Pai Gow Poker Game - How to Play

There are several varieties of poker games that can be played in different locations and for various purposes as may be preferred by the players and the nature of the game in terms of organization and determination of winners. There are those that are only played in casinos while others are considered to be home based games. There is also another category of those that can be played in either location. Pai Gow poker is one of the gambling games that are commonly played in most casinos.

Pai Gow Origins

It borrows some concepts from the popular Chinese game referred to as Domino with the only difference being that it is played with several combinations of poker. The game is played with the use of cards that are 52 in number together with one joker card which is also used in the game.

Why Pai Gow is So Different

Before every deal each player has to put up a stake and in every deal in Pai Gow poker the dealer plays alongside other participants. At the start of the game every player receives seven cards and all players with the exception of the dealer are allowed to look at the cards dealt. They are then supposed to divide the cards into two hands with one hand consisting of two cards while the other hand consists of the remaining five cards.

On reception of the cards a player is expected to organize the playing cards is a specific manner that will ensure that the hand with the five cards is placed in a higher position than the hand which consist of two other cards. One of the fundamental rules is that the players are not in any position to disclose the composition of the cards in their possession during the playing period.

All participants then place the hands that contain the two cards to face down. When all of them are all set, dealer then exposes the remaining seven cards and the rest of the players are not allowed to touch any of the cards all through the game. Thereafter the dealer makes up a combination of five and two cards from the seven cards which were exposed earlier by the other players.

The outcome of a particular game is arrived at by doing a comparison between both hands of the dealer and those of other players. In situations where the player emerges as the winner with regards of the composition of the hands, the dealer has to compensate what is staked by the winning player. If there is variation in the winning hand between the dealer and the other winning player the process called push occurs where there is no money that is exchanged. In the event that the dealer has a winning in both hands the player has to hand over his entire stake to the dealer.

These are some of the rules that are applicable in Pai Gow Poker. Learning is continuous and it can only be achieved through studying the game.