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Pai Gow Poker
Pai gow poker is a combination of the Chinese game of pai gow (“makes nine”) and the game of poker. Unlike the original version played with dominoes, pai gow poker uses a deck of cards. The object of the game is for the player to hold two hands of cards that rank higher than the banker's two hands.
The pai gow table has room for the dealer and six players. The house initially assumes the role of the banker, with the position then moving from player to player. Players can decline the role of banker, which is indicated with a chung set in front of that player's area.
The game is played with a standard deck and a joker that serves as a wild card. The joker may also be used as an ace in any hand. The dealer shuffles and deals out seven stacks of seven cards. Bets are made and then the dealer shakes and rolls three dice from a teacup to determine which player will get the first stack of cards. The dealer totals the dice, then counts in a clockwise motion until he reaches the player who gets the first hand. The remaining hands are dealt out counterclockwise.
The players set their cards into two hands of five and two cards. The two-card hand (the low hand) is placed in front of the five-card hand (the high hand). Each high hand is ranked according to pai gow poker hierarchy. The only real difference from standard poker is that five aces (four aces and a joker) beat a royal flush.
Low hands either are or aren’t a pair. The highest low hand is a pair of aces, and the rank then falls in order from kings down to 2's. If a player’s low hand turns out to be better than the high hand, the hand is called foul and the player automatically loses.
When all the player's cards have been set, the banker's cards are turned face up by the dealer. It is the banker's job (not the dealer's) to arrange the stack into a low hand and a high hand. The banker's hands are compared to the players' hands in clockwise order, starting with the player who received the cards first.
Both of the player's hands must beat both of the banker' hands. If the player's low hand and the banker's low hand have equal value, they are copies. This also applies if the high hands match as well. The banker wins all copies. If only one of the player's hands beats the banker's the result is a tie and no money changes hands.
The dealer uses the banker's money to pay the winning player even money. If the player's hand loses, the dealer awards the player's bet to the banker. The house takes a 5% commission on each winning bet. The dealer collects the commission from each player that wins a hand, and from the total of the banker's winnings.
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