Pai Gow Poker Game Rules
Posted in Poker on 02/17/2010 07:21 pm by Valerie
Let us become versed in some alternate kinds of poker other than hold’em, seven card stud, 5 card draw and omaha eight-or-better. Yes, double-hand poker. Now you might be thinking that double-hand sounds a little Chinese; well you are right, this game is a mixture of the Chinese game pai gow and poker
Clearly this is not one of the highly popular styles of poker but still commonly played. It can be enjoyed by up to seven players. It’s played with one deck of 52 cards, with a joker. Interestingly, the Joker can be used only as an ace, or to finish off a straight, a flush, straight flush, or a royal flush. The essential element here to bear in mind is aside from the normal ranking of hands we’ve an additional winning hand which is "Five Aces" (4 Aces and the Joker). Surprisingly, five aces is greater than all other hand including royal flush. Every player is dealt 7 cards. The cards are arranged to create two hands; a two card hand and a 5 card hand. The five card hand must rank higher or be equivalent to the two card hand.
After setting up the 2 hands, the cards are placed on the poker table with the faces down. Once down, you are no longer allowed to switch them. The dealer will turn over their cards and arrange their hands. Each competitors hand is played against the dealer’s hands. If the player wins 1 hand and loses the other, this is known as "push" and no money is lost or won. If dealer wins both hands then the individual gives up their bet and vice versa. Now if the hand is a tie, the croupier wins everything. Once the hand is competed, the next person clock-wise becomes the croupier and the following hand is given out.