How to Play Pai Gow

Only five aces will beat an ace-high straight flush in Pai Gow.

Pai Gow, or Pai Gow Poker, is a game played with a standard deck of playing cards. It resembles five-card poker, even though the game is played with seven cards. Pai Gow is common in casinos but can also be played at home.

Things You'll Need

• Deck of cards

Instructions

Playing Pai Gow

1. Remove jokers from a standard 53-card deck, leaving one joker.

2. Have each player place a bet before the cards are dealt.

3. Deal each player and yourself a seven-card hand.

4. Arrange the seven-card hand into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. Arrange the two hands so that the five-card hand is higher than the two-card hand. The five-card hand is valued exactly like a poker hand, except that the order of winning straights is: A-K-Q-J-10, A-2-3-4-5, K-Q-J-10-9. Only unmatched cards and single pairs are made from the two-card hand. Keep the hands face down.

5. Reveals your two hands, and have each other player do so in turn. The player only beats the dealer if both player hands beat both dealer hands. If the player and dealer each win one hand, it is a tie, or push. The dealer wins any hands that result in a tie.

Tips & Warnings

• There is one wild card in Pai Gow. It's the single joker, but it can only be used as an ace.

References

• Pagat.com: Pai Gow Poker