Pai Gow Poker Pro

Pai Gow Poker information and advice.

Hello and thanks for dropping by. Here on the Pai Gow Pro site you will find practical advice, information, articles and news about becoming a Pai Gow Poker Pro!

Pai Gow is a traditional Chinese game played with domino like tiles. Although the original game is played in the US to make it more understandable a version was developed using normal playing cards. The ranking of Pai Gow hands was based on poker hands. This led to the development of what has become know as Pai Gow Poker.

The game is played with one joker and the normal 52 card deck. To complete a straight, flush or straight flush the joker can be used as a wild card. Up to six players and a banker play the game on a table which is blackjack sized. The players play against the banker. The casino itself is the banker in most cases. Although it is possible for the players to chose to bank the game if they wish. Enough money to cover all players bets would have to be available and the casino usually takes a 5% cut on the winning bets.

At game start bets are made according to table minimum. Seven stacks each of seven cards is dealt by the dealer after shuffling (regardless of how many actually players there are). Who gets the first hand is determined by the banker shaking a cup with 3 dice.

On each deal the dealer plays against the other players. Before the deal, each of the other players puts up a stake.

After looking at the cards the player creates a two card hand and a five card hand. The five card hand must have a higher value than the two card hand. Making the two card hand a higher value is a foul and means you automatically lose. On the actual table is a marked place to place the hands. The two card hand is normally placed in front of the five card hand. To win, both your hands must beat the two hands of the banker. If only one of your hands beats the bankers then it is a push and no one wins. If one of your hands has the same value as the bankers, called a copy, then it’s a tie. (The banker has the edge because it wins the copies). Players are not allowed to discuss their hands at any stage
If the casino is acting as banker then the dealers need to follow the House Way, (certain house rules), when setting their hands.

All in all Pai Gow poker is a slower paced game than many others, there are many pushes, but it’s enjoyable none the less and is rapidly growing in popularity.

By exploring this site hopefully some of your questions about Pai Gow and related subjects will be answered.

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