The rules of Pai Gow poker are quite simple, especially for beginners. This friendly poker game comes from China and is played with cards. In an online casino, you can play against a dealer one-on-one, even if there are other players at the table. If you are used to classic poker or Texas Holdem, you will have no problem getting to grips with this game. Even a beginner will quickly understand the rules.

The game starts with seven cards. And watch out for fouls!

Seven cards divided into two piles, one bet. This is how every game of Pai Gow poker begins. Played with 53 French-style cards, one joker remains in the deck. The dealer and player examine the cards and divide them into two groups – one with five cards and the other with two.

How to divide the cards? The rules are given and are uncompromising – if possible to make a better hand with five cards, the player must do so. Even if he breaks a pair of aces in the second group. If you break the rule (dead hand, also called a foul), you are out. Immediately.

The winner is the one whose face-up cards hold up.

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History of Pai Gow

Pai Gow has its origins in ancient China, where it was once played with dominoes instead of playing cards. Today, it is unclear exactly how long the game has been around, but it is estimated to be at least several hundred years old. Along with Ken, Pai Gow is one of China’s greatest contributions to the gaming industry.

Military game

In the old version of the game, the dominoes were divided into several different groups to symbolize military and civilian units. This is reminiscent of Chinese history, when it was a very military country indeed. The dealer then rolled the dice to decide which stone would go to which player. Just to briefly point out that in its early stages, Pai Gow was a really complicated game.

Pai Gow becomes a card game

If we continue further to today, many forms of the game have emerged in different parts of the world. At the end of the 20th century, the game « merged » with poker and Pai Gow Poker was created as a descendant. You could say that Pai Gow Poker is actually a brand new game, but its roots go back hundreds of years.

In the mid-1980s, Fred Wolf introduced Pai Gow poker, or two-handed poker, to California. The game was an instant success and it wasn’t long before Pai Gow was offered in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Nowadays, you can play Pai Gow Poker in casinos all over the world, but the game is especially popular in the world of online casinos.

This game is played with a deck of 53 cards, including a joker. It is played one against one, player against banker and bet against the banker.

Each player receives 7 cards, which he arranges so that he has 5 cards in one hand and 2 cards of his choice in the other. They compare the two hands with each other. The ranking is the same as that of poker. The highest wins. In the event of a tie, the banker wins the money. If the player beats the banker with only one of the pairs, he gets his stake back.

General principles

Cards worth 2 to 6 are low pairs.
Cards worth 7 to 10 are average pairs.
Cards ranked J to K are high pairs.
The most important factor that affects your chances of winning is bet size. Knowing when to bet at the right time and bet a larger amount is one of the main factors in the entire game. Another very important thing is how you arrange your cards. Theoretically you can use a pre-prepared pattern, but this probably cannot be practiced well enough in a real game. An easier way is to remember that most often you will have 7 cards, where you will get at least 2 pairs. These pairs should therefore either be kept together or separated, depending on the following view:.

Playing with two pairs

A slightly different situation occurs when you get two pairs in your hand. Many players would choose at this point the option of keeping two pair in the first hand with five cards and then putting the highest remaining card into the second hand. However, this is not the best option; it is much more beneficial to support the second hand and distribute the power between both hands. This is because, as we explained in the last article, the important thing is not to make one perfect hand and one bad hand, but two good hands.

Low pair and low pair – split if you don’t already have a king or better.
Low pair and middle pair – split if you don’t already have a king or better.
Low pair and high pair – split if you don’t already have an ace.
Middle pair and middle pair – split if you don’t already have an ace.
Mid pair and high pair – split each time.
High pair and high pair – always split.
Pair of aces and any other pair – always split.

Playing with three of a kind

A slightly more complicated situation arises when you have three of a kind in your hand. At this point, you need to evaluate all the pros and cons and then act on the best possible strategy. This involves a simple rule: if you have three cards from 2 to king, you keep them in your first hand, then place the highest card in the second hand. The change only occurs with three of a kind. Most players would be tempted to keep a very good hand intact in this situation. However, it is much better, at least from a statistical point of view, to split this set into a pair and a high card. These are then divided into two hands (the pair goes in the first, the ace in the second).

Playing a flush or straight

A very simple situation arises when you get a flush or a straight in your hand. In this case, you keep your hand and play with very interesting cards in the first hand. The only exception is when you get three identical cards or two pairs. At this point, it is worth considering the situation (especially with a straight) to see if it would be more beneficial to keep two pairs or an incomplete straight. If, for example, you get AA and 55, the lowest possible in a row, it is more advantageous to keep both pairs.

Playing with Full House

If you’re lucky enough to get a full house, you’re on your way to an almost certain victory – you can keep both a pair (in the second hand) and three of a kind in the first hand. With a full house, there is really no need to think long, the situation is clearly established.

Playing poker

As we discussed in the last article, it is also good to sometimes separate the four identical cards. While you don’t often have four identical cards, and certainly not as often where it makes sense to split this hand, you should keep in mind that there may be situations where even this solution is appropriate. Although it hurts, it will save you quite a few dollars on many occasions.

Playing with nothing

Often you will find that you get absolutely nothing. It’s nothing special, nor something to worry about too much. This is simply a classic poker situation and you will have to learn to play with it anyway. Unfortunately, in these cases you cannot rely on any strategy, you must rely solely on your own will. So the only option is to keep the highest card in your first hand, while putting the second highest card in the second hand. However, it really depends on the situation and there is no universal advice on how to deal with these or other cards if you don’t get any winning hands.

Another useful tool can be to find out what system the casino in question uses before playing Pai Gow Poker. Each casino may also have its own, slightly different systems for splitting card pairs.