Pai Gow Poker as we know it today came about in the 1980’s and serves as an Americanized version of the
Chinese domino game. Pai Gow has become more and more popular throughout the years, and has quickly become a hit among players who are seeking long-term player value in terms of playability. The game offers a lot of ties (or pushes), which sees bets returned to players. That means that you can play this game a long time on a relatively small bankroll and have a solid chance of walking away ahead or roughly even.
With that being said, here is a basic breakdown on the rules of Pai Gow Poker:
Pai Gow is played with the Dealer dealing out seven cards to you as well as themselves. The goal of the game is to form a 5 card poker hand as well as a 2 card hand that is better than the dealer’s. Standard poker hands are used for ranking hands.
Pai Gow is unique in that it uses the 5 card and 2 card hands, and that the game is dealt out with Joker cards in the deck. The Joker serves as a connecting card in the 5 card hand, otherwise its an Ace. If the player opts to put the Joker in the 2 card hand, it serves as an Ace. This card is called a bug in Pai Gow.
Hand rankings in Pai Gow Poker are as follows, High to Low:
Royal Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card
It should be noted that because of the low house edge and length of play, there is a 5% commission paid out on winnings. While this may seem like a high amount, players still have a good chance of coming out ahead if they play with proper strategy.