Pai Gow Poker is one of the most interesting ways to play poker. If you are tired of common versions of this card game, learn the rules of Pai Gow Poker and play this game in land-based casinos or at online gambling sites.
Pai Gow Poker or Double Hand Poker is a popular poker variation played mostly at online casinos. It can also be frequently seen in land-based gambling establishments, especially in Asian countries. The game is based on an old Chinese gambling game Pai Gow which is played with tiles. However, Pai Gow Poker is a card game with similar yet a bit different rules and objectives. Let’s take a look at them.
Rules of Pai Gow Poker
To play Pai Gow Poker, participants need a deck of 52 cards and a joker which may be used as an Ace or to complete a Straight or Flush. A minimum of two and a maximum of six players can participate in the game at once. However, some casinos allow up to 10 players at one table.
The objective of Pai Gow Poker corresponds to its predecessor and means beating the dealer. The dealer of the game can be the casino dealer himself or any other player at the table. Usually, the dealer is determined before the start of the game.
Before the start of the game, all players make ante bets and are dealt seven cards. To beat the dealer, players use their cards to make two separate poker hands arranged according to common poker hand rankings. Hands must be of the following types:
- A 5-card high/front hand which is composed of the strongest cards in the player’s hand.
- A 2-card low/back hand which is composed of the weakest cards in the player’s hand.
To win the game, the Pai Gow Poker player’s high hand must beat the dealer’s high hand and the low hand – the dealer’s low hand. When everyone is finished with their hands, the dealer opens his cards. Then, four outcomes are possible:
- Both player’s hands beat both dealer’s hands and the player wins his bet.
- Both dealer’s hands beat both player’s hands and the player loses his bet.
- A tie means that player’s and dealer’s hands are identical. In this case, the dealer wins the round.
- The player beats one dealer’s hand and the dealer beats another player’s hands. In this case, there is a push, and no money exchanges hands.
Pai Gow Poker payouts
Depending on the winning hand, players are entitled to different money prizes. You can learn more about poker hands and their values from our online poker guides for beginners. Meanwhile, we will focus predominantly on the payout rules of Pai Gow Poker. So, how much money will you receive in the case of beating the dealer?
| Hand | Payout |
| 7-Card Straight Flush | 8,000 to 1 |
| Royal Flush | 2,000 to 1 |
| 7-Card Straight Flush with a Joker | 1,000 to 1 |
| 5 Aces | 400 to 1 |
| Royal Flush | 150 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 to 1 |
| Full House | 5 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 |
| Straight | 2 to 1 |
Besides that, all players can place up to $100 on the Fortune Bonus in Pai Gow Poker. If a player pays at least $5, he has a chance to receive a so-called Envy Bonus. The amount of this bonus varies depending on the winning hands and varies between $5 and $5,000.
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