Exotic Poker Variations: Pai Gow

If you enjoy poker, either live or online, but are looking for a little variety from your normal game, you may be interested in giving Pai Gow poker a try. Pai Gow poker is a variation of poker that has been around for some time, and can be found in many California card rooms, various live casinos, and at certain internet poker sites.

Play of Pai Gow is fairly simple. Each player places a bet in front of them. They are then dealt seven cards, just as in seven card stud. Unlike seven card stud, players receive all the cards at once. They come face down, but this does not matter, as you are playing against the dealer, not the other players at the table, and the dealer plays in a predetermined fashion just like in blackjack. The player dealt first is determined at random. In live casinos, this randomization is performed by shaking and slamming down a set of dice in a metal cup, a feature which players enjoy as it adds a more “exotic” feel to the game.

Each player must then arrange his or her cards into a five card “back hand” and a two card “front hand.” You are trying to make your best poker hand for both, but you must remember that the front hand cannot be stronger than the back hand. If it is, your hand is dead and you lose all bets. The Pai Gow deck contains a joker, which you might recognize if you ever played video poker. The joker may be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush (this type of joker is sometimes called a “bug”).

If you are not sure the best way to arrange your cards, you may have the dealer arrange them for you. The dealer is trained by the house to arrange Pai Gow hands in a specific way, and he will arrange yours for you in the same way he arranges his (if you play online pai gow however, there is no dealer there to assist you). A player wins by having both his and her hands beat both of the dealer’s hands. If one hand loses and the other wins, it is a push. If both of the player’s hands lose or tie the dealer’s, the dealer wins. A winning player must pay the house five percent of the win as rake.

In most cases, one of the players may choose to be the “banker,” playing against all the other players and collecting or paying all bets, minus the five percent that goes to the house. Since the banker wins tied hands, it is to the player’s advantage to be the banker if this option is given, although he or she must have enough money to cover all bets should he or she lose to all the other players in a given hand. There are other poker games as well such as Kuhn poker, but the ones discussed in this article are the most common ones.