Pai Gow Poker

Each player's goal is to get a better hand than the banker, who may be the dealer or one of the other players at the table. The game has a slightly slower pace than many other casino games and can therefore last over a longer period of time.

It is a well-liked game among gaming enthusiasts and constantly attracts players who are hungry for new challenges. The special thing here, however, is that you have to build two card hands, one consisting of two cards and another consisting of five. Because of this, the game is sometimes also called double hand poker.

In this article, we will go through the Basic Rules of Pai Gow Poker, share some tips, advice and strategies, and check out the best online casinos that offer this type of poker game.

Rules of the game for Pai Gow Poker

In order to do well in Pai Gow Poker, you first need to understand the rules of the game. These are not terribly complicated, especially if you are familiar with poker as the game is largely based on. In addition, it is good to know some simple strategies that can help you to a smarter game.

The game begins with the placing of a bet. Then everyone gets seven cards each. A roll of the dice or a randomly generated number determines which player receives the first series of Cards. Each player arranges the seven cards into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand works just like in regular poker. The two-card hand can only be ranked by pair or highest card. Thus, the lowest two-card hand is 2 and 3, while the highest is pair of aces. The five - card hand must be better than the two-card hand.

After each player has arranged the hand, it is the banker's turn arranging their cards according to certain rules called the “way of the House”. The player's five-card hand is then compared to the banker's corresponding hand. Whoever has the best hand wins. Then the two-card hands are compared. To win, the player must beat the banker with both of their card hands. If only one hand wins over the banker, it will be equal. If both the banker and the player have identical value on a card hand, the winnings go to the banker, giving the banker a smaller advantage in the game.

The Joker can only be used to complete a straight, flush or straight flush. Otherwise, the Joker acts as an ace. If the Joker is used to complete a flush, it gets the value of the highest missing card. The Joker's dual function as an ace also means that it is possible to get five of a kind in Aces, which is the highest ranking hand in the game.

Ranking of card hands

Card hands are ranked by poker rules with one exception: aces-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight. The best two-card hand is a pair of aces. Below is an explanation and description of the different hands you can get in Pai Gow Poker.

Five of a kind
This hand consists of four aces plus the joker. Thus, hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades ace + joker.

Royal Flush
Consists of 10, jack, queen, king and Ace of the same suit, for example hearts.

Straight Flush / Straight Flush
Consists of a sequence of five consecutive cards of the same suit, for example spades 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank. Example: hearts 6, diamonds 6, clubs 6 and spades 6.

Full house
Made up of three of a kind + a pair. Example: Hearts 2, diamonds 2 and clubs 2 + Hearts 3 and Diamonds 3.

Flush / Color
Consists of five cards of the same suit, without any other mutual order. Examples: Hearts 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9.

Straight / Ladder
Consists of five cards in numerical sequence, but not of the same suit. For example, Hearts 3, spades 4, hearts 5, clubs 6 and diamonds 7.

Three of a kind
Consists of three cards of the same rank. Example: hearts 7, Diamonds 7 and clubs 7.

Two pairs
Consists of two pairs of different denominations. Example: Hearts 4 and spades 4 + clubs 6 and hearts 6.

Pair / Pair
Consists of two cards of the same denomination. Example: hearts king and diamonds King.

High card / High card
In the absence of legitimate poker hands, the hand ranks after the highest card.

Play Free Pai Gow Poker

When you feel that you have a decent theoretical overview of how the game works, it's time to put the knowledge into practice. However, it can feel a bit overwhelming to start with Sharp mode right away. We recommend that you use a free demo version of Pai Gow Poker before you choose to play for real money. This is a perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with the feel of the game as well as try out different tactics and features. Many online casinos offer such free versions that may be worth a chance. When you find yourself in control of the game, betting on free versions can start to feel a bit boring as there is no actual money involved. Then it's probably time to take the step over to play for real. Even small bets can increase the excitement significantly because you have then opened the doors to Real winnings.

Strategies

The object of the game is to build two hands, one with five cards and one with two. Both of these should beat the dealer's hands, and the five-card hand must be better than the two-card hand. If you beat both of the dealer's hands, you win. If one of your hands wins, it's equal.

Pai gow Poker is a pretty smart choice of game because the house edge is quite small. Normally, the house advantage varies between two and three percent. However, you have to keep in mind that some knowledge and training can be required before you can use strategies in Pai Gow Poker – here we go through the most basic things that can help you on the trail who already knows the rules of the game.

Building hands

Once you've been dealt your seven cards, it's time to start building up your two card hands. One, as mentioned earlier, consists of five cards, while the other consists of two cards. These are called the“high hand”and the“low hand” respectively. Your five-card hand must be better than your two-card hand to be valid. If you try to play with a low hand that is better than your high hand, your bet is lost. Below is an overview of a good strategy for Beginners in Pai Gow Poker. The left column shows which cards have been dealt. The two columns on the right show what you should do next for both your five-card hand and your two-card hand.

The combinations you see above are some basic ways to build stable and valid hands, which statistically have as good a chance as possible of winning. Since you have to constantly split your strong cards between the two hands, it can take some time to feel that you have full control over the course of the game and the patterns that usually occur. See the tips above as a solid foundation to stand on while you test your way around and get a more intuitive feel for how the game works. Feel free to try out the strategies in a free demo version. This gives you a unique chance to practice analyzing your cards and creating winning hands.