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***PAI GOW ARTICLES*** |
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Go oriental with Pai Gow
[Wednesday, November 08, 2006]
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Pai Gow poker (it means "make nine") is a version of the Pai Gow Chinese domino. The game is 'one on one', with the player(s) against the banker - each competing to make the best possible hands. Unlike the original Asian version, Pai Gow Poker is played with a deck of cards (53 cards including a joker). The object of the game is for the player to hold two hands of cards that rank higher than the banker's two hands.
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The only real difference form regular poker is that five aces, (accomplished by adding a joker to the four aces), will beat out a Royal Flush and is the highest hand in the game. Trust these guys to push the top hand off its perch!
The Rules
All the players making a wager, and roll a dice to determine who gets the first set of cards. Each player is given seven cards. The next step is when players arrange their cards into a five-card hand (high hand) and a two-card hand (low hand). The five-card hand is ranked as in poker and the two-card hand will either be a pair or two individual cards (the highest two-card hand is a pair of aces and the lowest is a 2-3).
After arranging their hands, the banker arranges his according to a set of fixed rules which are the "house way." The player's five-card hand is compared to the dealer's one, likewise with the two-card hand and the highest hand wins. The only exception is a tie, which automatically favors the banker and gives him an advantage over the other players. This matching is called 'copy'. Should the player beat the dealer with both the high ad low hands, then he wins his money, but forfeits a 5% commission (that is how the house makes his money). If the player loses both hands he or she loses the entire wager. If only one hand is lost, the bet is cancelled (a 'Push').
Banker Role
In Pai Gow Poker any player may elect to be the banker in turn. If the player wants to bank he or she must have enough money on the table to pay off all winning bets of the other players and dealer and also have played a previous hand against the house banker. The position of the banker is the ultimate one for the player because in this role the player wins all copy cases and risks less than the rest of the players. That's the reason why player is allowed to be in that role only once or twice consecutively.
In the case where the two-card hand is not higher than the five-card hand, then both hands lose. The joker can only be used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, otherwise it is treated as an ace.
Strategy
To improve his winning odds, a player must pay attention to the ratio between how much is bet when he is the banker compared to when he is a player. The greater is the ratio, the better are the player's odds. The second most important factor is how well the cards are arranged.
Odds
Player wins both - Probability of 28.55%
Tie - Probability of 41.47 %
Banker wins both - Probability of 29.98%
The house advantage in Pai Gow poker depends partially on the player's skill in setting hands but more on how much the player succeeds in having the banker position. Clearly the more times a player can be the banker, the better are his or her odds.
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