Poker Variation - Pai Gow
As one of the most popular card games in the world, poker, unsurprisingly, has lots of variations. One of them is called Pai Gow poker. Pai gow is a Chinese word that means 'makes nine'. This variation invokes the basic poker rules and the popular Chinese domino game pai gow. The poker version is, of course, very much different from the Chinese domino game.
The game still uses the regular deck of fifty-three cards and a single joker which is not taken as a genuine wildcard. The basic goal is for the player to win the game with two poker hands, thus beating the house.
The game commences when the dealer gives you seven cards. All you need to do is to divide your cards into two hands. These two hands are referred as Low hand and High hand. You need to transfer two cards to the Low hand while everything else remains on the High part. One of the basic rules of the game is to always have a stronger high hand over the low end. Always beat your low hand.
Except for the joker, which again in pai gow not considered as a wildcard, all the cards have similar values with the traditional poker. A joker is utilized only as an ace. It may also be employed to achieve flushes like straight or royal. The order of hierarchy is very much the same as the original poker, the lowest being the 'high cards' and the highest is the 'five aces'. The difference lies in the order of straights which is ace, king, queen, jack, and ten or ace, two, three, four, and five and king, queen, jack, ten, and nine.
Your wager will gain a payout of 1 to 1. It is a rather simple and uncomplicated method of betting. To win you must defeat the dealer in both hands; otherwise it will be taken as a push, a term in poker that means a tie. The house will take a five percent standard commission from your winnings. The rule will not apply if you and the dealer have the exact same hands which entitle the dealer to a win.
The dealer will provide you with ample time to organize your cards. Once you are done he will then show his hand. There will be no call, raise or fold. These are not allowed in pai gow poker. Once the cards are shown the winner will be determined according to the set rules and the match ends. It's best to start practicing Pai-Gow by playing at the various online casinos or one of the internet poker rooms
Read about an other variation of poker called Badugi.