How to Play Pai Gow Poker

A 52 card deck plus one Joker is used in Pai Gow Poker. The Joker is a wild card and can only be used as an Ace, or as part of a straight, a flush or a straight flush.

In Pai Gow Poker the players are playing to beat the dealer only. The players place their bets before the dealer deals the cards.

Each player gets 7 cards. Each player gets to look at their hand and arrange them into a 2 card hand and a 5 card hand with the exception of the dealer. The 5 card hand is used to get a regular 5 card poker hand with one exception. Ace-2-3-4-5 is the 2nd highest straight or straight flush you can get in Pai Gow Poker and it falls between Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten and King, Queen, Jack, Ten , Nine. Five Aces is the best hand in Pai Gow poker beating a straight Flush. For the 2 card hand any pair beats any 2 unmatched cards, but no other combinations are possible.

The player needs to arrange his hands so that the 5 card hand is better then the 2 card hand if each of your hands has a pair the pair in the 5 card hand needs to be higher then the pair in the 2 card hand. At no time are players allow to discus their hands.

Fter the players are done making their hand they will place their cards face down on the Pai Gow Poker table. after this the players can not touch their hands again till they flip them oveer at the end. Now the dealer will show his hand and will arrange them in the same way the players did into 2 different hands.

After the dealer has had time to arrange his Pai Gow Poker hands the players will expose their hands as well. The dealer's cards are compared to the player's hands 5 card hands against 5 card hands and the same with the 2 card hands.

If the player wins both the 2 and the 5 card hand the dealer pays the player what was bet. If the dealer wins one hand and the player wins the other no money is exchanged this is called a push in Pai Gow Poker just like in Blackjack. If the dealer wins both hands he takes the bet. If either hand is a tie the dealer wins that hand, so if one hand is a tie and the dealer wins the other, the dealer takes the money. If one hand is a tie and the player wins the other it is a push and no money is exchanged in Pai Gow Poker.