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Pai Gow Poker - Hand Rankings for Beginners

Casino players who are looking for a relaxing game should try Pai Gow Poker. People who know poker basics can play this game.

Pai Gow Poker uses a deck of 52 cards and a Joker. Players start by placing their bets. The dealer then deals seven cards to each player. The cards are separated into two poker hands - a five-card (high hand) and a two-card (low hand). The five cards should always have the highest score. Otherwise, a player automatically loses. A player wins when he beats the dealer's two hands. If only one hand is won, it is considered a tie or push.

In Pai Gow Poker, any interested player may become the banker. Players will then compare the cards with the banker instead of with the dealer. This arrangement is different when it comes to having a tie since the banker wins if it is a tie. A banker gets to collect losing bets but pays the winners from his own money. The casino gets a 5% commission.

Rankings are similar to traditional poker. Following are the pai gow hand rankings:

  • Five aces consists of 4 aces and a joker.
  • Royal flush is formed by A, K, Q, J, 10 of same suit.
  • Straight flush has 5 cards of same suit that are ranked in order (e.g. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of hearts).
  • Four of a kind has 4 cards of same rank (e.g. 6, 6, 6, 6). If both the dealer and player have four of a kind, the hand with a higher rank wins.
  • Full house consists of three of a kind and a pair. If two or more players have full house, the rank of three of a kind wins (e.g. Q, Q, Q, 6, 6 wins over J, J, J, 9,9).
  • Flush has 5 non-consecutive cards with same suit (e.g. 4, 6, 7, 9, J of clubs).
  • Straight consists of 5 cards in order that belong to different suits (e.g. 4 of hearts, 5 of clubs, 6 of hearts, 7 of spades and 8 of diamonds).
  • Three of a kind has 3 cards of same rank (e.g. 7, 7, 7).
  • Two pair has 2 sets of cards with same ranking (e.g. J, J and 6, 6).
  • One pair has 2 cards of same rank (e.g. 5, 5)
  • High card does not have any of the combination mentioned above. The hand with the highest-ranked card wins (e.g. K, J, 6, 3, 2 wins over Q, 10, 9, 5, 4).