The History of Pai Gow Poker
The original
Chinese Pai Gow is probably hundreds of years old. It was played with tiles that slightly resemble domino tiles. Pai Gow means "make nine", but the poker version has nothing to do with the number nine. You can still play the domino-style, original Pai Gow in China today.
In the 1900's the casino manager of the Commerce Casino, Fred Wolf, and his friend Sam Torosian transformed the ancient Chinese Pai Gow into a
modern poker variation using cards instead of domino type tiles. Fred Wolf featured the Pai Gow Poker in his California casino, and the game became an instant hit, spreading out to the Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos.
How to Play and Win Pai Gow Poker
This
unique poker variation is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one Joker. And usually there are seven players of whom one is the dealer or the banker. Players do not play against each other, but against the dealer which is one reason this poker variation is called a house-banked even-payout game. Each player is dealt seven cards and the object of the game is for a player to create two poker hands from these seven cards: a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand. The five card hand must rank higher than the two-card hand. If not, the player's hand is considered a "foul" and he automatically loses his bet.
In
Pai Gow Poker he player's two hands must outrank the dealer's hands in order for him to win. The five-card hand is ranked by standard poker rankings. The two-card hand can only be a pair or two "high" cards. If either of the player's hands match the dealer's hands in value, they are called "copies", and the dealer wins all copies. If one of the player's hands beats the dealer's, but the other doesn't, the result is a tie and no money is paid out. The highest possible hand is five aces: four aces plus the Joker. In the five-card hand, the Joker can be used to complete a straight or flush, otherwise it is considered an ace. In the two-card hand it is always an ace. However, some casinos in southern California allow a completely wild Joker. There are many
strategies and
tips to win Pai Gow Poker.
Pai Gow Poker at Online Casinos
Pai Gow Poker, a very unusual poker variation, is now also being offered by
online casinos. Since the player does not play or bet against other players, but only against the dealer, the game is far more relaxing than any of the other standard poker games, and, therefore, it is becoming very popular with
online gamblers. Many of the online casinos offer a free trial Pai Gow Poker game so that the potential player can actually see how it works. Although a written explanation of the rules, betting, and "how to play" sounds quite complicated, once one has tried the "free" game, it is easy to learn and quite exciting to play.
