Chinese Poker

The Pai Gow poker is one of the many variations of the poker game, originally taken from a Chinese domino game. This kind of banking poker is played in Las Vegas and in some of the California card clubs.

Pai Gow

The game is one of the more complicated card games and it demands great deal of concentration and devotion. It is played with a 53 card deck and it is played player vs. dealer.

The game begins as the players place their bets and then dealt with seven cards (one player is chosen randomly to receive his cards first). The players need to play with too hands, so the next step is to form the cards into two hands- five card hand and two card hand.
The five-card hand is a regular poker hand including its ranking, and the two card hand is also ranked as a regular poker hand only with two cards, which means the highest hand is a pair of aces.

The Banker

The dealer of the game is called the banker and in order to win the players need to have a higher set of hands then him. The banker can be each one of the players because at each round other player is chosen for this passion.

The odds are in favor of the banker so it is best for the players when it is their turn to become banker. If there is a tie, it goes to the banker and if both of the player's hands rank higher then the banker's, the player receives the exact amount of the bet.

Play with Friends

The game is not exactly an easy going card game such as Indian Poker (with is basically a drinking game), but it can be fun if it is played properly with the right people at the right atmosphere. So take it easy, have fun and always insist to be the banker.