An ever-growing game of popularity in casinos, the Americanised game of Pai Gow Poker has been around since the early 1980s and can be found worldwide with some variations. It originated from the Chinese game Pai Gow. This original and common game is also played all around the world including Macau, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, California, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The card game version has become very popular today. Played against the banker, or house, this game is intimidating to many ordinary people, however is extremely simple to learn in terms of rules and concepts. With seven cards dealt out, you simply make two separate poker hands from the seven cards. One hand has just two cards, and the other has five. A traditional five-card draw hand strength table is used. The only rule is that the two-card hand cannot be stronger than the five-card hand. Yes, it is that simple.
To win, you must have both hands beat both of the dealer’s hands and vice versa to lose. As is common in this game, therefore, you will tie or ‘push’ if you win one hand and lose the other. In order for the house to gain back its edge in this game, the payouts are structured so that when you win, you do not win even money. Added in to many versions of this game is the fortune-bonus bet that will pay out very highly if you make a very strong hand, regardless of whether it beats the banker or not.