Pai Gow Poker

This is a fun and slow game; most of the time. When I say slow I mean that you normally win or lose your money at a slower pace. There are two reasons why this game is slow: 1) you have to win or lose both hands before you beat or lose to the dealer and 2) All cards are dealt out regardless of the number of players at the table using an automated card dispenser.

Pai Gow Poker is played with a standard 52 card deck including a joker.The joker can only be used as an ace or to make a straight, flush, or straight-flush.

The rules are pretty simple:

1. You make a wager (minimum of $5)
2. You are dealt seven hards
3. You have to make two hands with those cards: 2 cards on top and 5 cards on the bottom
4. The bottom hand has to be the better of the two hands (I'll explain more later).
5. If you have a joker, you can use it in your top or bottom hand and you can use it as an ace, to make a straight, flush, or straight-flush.
6. The "house" must set their cards in a certain way (this varies slightly from casino to casino. Just ask if you want to find out how they set their hands).

And that is pretty much the rules. If you are already familiar with poker hands, then you know what hands beat what and how to set your cards.

Hand Rankings:

1. Ace high
2. Two pair
3. Three of a kind or trips or set
4. Straight (5 cards in numerical order regardless of suit (Ace can be used as a one to make a low straight or an Ace to make a high straight)
5. Flush (all five cards of the same suit)
6. Full house (a pair and a three of a kind)
7. Four of a kind (four of the same value)
8. Royal Flush (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the same suit)

Note: For your top hand (the one with 2 cards) the best hand you can make is a pair of Aces. You can't make a straight or flush or anything else).

The cards are dealt in stacks of seven to each player or place where a player would sit. If it's only you and the dealer, the dealer will deal out all the "stacks." This is where rules differ a little from casino to casino. Some casinos allow you to pick up your cards as soon as they are placed in front of you while others make you wait until all stacks have been dealt out before you can pick up and set your cards.

Setting Your Hands
After you have been dealt your seven and start to set your hand, keep in mind that your "High" hand (5 cards) must be better than your "Low" hand (2 cards). For instance, if you have an ace-king as your Low hand, then your High hand must have at least a pair or better. If you have a pair of 5's as your Low hand, then your High hand must have a pair of 6's or better. This is really important, If you make a mistake, normally the dealer will give you a warning, If you make another mistake (set the cards where your Low hand is better than the High hand) then you will automatically lose your bet. Anytime you are unsure, just flip over your cards and ask the dealer. They will tell you how the "house" would set the hand.

No Pairs - Place highest card in your High hand and the second and third highest card in the Low hand.

One Pair - Pair goes with High hand and put your highest card (without splitting the pair) and second highest card in the Low hand.

Two Pairs (both lower than 7's) - With an ace, place both pairs in the High hand. Use the ace and the next highest card (without splitting the pairs) to make the Low hand. If you don't have an ace, place the lower pair in the Low hand and the higher pair in the High hand.

Two Pairs (both higher than 7's) - Split overpairs. Place the lower overpair in the Low hand and the higher overpair in the High hand.

Three Pairs - This is an easy play. Put the highest pair in the Low hand and play the lower two pairs in the High hand.

Three of a Kind - Use the three of a kind in the High hand and make the Low hand as strong as possible.

Straight - Play the straight and put the two remaining cards in the Low hand. If you have more than five cards to a straight, then play the lower straight and put the remaining two highest cards in the Low hand.

Flush - Same strategy as the straight. Play the flush. If you have more than five cards to the flush, play the lower flush and try to make the top hand as strong as possible. Straights and flushes are very strong hands in Pai Gow.

Four of a Kind - This can be a little tricky. If it's low (7s or lower), play the four of a kind and put the two highest cards in the Low hand. This will almost always result in a tiel or win. If the pairs are higher than seven, then split the pairs.

Straight Flush - Play the straight flush.

Royal Flush - Don't hold your breath on this on either. I've never seen it happen and if you're lucky to get it, rejoice.

Joker - The joker can only be used as an ace or to make a straight, flush, or straight-flush. You will want to use it so that you have a strong High and Low hand.

Playing the progressive - Usually it's not worth it to make the bet but if you're felling lucky then by all means do it.

Banker - The last thing I want to touch upon is being the banker. In Pai Gow, you have the option of being the banker when it's your turn. When you decide to be the banker, you have to have enough money to cover everyone else's bets. This can be expensive.

I've been told by a regular Pai Gow player that when the luck is not running for the players, someone will be banker to try and change the luck. As a courtesy to the banker, everyone bets the table minimum so that if the banker loses it's the minimum possible amount.

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