Pai gow poker was first used in 1985 at the Bell gambling club in California, USA. During its existence, it has gained popularity among players due to a small advantage of the casino and good playability. The game is a kind of hybrid of the Asian game of pai gow and American poker. It is also known as Double Hand Poker.
How to play Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow poker is popular among Americans gamblers. It uses a standard deck of 52 cards plus a joker that can be used to form combinations of a straight, flush, straight flush, royal flush, or which can be used as an ace. Like "any card", no joker is used in this game.
Up to 7 players and one banker can take part in the game. Moreover, the banker in pai gow poker is not only the croupier, but also each player in turn (for this, the "banker" must have a fund that can cover all the bets of other players, if he cannot do this, he skips the turn), which gives the appearance of equal opportunities to win (the banker wins with equal combinations). However, the casino takes 5% from any winnings of the player, whether he is a banker or a punter, due to which he has an average advantage of 1.2%.
At the beginning of the game, after all the participants have made their bets, the croupier gives each player 7 cards face down. Each player and banker must divide their cards into two hands: the first with a number of 5 cards, the second - with 2 cards. In this case, on the first hand, the poker combination must be older than on the second. If a player does not adhere to such a rule, he automatically loses. If the rule was ignored by the acting banker, then the croupier changes his hands using the most reasonable rankings. All combinations have weight, according to ordinary poker, there is only one difference - a straight with an ace is higher than other straights, for example, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 is higher than K, Q, J, 10, 9.
The winner is determined by comparing both hands of the player and the banker according to the ranking of poker hands. Both for the player and for the banker, in order to win, you must win on both hands. If a player wins on a hand of 5 cards, but loses on 2 cards, it is a draw, and vice versa, if he wins on 2 cards and loses on 5, it is also a draw. Only with a win on both hands is it possible to win.
All winnings are paid 1 to 1 for a commission in favor of the casino 5%.
A draw in Pai Gow poker accounts for almost 42% of the entire game, which allows the player to sit at the gaming table for several hours and stay with his money. Since in most cases the banker is still the croupier, the optimal strategy against the casino is based on the specific rules of the gambling house. As for the banker-player, here the strategy already needs to be chosen individually.
The top Pai Gow Poker sites that accept US Players
Pai Gow Poker can be recommended not only to poker fans, but also to all those who would like to try something new, not a classic video slots.
Enjoy the best casinos with Pai Gow Poker right here. Do not forget to use the most attractive bonuses. We strongly recommended to get deals only with legally and securely casino sites from our list. US and European players accept at all casinos.