 of a kind, the remaining 2 cards can simply form the rest of your 5-card hand.
Try to beat both of the dealer’s hands to win a round
You compete against the dealer in Pai Gow poker, not the other players at the table. You win the round and double your bet if the dealer is beaten by both your 5-card hand and your 2-card hand. You lose your wager if you lose both of your hands when playing against the dealer’s hands. The round concludes in a push and there is no winner if you win one hand and the dealer wins the other.
- If both of your hands tie the dealer, then the dealer wins that round.
2. Playing a Round
Choose the dealer for each round
In the absence of a casino, you can alternate between acting as the dealer and the “banker.” In Pai Gow Poker, the object of the game is to beat the dealer, not the other players. To make the play fresh, you can switch out the dealer after every round.
Place your bet before you get your hand
Before the dealer deals out seven cards to each player at the table, each player must place their bet. You must place your wager between the minimum and maximum amounts that will be offered.
Tip: Some tables at casinos will have different minimum and maximum amounts, so choose a table that you are comfortable playing.
Wait for the dealer to pass out 7 cards to each player
Following the first wager, each player at the table will get seven cards from the dealer, and they will each start to create their two hands. The dealer will next deal seven cards to oneself, face up, and shuffle their hands. After sorting through the seven cards you were dealt, you will make two hands and lay them faceup on the table.
- Every player, including the dealer, will be able to see everyone’s hands at the table.
Form your 5-card hand and your 2-card hand
Look through your cards and form your 5-card hand with your best cards and your 2-card hand with the best cards that you have left.
- Remember, your 5-card hand must be better than your 2-card hand.
3. Scoring in a Round
Compare your 2-card hand to the dealer’s 2-card hand
After everyone at the table has arranged their 2 hands, the dealer will deal their 7 cards and form their 5-card and 2-card hands. Compare your 2-card hand to the dealer’s hand to see if yours is better.
- If you have a pair and they have a pair, the higher pair wins.
Tip: The highest card of one hand beats the highest card of the other hand if there are no pairs. If the 2 highest numbers match, then the highest number of the second card wins. For example, if you have a 10 and a 4 and the dealer has a 10 and a 3, then your 4 beats their 3, so you win the hand.
Match your 5-card hand against the dealer’s 5-card hand
You only need to beat the dealer’s hand to win that round, so after you’ve compared your 2-card hand to theirs, check their 5-card hand to see how it stacks up next to yours. Remember the 10 basic 5-card hands and check to see if your hand outranks the dealer’s hand.
- If your hand ties the dealer’s hand, then the dealer wins that hand.
Win the round by defeating both of the dealer’s hands
If both of your hands defeat the dealer’s hands, then you will receive double the amount that you bet. If you lose both of your hands against the dealer’s hands, then the dealer will collect your bet and add it to the bank.
- Gambling can be extremely addictive. Limit your betting to a healthy amount.
Score a push to move on to the next round
If you win 1 of your hands and the dealer wins the other, then the round ends in a push, or a tie. That means that nobody wins and the play moves on to the next round.
- For example, if your 5-card hand beats the dealer’s 5-card hand, but your 2-card hand is defeated by the dealer’s 2-card hand, then the round ends in a push.
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