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Pai Gow Poker Help |
| The Rules of Pai Gow Poker |
| GamePlay |
| Playing as Player |
| Playing as Dealer |
The Rules of Pai Gow Poker |
| Pai Gow poker is a variation of the Chinese domino
game Pai Gow. Pai Gow first appeared around the mid-1800's, and Pai
Gow poker started gaining popularity in 1986 in Californian card
rooms. Pai Gow is played with a 53-card deck - a standard deck of 52
cards and one Joker (the Joker may only be used as an Ace, or to
complete a Straight, Flush or Straight Flush). Pai Gow poker is played
one on one, the player against the dealer (or banker), each competing
to make the best possible hands. After placing an initial bet, both
player and dealer receive seven cards. The object of the game is for
the player to split (or "set") the seven dealt cards into two hands -
a five-card "High" hand, and a two-card "Low" hand. The cards must be
set in such a way that the five-card hand has a higher poker rank than
the two-card hand. For example, the player's hand is: 6,7,8,9,10,A,A. The player sets the pair of Aces as the Low hand, and 6,7,8,9,10 (straight) as the High hand. The dealer's hand is: 2,2,2,A,K,4,5. The dealer sets the Ace and King as the Low hand, and 2,2,2,4,5 (three of a kind) as the High hand. The player beats both the dealer's High and Low hands, thus winning the round. The hands are ranked according to standard poker rules, with the
exception that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight.
By the way, the best Low hand is a pair of Aces. After the player
finished arranging his/her hands, the dealer arranges his/her hands
according to a set of fixed rules (the "House Way"). The player's two
hands (High and Low) are then compared with the dealer's two hands
(High and Low) to determine the winner. In order to win, both the
player's High and Low hands must have a higher poker rank than both
the dealer's High and Low hands (according to the Pai Gow Poker Hand
Ranks table below). If both of the dealer's hands beat both of the player's hands, the
dealer wins. If either the five-card hands or the two-card hands rank exactly the same, the equal hands are called "copies" of each other. The dealer wins all copy hands. For example, if the player beats the dealer in the High hand but copies the dealer with the Low hand, the game is a push. In case of a push, all bets are returned to the player. Pai Gow Poker Hand Ranks (from highest to lowest) The only real difference between Pai Gow poker hand ranks and standard poker hand ranks is that a five-Aces hand (four Aces and a Joker) beats a royal flush, and is the highest hand in the game. Rank Hand Description
Opponent - This tells you the name (or nickname) of your current opponent. Last Round - This tells you how much you've won or lost in the previous round. Credit Points - This is your current Credit Points balance. As Player, you accumulate 1 Credit Point on every dollar you place as a bet. As Dealer, 1 Credit Point is deducted for every 1 dollar bet against you (see example below). Fun Balance / Balance - This is your current Fun / Real-Money Balance (in US dollars). Commission - When playing as Dealer, you pay a commission of 1.5% on the total bets placed against you (when playing as Player you do not pay commissions), see example below. General Options '?' (Help) - Pressing 'Help' opens the Help screen relevant to the room you're currently in. In this case, Blackjack. '$' (Cashier) - Pressing '$' opens the Cashier screen. Timer - This is the circle at the bottom-right corner of the screen. On every round, you have 45 seconds to make your decisions when playing as Player, and 35 seconds to make your decisions when playing as Dealer. The Timer indicates how much time you have left before reaching the time limit. If you haven't finished making your decisions during the specified time limit, you will exit the table.
Pai Gow Text Boxes Won / Lost Labels - These labels appear above the cards and indicate whether you have won or lost. Game Options Deal Game Cards Split House Way Disconnections Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player placed his/her bet and before the Player pressed the 'Deal' button, the Player's bet will be returned to his/her Balance. Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player pressed the 'Deal' button, the round will continue as if the Player had decided to split his/her hand according to the House Way. After connection is re-established the Player can enter the "History" page and see the results of the last round ("History" is available for Money mode only).
Example Minimum Credit Points and Balance The Minimum Balance required is a bit higher than the total winnings of the Player in a given round, which are: (Maximum Bet) + 1.5%(Casino commission) * (Maximum Bet) Game Options Disconnections Should a disconnection occur after the Dealer pressed the "Approve" button, play will continue until the Player has finished his turn. This has no effect on the Dealer, since the Dealer is played automatically according to the rules of the game (also called the "House Way"). After connection is re-established the Dealer can enter the "History" page and see the results of the last round ("History" is available for Money mode only).
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