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Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules

Pai Gow Poker, while popular in land-based casinos, tends to draw enthusiasts to the table as opposed to beginners. That’s understandable. Pai Gow Poker rules often seem counterintuitive, especially to gamblers who are accustomed to playing conventional poker. That often makes novices leery of getting involved.

On this page, we’ll explain exactly how the rules work in Pai Gow. You’ll discover that the rules, while different than those for other popular casino games, are easy to learn quickly. We’ll give you a complete rule guide so you can get started playing the game immediately (we’ll reveal one of the best online casinos at which to play). We’ll also clarify a couple of Pai Gow Poker rules that occasionally confuse beginners.

Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules Card Game

Complete Guide To The Rules Of Pai Gow Poker

Master The Rules of Pai Gow Poker and Start Your Quest To Slay The Dragon

Updated February 15, 2019 Pai Gow Poker is a casino table game and is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one joker. The rules are fairly simple. After making a bet, each player is dealt seven cards and must make two poker hands: A standard five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand. Want to learn how to play Fortune Pai Gow Poker? Check out our guide for rules, odds, tips & more, and come to the casino floor at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa ready to win! Pai Gow basic strategy is based on knowledge of Poker hands. It is unique from other forms of poker because in Pai Gow the player is required to make two hands. One hand is a five card hand and the other is a two card hand, both hands are compared against the dealer’s hands to determine the outcome of the bet. . Casino employees are eligible for the Fortune Pai Gow Poker prize only when off duty. A Third-Party Provider of Proposition Player Services (TPPPPS) is not eligible to place a jackpot collection fee and become eligible for the Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive gaming activity when either in the player-dealer or player capacity.

Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules

Pai Gow Poker House Ways. House Way is a Pai Gow Poker term referring to the way “the house” is required to set their hand. Pai Gow players are often surprised to learn that the actual “house way” is different from casino to casino. In some cases these differences are not small either.


First, the basics.
  • Pai Gow Poker is played with 53 cards, including a standard 52-card deck and a joker.
  • The Joker can only be used to complete a straight or a flush (treated as an ace otherwise)
  • Once you choose your bet amount, you and the dealer will each receive 7 cards. Your cards will be face-up. The dealer’s cards will be face-down.
  • The next step is to split your 7 cards into two hands – one 5-card hand and one 2-card hand. The dealer will do the same.
  • Your goal is to beat the dealer’s two hands with your own.
  • The ranks of your hands follow a standard ranking hierarchy. For example, a single pair beats a high card. A full house beats a flush. And so on.
  • One thing to keep in mind is that the dealer always wins a tie.

There are 3 possible outcomes for each round.

  • You can win both hands
  • lose both hands
  • or win one while losing the other (winning only one hand is a push)

Losing both hands results in your losing your entire bet. If you win both hands, you’ll be paid even money, but a 5% commission is applied to your winnings. For example, if you bet $20 and win both hands, your net winnings will total $19. That’s the rub, and that’s how the casino gets its edge. Once you learn more about the Pai Gow game you’ll see that it is an even match against the dealer, but they win the ties and they take the commission, that’s their edge.

Two Pai Gow Poker Rules That Confuse Novices

There are two Pai Gow Poker rules that tend to confuse beginning players. The first rule involves how the joker is treated.

  • What does the Joker in Pai Gow represent?

In Pai Gow The Joker can be used to complete straights and flushes. If this isn’t available you consider it an Ace. It is not a ‘wild card’ where you can use it however you like, instead it is limited in it’s roll to these scenarios only.

  • Ace
  • straight
  • or flush

When a joker is used in other popular casino games, it usually represents whatever the hand owner wants it to. It can help fill out a full house, 3 of a kind, or even a 4 of a kind. That’s not how the joker is treated in Pai Gow Poker. The Joker can only represent a card that completes a straight or flush (a straight flush would also fall within that criteria). If you have a joker in your hand, but cannot use it to fill out a straight or flush, it functions as an Ace. A lot of novice players are excited to have a joker in their hand without realizing its value is limited.

The second Pai Gow Poker rule that baffles beginners is that your 5-card hand must rank higher than your 2-card hand. For example, if your 7-card hand only has a single pair, you cannot place the pair into your 2-card hand. If you did, it would outrank your 5-card hand.

Pai Gow Poker Rules: Online Versus Land-based Casinos

The rules for Pai Gow Poker are practically identical whether you’re playing pai gow poker online or in a land-based casino. However, there are two small differences; one of them can cost you money. The first difference is the number of players. Online, it’s you against the dealer. In a land-based casino, there can be up to six players at the table (not including the dealer).

Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules Board Game

The second difference involves how an improper split is handled. Online, the software will prevent you from splitting your 7 cards if you try to make a 2-card hand that outranks your 5-card hand. In a land-based casino, you won’t be as lucky. An improper split is usually considered a foul. You’ll automatically lose your bet.

Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules

Where To Put Pai Gow Poker Rules Into Action

Whether you’re a novice or a Pai Gow Poker enthusiast, we recommend that you visit Bodog Casino. Not only are they one of the most trusted names in online gambling, but they have designed a playing environment that is fluid and seamless. You can enjoy the game in their free gambling software or play it online within your browser. Both options allow full betting privileges. You should also make sure you have a grasp of fundamental pai gow strategy because it can be confusing the best way to split up your hand to maximize your chances.

Pai Gow Poker Casino Rules How To Play

Visit Bodog Casino and take advantage of their free playing environment to learn Pai Gow Poker rules. We have a feeling you’ll love the experience.

This is a casino gambling game based on the Chinese Domino game Pai Gow but played with playing-cards and poker combinations instead of with dominoes. It can be played by up to seven players.

A pack of 52 cards plus one joker is used. The joker is a wild card which can be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush.

On each deal the dealer plays against the other players. Before the deal, each of the other players puts up a stake.

Seven cards are dealt to each player. All players other than the dealer look at their cards and divide them to form two hands - a two card hand and a five card hand. The relative values of the five card hands are the same as in poker, with one exception: A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest type of straight or straight flush, ranking between A-K-Q-J-10 and K-Q-J-10-9. Five aces is the highest hand, beating a straight flush. For the two card hand, any pair beats any two unmatched cards, but no other combinations are possible.

The player must arrange the cards so that the five card hand is higher than the two card hand (so if the two cards were a pair of aces, the five card hand would have to contain two pairs or better). Players are not allowed to discuss their hands at any stage.

The players place their two hands face down, and when all are ready, the dealer's seven cards are exposed. The other players may not touch their cards from this point on. The dealer forms the seven exposed cards into a five and a two in the same way as the players.

Then all the players' cards are exposed. The result between the dealer and each player is determined by comparing the player's 5 card hand with the dealer's 5 card hand and the player's 2 card hand with the dealer's 2 card hand:

  1. If the player wins both hands the dealer pays out the amount staked by the player.
  2. If the dealer wins one hand and the player wins the other no money changes hands. This is called a 'push'.
  3. If the dealer wins both hands the dealer wins the player's stake.

If either hand is tied, the dealer wins that particular hand. So if the dealer wins one hand while the other is tied, or if both hands are tied, the dealer wins. If one hand is tied and the player wins the other it is a push (no money changes hands).

Note on the deal
When this game is played formally, a rather elaborate method of dealing is used. Seven hands of seven cards are dealt, one card at a time, and the remaining four cards are discarded unseen. The dealer then throws three dice and counts around the players at the table counter-clockwise, starting with himself, up to the dice total to determine who gets the first hand which was dealt. The following hands go to the other players, in counter-clockwise rotation.
Dealer's advantage
The dealer obviously has an advantage (winning tied hands), so if you want the game to be fair everyone has to deal an equal number of times during the session.

For another description, see the Pai Gow Poker FAQ of the newsgroup rec.gambling.misc

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The Pai Gow Poker at The Pogg has rules, analysis and a strategy calculator.

The Casino-info.com site has a page of Pai Gow Poker rules and strategy.

Pai Gow Poker Free has information on Pai Gow Poker rules, strategy and odds and a selection of places where you carn play online for fun.

The Pai Gow Poker section of the Casino Advisor web site has Pai Gow Poker rules and advice.