Pai Gow Poker

This game is a form of Pai Gow and is also known by the name Double Hand Poker. The game originated in the US and was created by Fred Wolf and Sam Torosian. The game is a modification of the dominoes game that is played in China.
Pai Gow Poker is played using a 52 card standard deck along with a joker. There are generally six players and a dealer in the game, with each of the players attempting to beat the banker’s hand. The game was developed fairly recently, but there are still many players who opt to play Pai Gow Poker in online and land-based casinos. The popularity of the game has to do with the fact that there is some amount of skill involved in addition to the luck.

Pai Gow Poker – Objective

The game is fairly simple to understand, although there are some things that may confuse beginners. The object of the game is that the player must create two strong poker hands from a given seven cards. The two hands must consist of one five card hand and one two card hand.
When forming these two hands, it is important to note that the five card hand must have a value in excess of the two card hand. The two hands are called the big and the low respectively. If the low hand beats the big hand, then the player’s hand is declared a foul and all bets up to that point are forfeiter.

Pai Gow Poker – Game Play and Strategy

It is important for players to realize that the main difference between this game and any other poker game is that both the banker and the player hold two hands, with one being large and one being small. Before the game can begin, each of the player places an ante in the designated betting area. The dealer then proceeds to roll a dice. This will determine which of the hands will be dealt to the player. Since each player plays individually against the dealer, the house tends to hold an advantage.

Once the bets are made and the order decided, the dealer will deal out seven cards to all the players and the dealer also receives 7 cards. The splitting of the hands is then decided. Once the player has split the cards, the hands are compared individually with that of the banker’s hands. If both the player’s hands beat both the banker’s hands, the player wins. If, on the other hand, only one of the player’s hands wins, the player pushes. The player loses if one hand loses and the other one ties or if both hands lose.

Once the game begins, the player is allowed to place an additional bet that depends on the banker’s hand in the game. Since the dealer makes the first move, he/she is at a little disadvantage. The first hand to reveal is always the small hand. If the player’s small hand beats the banker’s the player wins the game.