Pai gow poker

Pai Gow Poker is an American version of a Chinese domino game also named, not coincidentally, Pai Gow.
Known in some places as Double Hand Poker, you can think of Pai Gow as a combination of 7-Card Stud and the domino game.
Created by an American casino owner (Sam Torosian) in the mid-1980s (without patenting it, unfortunately), Pai Gow has taken hold as a casino staple and is still going strong 30 years later.
In simple terms your goal is to make two poker hands – one 5-card hand and one 2-card hand. If your two poker hands beat the dealer’s two poker hands, you win.
If only one of your hand wins, it’s a push. And if both of your hands lose, you lose your bet.
Easy, right?
As you might guess the game itself is simple and quick to learn for anyone who plays poker and is perfect for a nice, fun, slow-paced game to play live at the casino.
pai gow poker rules
What is Pai Gow Poker?
As you can likely figure out based on the simple rules above, Pai Gow Poker is a game of pushes. A lot of pushes.
Which is cool. Sit down at a Pai Gow table (live or online) and you can play for quite a while on the same stake – while at the same time getting to move quite a bit of money around.
The odds are definitely in favor of winning one hand per deal which makes it a relatively low-risk casino game and a relaxed way to interact with fellow gamblers at a casino.
For even more camaraderie, at a Pai Gow table each player plays against the banker which means players usually win or lose together.
Another cool thing about Pai Gow?
If you’re not sure how to set your hand you can just turn it face up and ask the dealer. He or she will tell you how the House would set it and there you go!
How to Bet in Pai Gow Poker
Just like most casino table games Pai Gow poker begins with the player placing a bet before receiving any cards.
This is the only bet you will make for the duration of the hand and it must be within the minimum and maximum betting limits of the table.
how to play pai gow poker
At some Pai Gow tables you can also make a Bonus bet on whether you’ll make a “premium” hand. In most casinos that’s 3-of-a-kind or better.
The better your premium hand the more the casino will pay out on your bet. The bonus wager doesn’t depend on whether you win your main bet or not.
Expert Tip: Never bet the bonus! The house edge on the bonus bet is comparatively huge. You’re guaranteed to lose money over the long haul making the bonus bet.
Pai Gow Poker – The Deal
After all of the best have been placed each player then (typically there will be 6 players and one dealer) receives 7 cards face down from the 53-card deck (52 cards plus one joker).
Even if not all of the seats at the table are full the dealer will deal out all 7 cards to each of the places.
The four remaining cards are left face down as a muck pile.
Once the dealer picks up any unused hands each player can then set their two Pai Gow hands.