Pai-Gow Poker Rules

Pai-Gow Poker

Rule Authority:

InterCasino Pai-Gow Poker is played and programmed according to Atlantic City Poker rules.
Authority: New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Rule Exceptions: none.

Premise:

The objective of Pai-Gow Poker is for both of the player's two hands (denoted the high and low hands) to rank higher than both of the banker's two hands. The player receives seven cards and makes two traditional poker hands - one of five cards (the high hand), another of two (the low hand). The rankings of the two hands are based upon a basic poker ranking. Thus, the highest two-card hand is two aces and the highest five-card hand is five aces (four aces + the joker).

How to Play:

The player begins by placing a wager on the Pai-Gow table. To do this, click on the chips at the bottom center of the game screen. The wager amount can be increased by left-clicking on the chips at the bottom center of the game screen. The wager amount is decreased by right-clicking on the chips.

Once the wager is placed, you need to click on the "Deal" button. The dealer deals seven cards to you face up and seven cards to himself face down. One standard deck of 52 cards plus one joker is used.

The joker is not wild but can be used only as an ace or as a card to complete a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush.

After you have received your seven cards, you must form two hands. The low hand must contain two cards and the high hand five cards. To do this, you must select the two cards that you wish to be in the low hand by left-clicking on them. Cards may be unselected by clicking them again. Selected cards will shift up out of the line of your cards on the game screen.

Note:
When forming hands, the rank of the five-card high hand must be higher than the rank of the two-card low hand. If this is not true a messagebox will be displayed asking you to re-split your hand. Once you have set both hands, clicking on the "Done" button will end the hand. The dealer will split his cards according to fixed house rules and will then compare your hand rank with his own. To win the wager, your low and high hand must both rank higher than the dealer's low and high hand, respectively. If one of your hands is higher in rank than the dealer's and the other is lower or equal, this is a tie and your wager is returned. Otherwise, your player's wager is lost. If both hands are identical, the dealer also wins.

The hand rankings are as follows (from highest to lowest):


Hand	Description
Four aces + Joker	A, A, A, A, Joker
Royal Flush	A, K, Q, J, 10 (all same suit)
Straight Flush	K, Q, J, 10, 9 (all same suit) to A, 2, 3, 4, 5 (all same suit)
Four of a Kind	Any four of the same number or face cards
Full House	[Three of a Kind] + [any pair]
Flush	Any combination of cards but all same suit
Straight	A, K, Q, J, 10 to A, 2, 3, 4, 5
Three of a Kind	Any three of the same number or face cards
Two Pairs	One Pair + One Pair
One Pair	Any two of same number or face cards
High Card	None of the hands listed above. Your highest card, ranked from highest to lowest as follows: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

Note:
When comparing two high hands or two low hands which are of identical poker and hand rank, the hand which contains the highest ranking card shall be considered the higher ranking hand. If the two hands are of identical rank after this comparison, the hands are considered a copy hand and the dealer wins.

Payoffs:

Every time a player wins a hand he/she is paid even money less a 5% commission. No commission is collected on losing hands or ties. Thus, a $10 winning wager will return $19.50 (player's $10 wager plus $10 in winnings minus the $0.50 commission). Please note that the amount of commission is rounded up to the nearest $0.25.

Betting Limits:

$5 minimum bet.
$300 maximum bet.

Setting your table bet limit:

You may also set your table bet limit below the maximum specified limit by selecting "Bet Options" from the "Game Menu". The "Modify Table Bet Limit" window will appear on the screen. To reduce your maximum table bet limit type in the new limit in the appropriate box and confirm it by typing your PIN in the box below. Click on the OK button to complete the update. Please be aware that you can modify your table bet limit no more than once per week (Friday 12:00 AM EST) and that using the "Modify Table Bet Limit" function affects the bet limit for all games and not just the game that you are currently playing.

Note:
You may turn on/off the Sound, Voice and Animation during the game by clicking on the "Options" button located in the lower left-hand area of the console. The setting is turned on when the checkbox is checked and it is turned off when the checkbox is unchecked. You must exit and re-enter the game to activate the Animation feature.

References:

For further information on Pai-Gow poker, please consult the following references:

Tamburin, Henry. Reference Guide to Casino Gambling, Research Services Unlimited, 1993.

Wong, Stanford. Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker, Pi Yee Press, 1992.