Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a combination of Poker and an ancient Chinese game Pai Gow. If you are not familiar with Pai Gow Rules, read them here.

Pai Gow Poker Rules

In Pai Gow Poker, the object is to divide your seven card hand into a five-card ("Highest") and a two-card hand ("2nd Highest"). The five-card hand must always outrank the two-card hand (hence the names "Highest" and "2nd Highest"). The five-card hand is ranked as in Poker, except that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight. The two-card hand can be either a pair or individual cards. The highest two-card hand is a pair of aces and the lowest is a 2-3. You can divide your hand yourself, or let the computer split it, using a method called the House Way (see below).

Pai Gow Poker is played using a standard 53 card deck, including a Joker. The joker can only be used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, otherwise it is treated as an ace.

House Way

The House Way is a set of rules that describes how the dealer arranges his hand. You can use the House Way on your own hand as well, by clicking the House Way button.

The "front" refers to the two card hand and the "back" refers to the five card hand.

• No pair: Place the highest card in the back and the next two highest cards in the front.

• One pair: Place the pair in back and the next two highest cards in the front.

• Two pair: Play two pair in back, except split in the following situations:

  • One pair is 7's or greater and no ace singleton

  • Pair of jacks or better and 6's or better and an ace singleton.

  • Pair of aces and any other pair.

• Three pair: Always play highest pair in front.

• Three of a kind: Always play three of a kind in back except break up three aces.

• Full house: Split except with pair of 2's and an ace/king can be played in front.

• Full house with three of a kind and two pairs: Play the highest pair in front.

• Three of a kind twice: Always play highest pair in front.

• Straights, flushes, straight flushes, and royal flushes:

Always play straight or flush in the high hand except play as a two pair if one of the following:

• Any two pair and an ace singleton.

• Pair of jacks and pair of 6's.

• Pair of aces and any other pair.

With a six or seven card straight or flush put the highest hand possible in front while maintaining the straight or flush in back.

Play straight or flush over straight flush to improve front hand to jack or better.

Play straight or flush over royal flush to improve front hand to king or better.

• Four of a kind: Play according to the rank of the four of a kind:

  • 2 through 6: Always keep together.

  • 7 through 10: Split unless an ace or better can be played in front.

  • Jack through king: Split unless hand also contains a pair of 10's or higher.

  • Aces: Split unless a pair of 7's or higher can be played in front.

• Five aces: Split unless pair of kings can be played in front.

After the hands have been arranged, your hands are compared to these of the dealer's and the winner is determined:

• If both the dealer's hands are higher, you lose your bet.

• If one of the dealer's hands is higher, one lower, it is a push and your bet is returned.

• If both your hands are higher, you win even money on your bet (1 to 1) minus 5% bank commission.

In case of an exact match between hands (called a copy) the tie goes to the banker.

Player receives seven cards, which he/she splits into two hands – a five card hand and a two card hand. The object is to beat the dealer.

• First, place a bet by selecting a chip and clicking on the Bet area in the middle of the table. Place multiple chips if you want. To remove a chip from the bet field, right click on it.

• Click on Deal.

• You receive seven cards. Leave five of them in the "Highest" hand and select two that go to the "2nd Highest" hand. To send a card to the "2nd Highest" hand, just click on it. To send it back to the "Highest" hand, click on it again. The five-card hand (or the "Highest") must always outrank the two-card hand (or the "2nd Highest"). You can also click the House Way button to let the computer select your hands in a certain manner (see the Rules for more info).

• Click on Done (if you did not press House Way).

• The dealer's cards are revealed. If both the dealer's hands are higher than yours, you lose your bet. If one of you hands is higher and the other is lower, the round results as a push and your bet is returned. If both your hands are higher, you win even money on your bet (1 to 1) minus 5% bank commission. In case of an exact match between hands (called a copy) the tie goes to the banker.

• Click on New Game if you want to play another round. Place a bet again as described above, or click on the Re bet button to place the same bet as in the previous round.

Buttons

Deal	After you have placed your bet, press this to deal the cards.
Clear Bets	Clear the bet you have placed.
Done	After choosing the two cards for the 2nd highest hand, click this button to proceed.
House Way	Let the computer put together your highest and 2nd highest hand in the most efficient manner.
New Game	Start a new game round.
Re bet	Place the same bet as in the last game round and deal the cards as well.

The lower edge of the game window holds the casino toolbar. It contains the following:

• Current balance

  Your account balance. This is the money you can use to play the casino games.

• Cashier

  Clicking this button opens the Cashier window, where you can make deposits and withdrawals, see your transaction history, etc.

• Play for Real Money

  This button appears only in Fun or Offline Mode. Clicking it will take you to the Real Money account creation page. If you already have a Real Money account, it will take you to the Play for Real Money login screen.

• Chat

  Clicking this button will activate the black strip to the left of it, turning it into a text box. Enter a message and click Chat again. A separate chat window will open. Please note: You can only talk to other players in multiplayer games.

• Menu

  Three popular functions are united under the Menu. Clicking History (unavailable in Offline mode) will open the game history window, where you can see the details of recent game rounds.

  Options allow you to change audio quality and various game play settings, and Help opens the help article that you are reading right now.

  Online Support lets you contact a customer support specialist, if one is online.

• Close/Lobby

  Clicking this button closes the game window and takes you back to the Lobby. If you have Multi window support enabled (games are opened in new windows), the button will say Close. If Multi window support is disabled (games are opened in the same window as the Lobby), the button will say Lobby. You can enable or disable this feature in the Options window.

Shortcut keys

If you wish, you can press the following keys on your keyboard instead of clicking on the buttons on the screen.

Press this key	To do this
TAB	Tab between the buttons on the screen.
ENTER	Click the button that is currently highlighted.
SPACEBAR	Start a new game round, press again to re bet as well.
Number keys	Raise your bet. Different number keys rise by different amount. The number of functioning keys depends on the chips allowed for the current player and can be subject to change.
ESC	Exit the game and go back to the lobby.

Note on large wins: Winning amounts of $10,000 or more are considered large wins. Large wins need to be verified by a live operator.

Note on malfunctions: A malfunction voids all pays and plays.

Note on disconnections: If you are disconnected from the Internet in the middle of a game while playing for Real Money, please re-establish your Internet connection and log back into the casino. You will be automatically directed to the game that was interrupted so you can continue playing.

In the event that there is no auto play and your game has been interrupted, cut off, cancelled or stopped due to power failure, mechanical malfunction of your computer or equipment, or loss of network connection or telecommunication, you have twenty-four (24) hours [or forty-eight (48) hours] counted from the nearest 12:00 noon when your game was stopped to reconnect, log in and resume. Any unfinished game will be deleted and removed from the system and any funds remaining shall be settled (credited or debited) into your account.

Posted in: