Pai Gow Poker Rules

Pai Gow Poker actually has almost nothing in common with the more traditional online poker games, such as Texas Hold 'em. This is mainly because the game is an Americanized variation of a Chinese game played with dominoes. Pai Gow poker was initially brought to poker fans by Fred Wolf, who once served as the manager of Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Today, Pai Gow poker is definitely a crowd favorite with many poker lovers preferring this game over others.

The object of the game is very simple, with no special skill being required. All a player has to do is create two poker hands out of the seven he receives into his pocket. The first hand should be of five cards and the second, naturally, of two. The five-card hand, which is frequently referred to as the hand 'on top' must be of higher value than the the two-card hand, also called the 'bottom hand.' Both hands are placed in that precise order in front of the player when he's done making them.

First and foremost, up to seven players are allowed to take part in a single Pai Gow poker game. Before the deal, each of the players puts up a stake. The card deck is then shuffled and dealt to the table in seven piles each containing seven cards. Four cards are immediately discarded. All the cards are placed face down. Whichever player assigned to act as the dealer starts play. The betting action continues in counterclockwise direction. All the active players are not competing one against the other but against the dealer.

The only two-card hands players can make are either one pair or high cards. Five-card hands use the traditional hand ranking system with only one exception. The A-2-3-4-5 hand is stronger than a king-high straight, but weaker than the ace-high straight, A-K-J-10. This rule mostly applies at Nevadan gambling establishments, and is almost nonexistent in any other poker rooms. In the five-card hand, the Joker is treated as a wild card and can be used to complete a straight or flush. On any other occasion, it can only serve as an Ace.

Establishing the winner in Pai Gow is actually a more elaborate task than winning the game. If each of the player's two hands are stronger than the banker's corresponding hands, then he wind the game .If both of his hands lose to the banker, he obviously loses. If a player's five-card hand loses to the banker and his two-card hand ties to him, he loses anyway.

Pai Gow poker rules!