How to play the American version of poker

Pai Gow Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 cards plus a joker. Players must first place a bet at the table. The order of play is determined by the dealer’s roll of the dice or selection of a random number generator. Seven cards are then dealt counterclockwise, face down, to each player and the dealer.

The object of the game is for the player to create two poker hands of your seven cards. The five card hand must rank higher than the two card hand. When setting up hands, the five card hand must be placed in front of the two card hand. In order for the player to win even money, both hands must beat the dealer/banker’s hands. If one wins and the other loses, the decision is one. push. If both the banker’s hand and the player’s hand have the same value, the banker wins.

The house charges a 5% commission on all winning hands. Any player can choose to be the bank on their turn or they can pass. It may be advantageous to bet that the banker wins all ties, but the banker must also have sufficient funds to cover all bets. Winning hands are determined by the standard poker hand rankings with the following exceptions:

  • A joker can be used to complete a flush or straight; otherwise, it is counted as an ace.

  • An A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest straight or straight flush, below 10-JQKA. Therefore, a 9-10-JQK ranks third.

Tea house edge is about 1.46%.

How to play Asian style

Pai Gow, translated as “make nine”, has its roots in ancient Chinese gambling and is believed to be thousands of years old. Because it is played with Chinese dominoes, it is mostly found in casinos that cater to Asian players. This game is not that popular among Americans. Also, it is more complex and requires more study to learn.

The game is played with a set of 32 dominoes known as The woodpile. After all players place their bets on the table, the dealer shuffles the woodpile face down and stacks them in 8 rows, 4 high. The dealer then rolls three dice to determine the order of play. The dealer starts as the banker and deals each player and himself 4 face down chips.

Each player must make two hands of two tiles each. The hand with the lowest value is called The front. The highest valued hand is There is. If the players’ hand totals exceed the dealer/banker’s hand, the players win the same money, minus a 5% house fee. If both of the player’s hands have a lower value, he loses. If one hand wins and the other loses, it’s a push. In case of a tie, the tile with the highest singleton wins. When a player and a banker add up to zero, the banker wins. Players can act as bankers in turns or passes. Sufficient player funds are required for a player to deposit the game.

With few exceptions, the best score a hand can get is 9. For example, a 1-3 tile and a 2-3 tile add up to 9. If two tiles add up to more than 9, such as 3-2 and 6-5 add up to 16 requires the tens place (1) to be removed and would therefore total 6. 5-5 and 6-4 would equal 0 as 10 + 10 = 20. Remove 2 to make it equal to 0.

There are certain exceptions where a hand can get more than 9. These are called “Gongs” and “Wongs”. The double one and double six tiles are known as the “Day” and “Teen” tiles. A Day or Teen combined with an eight results in a Gongis worth 10, while putting any of them on a nine creates a wongis worth 11. When combined with any other tile, standard scoring rules apply.

Also, there are tiles that can be used as a “joker” named “Gee Joon” with The 1-2 and 2-4. When used as part of a hand, these tiles can be scored as 3 or 6, whichever results in a higher hand value. For example, a hand of 1-2 and 5-6 scores as seven instead of four.

The house edge is around 1.5%. Good luck!