How to Play Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker Rules

Pai Gow Screenshot from Golden Casino

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Pai Gow Poker can allow for up to seven players to play on each table and there is a full 52 card deck used with an added joker. The joker can be used only as an ace or to assist you in completing straights, flushes and straight flushes. Before every hand you’ll need to place a wager on that hand and your goal is to beat the dealer and not the other players on your table. The house always has the advantage and in this casino game the house advantage is found in the form of ties. If your hand ties the dealers hand then they win and you lose which is where the house gets their advantage in the hand.

Once every player has placed their wager for the hand the dealer will deal every player seven cards. Each player will be able to look at their hand and make two separate hands, one with two cards and one with five cards. The value of your hand is the same as in poker except a straight of A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest straight rather then being the lowest possible straight. For your two-card hand the best hand is obviously a pair and a pair beats any unmatched cards.

When you do split up your seven cards into two different hands you must not say anything about how you split your cards up to any of the other players. You also got to make sure that your five-card hand is better then your two-card hand. So if you have a pair in your two-card hand then you need to ensure that you have at least a higher pair in your five-card hand.

Once every player is done with organizing their hands into two hands the dealer will flip their cards over and start making their two hands in front of you. At this point you will not be aloud to touch your cards anymore until you’re showing it for the final time. Once the dealer is done making their two hands all the players flip over their hands and start seeing who wins against the dealer.

If you win both hands you win the amount that you staked.

If you win one hand and the dealer wins one hand it’s called a push.

If the dealer wins both hands then you lose the amount you bet on that hand.

When you tie the hand the dealer automatically wins so this means that if you tie one hand and lose the other hand the amount you bet will be lost.

The odds of at least breaking even and pushing each hand is fairly good in Pai Gow, which makes it a popular poker game. It’s very easy to play as long as you know the rankings for each poker hand, so make sure that you become familiar with those. When making your hands you want to get the highest possible pair in your two-card hand without breaking the rules so that you have a chance of breaking even at worst. When you get good hands you’ll be able to win both hands and this is where the money is made.