INTRODUCTION TO PAI GOW POKER
Pai Gow is a Chinese variation on poker in which the player makes the best 5-card and 2-card hands with the 7 cards that get dealt. In Pai Gow Poker there is one joker in play which can be used to help complete straights or flushes or as an ace.
HOW TO PLAY PAI GOW POKER
As mentioned above, players are dealt 7 cards, of which they need to make a 5-card and 2-card poker hand to try and beat the dealer. The5-card hand must be of higher value than the 2-card hand and the goal is to try and beat both the dealer’s hand.
The 5-card hand follows the same rankings as in regular poker (see the Guide to Poker for more details) except a hand of Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 – this hand is considered the second highest in Pai Gow Poker.
Again, your goal is to beat both the dealer’s hands. If you only beat one of the dealers’ hands you would tie or ‘push’ and you’d keep your bet. However if both the dealer’s hands are better you would lose your bet.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when playing Pai Gow is paying more attention to traditional poker hands, rather than looking at their 7 cards as two separate hands. Pai Gow is, indeed, a form of poker, but players should remember that it’s winning both the 5- and the 2-card hands that matters. The key to a great Pai Gow strategy lies in a player’s ability to recognize the potential of a good traditional poker hand to be divided into two winning Pai Gow hands.
Basic Strategy
Single Cards
Pairs
Four of a Kind
Flush, Straight or Straight Flush
Basic Strategy
In a very basic and memorable strategy, you should not only have a high front (two-card) hand but an even higher back (five-card) hand. Although this is not always possible, one thing you can do to ensure that you will end up with at least a draw is to create ‘blocker’. You can do this by making your back hand higher. Even though you may lose with a low front hand, you’ll end up with the chance to bet again.
Single Cards
If all you have are single cards, put your highest card in the back and the two following high cards in the front. This way, you can possibly make a winning hand out of high cards.
Pairs
If you are dealt a single pair, put your two highest cards in front and leave the pair in the back. If you do this, both hands have a good chance of winning.
If you a dealt two pairs (neither of which includes an Ace) put both cards in the back and leave the Ace or any other high card in the front. This way, you have a sure chance of winning the 5-card hand. If you don’t have an Ace, put the lower pair in the front and the higher pair in the back.
If you have three pairs, the highest pair should go in the front and both the low pairs can go in the 5-card hand. If you do this, you will almost always secure a draw.
Flush, Straight or Straight Flush
If you have a 5-card Flush, but your other two cards aren’t a pair, then put your your two highest cards in the 2-card hand, but make sure the rest of your cards still make a complete hand.
Four of a Kind
If you are dealt a hand with a four of a kind in it, as well as an Ace or a King, put your four-of-a-kind in the back and you Ace or King in the front. If you have a low four of a kind, place it in the 5-card hand and the high cards in the 2-card hand. If your four of a kind is not low, however, split all of the cards up: put a pair in the front and another in the back.
PAI GOW POKER
5Casinos recommendation
|
||||||||
