Pai Gow Poker

One of the fastest growing new poker games is Pai Gow Poker, which translates to Nine High in Mandarin. It's a fusion of American poker and the ancient Chinese dominos game of Pai Gow. Played with a standard 52-card deck and 1 wild card, the objective of the game is to assemble two hands of cards that rank higher than the banker's two hands.

Objective of Pai Gow Poker

The objective is simple; Play two hands, of five and two cards, that are better than those that the dealer holds.

Rules of Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is played one on one, the player against the dealer, each competing to make the best possible hands. After placing an initial bet, both player and dealer receive seven cards. The object of the game is for the player to split (or set) the seven dealt cards into two hands - a five-card High hand, and a two-card Low hand. The cards must be set in such a way that the five-card hand has a higher poker rank than the two-card hand. For example, the player's hand is: 6,7,8,9,10,A,A. The player sets the pair of Aces as the Low hand, and 6,7,8,9,10 (straight) as the High hand. The dealer's hand is: 2,2,2,A,K,4,5. The dealer sets the Ace and King as the Low hand, and 2,2,2,4,5 (three of a kind) as the High hand. The player beats both the dealer's High and Low hands, thus winning the round.

The hands are ranked according to standard poker rules, with the exception that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight after A-K-Q-J-10. The only real difference between Pai Gow Poker hand ranks and standard poker hand ranks is that a five-Aces hand (four Aces and a Joker) beats a royal flush, and it is the highest hand in the game. By the way, the best Low hand is a pair of Aces.

After the player finished arranging his/her hands, the dealer arranges his/her hands according to a set of fixed rules (the House Way). The player's two hands (High and Low) are then compared with the dealer's two hands (High and Low) to determine the winner. In order to win, both the player's High and Low hands must have a higher poker rank than both the dealer's High and Low hands (according to the Pai Gow Poker Hand Ranks table).