Pai Gow Poker Rules

Pai Gow Poker is played with a 52-card deck and one joker is used. Pai Gow is one on one, the players against the banker and each one competes to make the best hands. The joker is wild and used only as an ace or to complete a straight, flush, or a straight flush. Before each deal, the players put up a stake.

Seven cards are dealt to each player. All players except for the dealer looks at their cards and divide them to form two hands. A two-card hand’ and a ‘five-card hand. The values of the five-card hand are the as in poker, with one exception; A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest type of straight or straight flush.

Five aces is the highest hand, beating a straight flush. In an two-card hand, any pair beats any two unmatched cards and no other combinations are possible.

After the players have arranged their hands, the banker arranges theirs according to a set of rules known as the ‘house way’. Then the player’s five-card hand is compared to the banker’s hand. Likewise with the two-card hand. The highest hand wins.

If the player wins both hands, the dealer pays out the amount staked by the player. If the dealer wins one and the player wins the other, this is a push and no money is exchanged. If the dealer wins both hands the dealer wins the player’s stakes. If either hand is tied, the dealer wins that hand.