Pai Gow Poker Rules

Online Gambling Guide > Rules & Strategies > Pai Gow Poker Rules

Pai Gow Poker Objective

Pai Gow Poker is a mix between the ancient Chinese game Pai Gow and American poker. When playing Pai Gow poker, the dealer and the player are both dealt 7 cards. From these 7 cards, the dealer and the player must both make a 5 card high-hand and a 2 card low-hand. To win, the player must beat both of the dealer’s hands. If the player only wins one of the two hands, the round result is a tie. The dealer wins absolute ties (i.e. King/Queen vs Queen/King).

A traditional 52 card deck plus a joker are used in Pai Gow Poker. After every hand the deck is reshuffled. Each player receives 7 cards and must split them into 2 hands -- a 5 card hand and a 2 card hand (the high and low hand, respectively). The player’s low hand is played against the dealer’s low hand and the same applies to the high hand. The game follows general poker ranking rules: one pair, three of a kind, etc. (see below).

The 5-card hand must always rank higher than the 2-card hand. For example, if a player’s 7 cards are: A, A, 9, 7, 5, 4, 3, he/she can’t place the 2 Aces as a “low hand.” The Aces must be kept in the 5-card “high hand.” Pai Gow Poker follows the standard rules of the Nevada Gaming Commission. The exceptions are as follows: players can’t act as the dealer or play the dragon. Also, players don’t lose their bets if they’ve unintentionally produced a “dead hand” (i.e. incorrectly arranging low and high hands). They are, however, warned to rearrange their cards.

The deck is reshuffled after each hand.

Pai Gow Poker Hands

The Joker is wild, however, it can only be used to complete Straights, Flushes, and Straight Flushes. In Straights and Striaght Flushes, the Joker is the value and suit needed to complete the hand. In Flushes the Joker is the highest value card in the missing suit. Alone the Joker is an Ace. The Joker cannot be used to form pairs other than with an Ace, 3, 4, or 5 of a kind. The following chart is from the highest hand to the lowest hand.

Hand	Description
Five Of A Kind	Aces only. Four aces plus a joker
Royal Flush	Ace - King - Queen - Jack - 10 of the same suit
Straight Flush	Five cards in sequence of the same suit
Four Of A Kind	Any four cards of the same value
Full House	Three of a kind and a pair
Flush	Five cards of same suit
Straight	Any five cards in sequence but not of the same suit
Three Of A Kind	Three cards of the same value and two unmatched cards
Two Pair	Two cards with the same value with another two cards of the same value with any other card
One Pair	Two cards of the same value and three unmatched cards