Pai Gow Poker

Best Online Pai Gow Poker Casinos

Pai gow poker is a card based version of the Chinese game pai gow. In the original Chinese version of pai gow, dominoes are used instead of playing cards. However, the poker version of the game has grown in popularity and is found in online casinos everywhere. In some American casinos pai gow poker is also known as double hand poker.

Pai gow poker has some unique touches and is one of the few casino games that employs the use of the joker card. However, other than the joker, the game is played with a regular 52 card deck.  During each round of pai gow, one player - often the dealer - is specified as the banker, and the goal is to defeat that person's hand. Another difference between pai gow poker and regular poker is the maximum number of players that can sit at a table - pai gow poker is not played more than six handed.

Online Pai Gow Poker Sites

The objective of the game is to make two poker hands with the cards you are dealt - hence its "double hand poker" nickname. These two hands are two card poker hand and a five card poker hand. These are ranked according to traditional poker hands and the five card hand you make must always be the strongest of the two. As a result the five card hand is known as the "big" hand while the two card hand is called the "small" or "low" hand.

A dice is normally used to determine the dealer and cards are dealt face down to all players. If a table is missing players then hands are still dealt to the empty seats.

Obviously the only two hands you can make with the two cards are a pair and a high card. Most people aim for a high card ace, a pair is almost a guaranteed win. Hands are then compared against the banker's hands. Each hand is compared separately - so small two-card hands face off against each other and the big five-card hands also are compared. Ties are won by the banker.

While hand rankings follow traditional lines there is an important exception: in many Nevada casinos, an A-2-3-4-5 straight actually ranks above a 9-10-J-Q-K straight. In other casinos the A-2-3-4-5 straight is the lowest straight you can achieve. It is important to check which rules set the casino you are playing at is following before sitting down to a game of pai gow poker.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy

The best strategy is to get the highest possible two card hand, while still leaving the higher five card hand. One way to get a small edge is to ask the house to set your hand house way, like the banker's hand. The real key though, is to make sure that you don't overplay your five card hand if you can legally make both hands strong.