Pai Gow is a form of poker that first became pretty popular in the 1980s. Since then players can find it pretty readily in poker rooms, both online and offline. Originally, Pai Gow was a game played with dominoes. Today, as mentioned above, it is now one of the many different types of poker.
In the game of Pai Gow, players are competing against the dealer. They are looking to take down the house and not their fellow players. All games use 53 cards. A Joker is added to a standard deck of cards and acts as the wildcard.
To start play, individuals take turns making a bet. Every player is dealt cards, including the dealer. Everyone gets 7 cards. Each player must make two hands out their cards. One hand will be made up of 5 cards and the other, 2 cards.
The two-card hand can not be stronger than a five-card hand or the player automatically loses. If someone is dealt a Joker, they can use it as an ace or utilize it to create a straight, straight flush or flush. The two-card hand has the best chance of being a winner if it consists of a pair and/or two high value cards. The five-card hand should be played as one would Stud poker. The best two-card that one can achieve is 2 Aces. The best five-card hand that one can expect is a Royal Flush.
At the end of the day, the goal for the player is for their two hands to beat the dealer's two hands. If one of the player's hands is equivalent to the dealer's a tie occurs and the dealer wins. If a player has one hand that is stronger than the dealer's but one that is not, a push occurs and no money is won. When a player does win, the casino takes a 5% cut.
