How To Play Pai Gow Poker

If you like poker, you'll love learning how to play Pai Gow. PaiGow poker is a variation of seven-card stud, based on a Chinesegame of the same name played with dominoes. Learning how to playPai Gow poker is a bit more challenging than other pokervariations, but Pai Gow is a lot of fun and can pay off big atthe casinos. You can learn how to play Pai Gow in an internetcasino that operates on credit or point bets instead of cash;then once you figure out how to play Pai Gow, you can move up tofor-money games.

The rules for how to play Pai Gow are similar to straight pokeras far as winning hands go, but game play is somewhat different.You should first know that Pai Gow is played with 53 cards--thestandard 52-card deck, plus one joker. This makes five-of-a-kinda possibility in Pai Gow poker. In standard poker, the highestpossible hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit insequential order from Ten to Ace); however, a five-of-a-kindwill beat a Royal Flush. Also, the next-highest hand beneath aRoyal Flush is a straight flush from Ace to Five. One of themost exciting aspects of how to play Pai Gow is the possibilityof getting five-of-a-kind.

Another difference in how to play Pai Gow is that all sevencards are used to determine winnings. In Pai Gow, the dealerplays against the other players. To begin the game, each playerputs up a stake. Then, seven cards are dealt face-down to eachplayer. After the deal, each player other than the dealer picksup their cards and arranges them into a five-card hand and atwo-card hand.

In learning how to play Pai Gow, it is important to note thatplayers are not allowed to discuss their cards, or touch themafter the split is made. The hand ranking for the five-card handis as discussed previously, with five-of-a-kind being thehighest possible. The only possibilities for the two-card handare Pair or High Card. When players have arranged the two hands,they must then place them face-down on the table side by side,with the highest of their two hands first (so, for example, if aplayer has a pair of Aces and five unmatched cards, the two-cardhand would be placed to the left of the five-card hand).

When all players have arranged their hands, the dealer does thesame with his. At this point all hands are revealed and thepayouts begin. In learning how to play Pai Gow, you shouldunderstand how winnings are awarded. Each player's five-cardhand is compared with the dealer's five-card hand; and the sameis done for the two-card hands. If both of your hands beat thedealer's, the payout is the amount of your stake at thebeginning of the game. If you win one hand and the dealer winsthe other, you keep your stake and receive no further payout(this is called a "push"). The dealer wins your stake if both ofhis hands beat both of yours. As with most casino games, in theevent of a tied hand the favor goes to the dealer. Learning howto play Pai Gow is a great way to practice poker skills forseven-card stud games with minimal financial risk. Now you knowhow to play Pai Gow!