How to Play Pai Gow Poker:

Another popular casino poker game is Pai Gow poker. The game is based on an ancient Chinese dominoes game, but is played with cards and uses poker hands ranking. In fact, the ranking of Pai Gow pokers differs a bit from the standard one. Pai Gow poker is played with one joker. The joker can be used to complete a straight or a flush. Otherwise it is used as an Ace, which allows a player to have a hand with five aces, which is the highest possible hand, above Royal Flush. Besides, in Pai Gow poker, a straight that starts with an (A-2-3-4-5) is ranked lower than a straight that ends with an Ace (10-J-Q-K-A), but higher than any other straight.

Pai Gow poker is a bit more complicated than most other casino poker games. Pai Gow poker players must take quite serious decisions and can use strategy to increase winning possibilities.

In Pai Gow poker every player receives 7 cards. These 7 cards are then must be separated into two poker hands: a five-card hand and a two-card hand with an important condition that the two-card hand must be lower than the five-card one.

When the game is played other players, a player with the best five-card hand wins half the pot and a player with the highest two-card hand wins another half. In casino Pai Gow poker, there is no pot. Therefore the player places a wager and wins even money if both his hands beat both corresponding hands of the dealer, loses if both hands lose to the corresponding hands of the dealer, and pushes if one of the hands wins and another one loses.

For example, a Pai Gow poker game where the player has A-K and 8-10-10-J-Q hands, and the dealer has K-J and 6-9-10-Q-A is won by the player, while Q-J and 4-7-10-K-K against 10-10 and 5-8-J-J-Q-A is a push.

The advantage a casino dealer has in Pai Gow poker is winning ties. So, if one hand of the player ties with the dealer and another one loses or both hands tie, the player loses. If one hand ties and another one wins for the player, it is a push.