The Pai Gow itself is popular in both Chinese and US casino and so is the Pai Gow poker. Even though the rules of the poker is loosely based on this traditional game, the games are quite different. However, having a basic idea about what Pai Gow is will help you understand Pai Gow poker rules.
Table Of Contents
Pai Gow Poker is a variant of Poker based on Chinese Pai Gow domino game
It’s one of the easiest Poker games to learn and play
Learn how to play Pai Gow Poker online and play for free here
Pai Gow poker is a simple table game that offers the player a chance to hit a big hand that can pay as high as 8,000:1 on their bet. Players are dealt seven cards which they then break up into a five-card hand and a two-card hand using Pai Gow poker strategy (more on that below).
Pai Gow Poker is one of those Americanized Chinese gambling games that today are part of almost every casino. This game is a social game just as poker and can be played by six players simultaneously using a 52-card deck.
Pai Gow Poker might sound Chinese in origin, and it is. But it’s a version of Poker that was developed in the United States.
Pai Gow, the ancient Chinese game of skill and craft, is played with dominoes and is still immensely popular to this day.
Pai Gow Poker, on the other hand, takes place at a Poker table, with a deck of cards.
Developed as a twist in Poker for those who want a bit of variation to their playing style, Pai Gow Poker is a great card game to play - and you can play it online for free.
Let’s take a look at the reasons why you will love Pai Gow Poker free online Casino game. And a few basic strategy tips that will help you to hit the table and instantly do well.
Pai Gow Poker Bonus Payouts
Pai Gow Poker: the Basics
The game of Pai Gow Poker actually isn’t that old - it was developed by Sam Torosian for the Bell Card Club in 1985.
One of the reasons it became so popular is the social factor.
Pai Gow Poker requires both of a player’s two hands to beat those held by the banker in order for the player to win.
The game can last quite long, with many pushes, and you’re likely to spend a lot of time with your fellow players.
This is good for anyone who plays Poker to enjoy themselves, and to have a nice time with like-minded people.
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Surely, this is why we all play Casino games.
Yes, you might like to play for the money, but ultimately you need anything you play to be enjoyable, otherwise you’re wasting your time playing it.
The house edge of Pai Gow Poker, on average, is rated as between 2.5 and 2.7 percent.
So, whether you are an experienced Poker player or someone looking for a game for a bit of recreational fun, your chances of winning are very reasonable.
Another reason why people like Pai Gow Poker is because, in most versions of the game, all six players are playing against the banker.
This leads to a situation where you and your fellow players are all united by a common goal, and against a common enemy.
When the banker wins, everybody else loses. As a group, you’ll win and lose together on the balance of occasions.
Thanks to this, it’s a lot more social than a conventional game of Poker.
Pai Gow Poker Online Rules
Rich palms no deposit free spins. You can end up playing Pai Gow Poker with up to six players and a dealer. Online, it’s just you and the dealer.
In a real-life version of Pai Gow Poker, any player and the dealer can be the banker, but in the online version, it is the dealer who takes this role.
It’s often called a two-hand Poker because that’s exactly what you have when you play.
The banker uses a 53-card deck for a Pai Gow Poker. It consists of the classic 52-card deck, plus a Joker.
The Joker acts as a wild card like in other card games.
Unlike other Poker variants, in Pai Gow Poker, you’re dealt seven cards.
The aim is to use these cards to form two high hands out of it, both beating the dealer's hands.
The usual Poker hand ranking applies - you can win with a high-card hand, Royal Flush-hand, Straight-hand, etc. - you know the drill.
One of these hands should be a five-card hand and the other one a two-card hand.
The five-card hand has to be higher than the two-card hand. Yet, both still have to be the winning hands when they confront the dealer’s hands.
If you get it right, you win.
There are three outcomes of the game:
you win when both of your hands beat the banker’s
it’s a push when only one of your hands is higher hand than banker’s
you lose when neither of your hands is higher than banker’s
The payout for the win is 1 to 1. If the game results in a push, you get your wager back but don’t win anything extra.
Pai Gow Strategy: How to Win at Pai Gow Poker Online
Pai Gow Poker is a great game. Especially, if you follow a strategy that works.
While you can ultimately develop one yourself, there are a few principles you can follow to make your playing experience as profitable as possible.
Here are some Pai Gow Poker strategy tips.
Make a Sensible Bet
At the start of a Pai Gow Poker online game, you’ll have to make a bet.
This is the only bet you need to make, so make sure it’s a good one yet friendly to your bankroll.
On all Casino and Poker games, I always advise you to only bet a small proportion of what you can afford, and this is sensible advice here too.
Remember -
When you’re starting out with Pai Gow Poker, even if the house edge is smaller comparing to some other games, you’ll still find yourself at a competitive disadvantage because of your inexperience.
Balance risk with reward and go for a bet that you can back up in future games too.
Play for Free at First
At some online Casinos, you can practice Pai Gow Poker by playing for free.
This is an ideal thing to do if you haven’t played the game before.
It gives you a chance to get to know how it works and what kinds of hands win. Thus, playing Pai Gow Poker online, free is a really good idea.
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Make the Strongest Possible Hand Across Both Hands
Pai Gow Poker is different in that it gives you two hands to play with. That adds to the variables for you as a player.
Your two-card hand must never outrank your five-card hand.
If it does, that’s a foul and a silly way to lose your money.
However, you can’t win money if only one of your hands is better than the dealer’s.
It’s necessary to balance your hands so that both are reasonably strong. Yet, keeping your five-card hand slightly stronger, as I’ve mentioned before.
Also, make sure to read this article on CasinoSmash to develop an optimal Pai Gow Poker strategy.
Do this and it won’t be long before you start winning.
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Pai gow poker
Origin
United States
Players
2–7
Deck
French
Play
Clockwise
Card rank (highest first)
A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Random chance
High
Related games
Chinese poker
Pai gow poker (also called double-hand poker) is a version of pai gow that is played with playing cards, instead of traditional pai gow's Chinese dominoes. The game of pai gow poker was created in 1985 in the United States by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club.[1]
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, plus a single joker. It is played on a table set for six players, plus the dealer. Each player attempts to defeat the banker (who may be the casino dealer, one of the other players at the table, or a player acting in tandem with the dealer as co-bankers).[2]
Winning condition[edit]
The object of pai gow poker is to create a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand from seven cards that beat both of the bank's hands. The five-card hand's rank must exceed that of the two-card hand, and it is for this reason that the two-card hand is often called the hand 'in front', 'on top', 'hair', or the 'small', 'minor', or 'low' hand. The five-card hand is called the hand 'behind', or the 'bottom', 'high', or 'big', as they are placed that way in front of the player, when the player is done setting them.
Deals[edit]
The cards are shuffled, and then dealt to the table in seven face-down piles of seven cards per pile. Four cards are unused regardless of the number of people playing.
Betting positions are assigned a number from 1 to 7, starting with whichever player is acting as banker that hand, and counting counter-clockwise around the table. A number from 1 to 7 is randomly chosen (either electronically or manually with dice), then the deal begins with the corresponding position and proceeds counter-clockwise. One common way of using dice to determine the dealer starting number is to roll three six-sided dice, and then count betting spots clockwise from the first position until the number on the dice is reached.
If a player is not sitting on a particular spot, the hand is still assigned, but then placed on the discard pile with the four unused cards. In some casinos, such as the Golden Nugget and Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, an extra 'dragon hand' is dealt if a seat is vacant. After all players have set their original hand they are asked in turn if they would like to place another bet to play the dragon hand. Generally the bet on the dragon hand can be the table minimum up to the amount the player bet on their original hand. The first player to accept the dragon hand receives it; this player is effectively playing two separate hands. Rules vary from casino to casino, but generally the dealer turns over the dragon hand and sets it using the house way. This is because the player has already seen the seven cards of their original hand, which could affect the way they would set the dragon hand.
Hand rankings[edit]
The only two-card hands are one pair and high cards.
Five-card hands use standard poker hand rankings with one exception: in most casinos, the 'wheel' (the hand A-2-3-4-5) is the second-highest straight. At most casinos in California and Michigan this rule doesn't apply, and A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible straight.
The joker plays as a bug, that is, in the five-card hand it can be used to complete a straight or flush if possible; otherwise it is an ace. In the two-card hand it always plays as an ace, except in several southern Californian casinos where the joker is wild.
Win reckoning[edit]
If each of the player's hands beats each of the banker's corresponding hands, then he wins the bet. If only one of his hands beats the banker then he pushes (ties) in which case neither he nor the banker wins the bet. If both of his hands lose to the banker then he loses.
On each hand, ties go to the banker (for example, if a player's five-card hand loses to the banker and his two-card hand ties the banker then the player loses); this gives the banker a small advantage. If the player fouls his hand, meaning that his two-card hand outranks his five-card hand, or that there are an incorrect number of cards in each hand, there will usually be a penalty: either re-arrangement of the hand according to house rules or forfeiture of the hand.
In casino-banked games, the banker is generally required to set his hand in a pre-specified manner, called the 'house way', so that the dealer does not have to implement any strategy in order to beat the players. When a player is banking, he is free to set the hand however he chooses; however, players have the option of 'co-banking' with the house, and if this option is chosen then the player's hand must also be set in the house way.
California casinos typically charge a flat fee per hand (such as 5 cents or one dollar) to play, win or lose. Good sports bets. Other casinos take a 5% commission out of the winnings, which is usually known as the rake.[3]
Variants[edit]
There are a number of variations of Pai Gow poker that are popular in casinos today. These variations were mainly formulated in 2004 through 2009. Pai Gow Mania was the first variation to be created which allows for two side bets instead of the traditional one side bet per hand. Fortune Pai Gow is another variation which allows players to make a side bet on a poker hand ranking of three-of-a-kind or better, one of the most popular variations. Similar is Emperors Challenge, which also allows a side bet on a seven-card pai gow (no hand). Shuffle Master introduced a variation of the game in 2006, adding a progressive jackpot side bet, named Progressive Fortune Pai Gow. Part or all of the jackpot may be won by placing a side bet and landing one of the hands specified on the payout table; a combined seven-card straight flush wins the entire jackpot.[4]
Advantage play[edit]
Advantage play refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling. In pai gow poker, a player may be able to gain an advantage in certain circumstances by banking as often as possible, taking advantage of unskilled players while banking, and dealer errors when not banking.[3]
History[edit]
Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in Los Angeles, invented the game of Pai Gow Poker in 1985. The idea for the game came to Torosian after being told about the game Pusoy by an elderly Filipino customer. He figured that the 13-card game with players arranging three hands would be too slow, but a simplified two-hand version with only seven cards would be faster and easier for players to learn. The game quickly became popular and by the late 1980s was being played on the Las Vegas Strip, and eventually worldwide. Torosian famously failed to patent the game he invented after being given bad advice by an attorney he consulted, and noted poker author Mike Caro, both of whom told him that the game was not patentable.[1]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Pow Gow Poker Online
^ abRichard Marosi (3 November 2002). 'Casino Boss Can't Cash In on Game He Developed'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
^Michael Shackleford. 'Pai Gow Poker'. The Wizard of Odds. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
^ abWong, Stanford (1993). Optimal strategy for Pai Gow Poker. La Jolla, CA.: Pie Yee Press. ISBN978-0935926170.
^'Pai Gow Poker Variants'. Play Pai Gow Now. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
External links[edit]
Pai Gow Poker Rules
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