Pai Gow has came a long way since its upbringing as a dominoes styled tile game; it is now run in almost every casino as a card based game, played on a blackjack table with players having the opportunity to be the “banker” for the hand and play against the rest of the table during any particular hand if they desire; an interesting concept indeed!

The deck in Pai Gow has 53 cards; a joker is introduced to the game, that counts as either an ace or a “bug” that completes four card straights and flushes. Five aces is the best possible five card hand, with normal poker hand values except for straights; an A2345 straight (the “wheel”) ranks just under AKQJ10 (“broadway”) before reverting to normal hand values. But, along with a five card hand, you also must construct a 2 card hand that cannot be stronger than your five card hand; doing so will cause your entire hand to be dead and automatically forfeit any bets you’ve made in the hand! Two card hands are simply pairs or high card; straights and flushes do not matter in the two card hand.

Once you’ve made your two hands, all players expose their cards. If your hands beat the banker’s hands, you win your wager from the banker less a 5% house cut. If one hand wins and one loses, its a push and no money is won or lost. If the banker has the best hand both ways, you lose your wager. The catch comes in tie hands, such as both players having A6 as their two card hand. The banker in the hand wins all ties, meaning if you have the exact same hand in both hands (45678 and A6, for example) the banker wins the wager! Understanding this is paramount in our strategy for making hands in Pai Gow.