Pai Gow Poker: How to Play?

Pai Gow Poker is a popular variation of poker that allows you to play with a standard 52-card deck. The game was invented in Macau and has since become one of the most popular games at many casinos. Pai Gow Poker uses a unique combination of poker hands to determine who wins each hand. This guide will explain how to play Pai Gow step by step, so you can start playing yourself.

How Does Playing Pai Gow Work: Step by Step Guide

Pai Gow Poker is played with 53 cards (a standard deck plus Joker). Here is how the game of Pai Gow Poker unfolds:

1. Players place their bets on the table.
2. Each player is dealt seven cards and splits them into two hands. The first hand is the highest and consists of 5 cards. The second hand is the second highest and consists of only two cards. Only pairs and high cards can be formed in the two-card hand. Standard poker hand rankings apply to the five-card hand.
3. Remember that the 5-card hand must consistently rank higher than the 2-card hand.
4. Your goal is to beat both of the Dealer's hands. If you only win one of the hands, the round results in a tie.
5. If you lose both hands against the Dealer, the Dealer takes the bet. If you win both hands, you receive "even money" on your bet, expecting the bank to take a 5% commission from your winnings.

Wild card (Joker) may be used only as a single Ace or to complete a Flush, Straight, or Straight Flush.

You can play free without spending or for real money if you prefer. For example, the Pai Gow poker game is frequently listed under poker games at an online casino. Therefore, you can play it right away on your gaming device without downloading anything.

Pai Gow Poker: Hand Rankings

The game's goal is to make two separate hands that beat your opponents' hands. Pai Gow Poker hand rankings are as follows:

1. 7 Card Straight Flush (No Joker): Seven consecutive cards of the same suit that do not include a joker.
2. Royal Flush + Royal Match: An ace, king, queen, jack, ten, and suited ace, king, queen.
3. 7 Card Straight Flush (With Joker): A straight flush of seven cards of the same suit ranked consecutively.
4. A set of four aces and a joker: Best 5-card Hand
5. The Royal Flush: An ace-high five-card hand with the same suit numerical sequence
6. Straight Flush: A straight flush combines a straight and a flush. It consists of five sequentially arranged cards of the same suit (hearts/diamonds/clubs/spades). s. Four of a Kind: When you have four cards of the same rank or value, such as Ace-King-Queen-Jack, or Ace-Jack, you have a four of a kind.
7. A full house occurs when you have three cards of one rank or value and two of another, such as Ace-King-Jack-10-9, which contains three aces and two jacks.
8. A flush occurs when all five cards in your hand are of the same suit.
9. A straight occurs when all five cards in your hand are consecutive, such as 3-2-Ace-King-Queen.
10. Three-of-a-kind: three identically ranked cards
11. Two Pairs: Two identical pairs.
12. One Pair: A pair with the same rank.

If there is an absolute tie (meaning both players have the same hand and high card, then the Dealer wins. If there are multiple ties, players are still required to split.

Additional / Side Bets in Pai Gow Poker

Side bets neither increase nor decrease the bet for the hand itself.

Instead, the player wagers more on whether they will get three-of-a-kind, a full house, four-of-a-kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. Naturally, the higher the hand, the greater the bonus payout.

Among the most common Pai Gow Side bets are:

1. Fortune Pai Gow- This allows players to wager on Jacks or better.
2. Pai Gow Mania- This allows players to place two side bets simultaneously.
3. Emperor's Challenge allows players to place a pai gow side bet.
4. Progressive Fortune Pai Gow- This allows players to place side bets on the jackpot, a combined seven-card straight flush.

How does Fortune Pai Gow Poker Side Bet work?

"Fortune" is a Pai Gow Poker side bet that pays out based on the value of the player's seven cards. The Fortune Bonus Bet considers the first seven (7) cards dealt to a player as their hand.

If the first seven (7) cards dealt to a player who placed a Fortune Bonus Bet wager are a predetermined and designated qualifying hand, the wager will win.

It makes no difference how the player positions his hand. Furthermore, if another player has four of a kind or better, the player who placed the Fortune bet will receive an "Envy Bonus." Every table has a $5 minimum, and the Envy Bonus has a fixed amount.

When a player places the Side Bet, they are betting that they will be able to make a qualifying five-card poker rank hand out of the seven cards they are dealt.

Conclusion

Pai Gow Poker is a game that takes skill and patience to master. The more you play, the better you will get at it! Keep an eye on your hand ranking because that matters in this game. The best way to learn how to play Pai Gow Poker is by playing against other players who are more experienced than yourself. That way, you can pick up some tips from them while winning money along the way!