How To Play Pai Gow

Pai Gows a go!

When I consider how easy it is to play pai gow, I can't help but think about the limitless universal appeal that the game of poker continues to demonstrate, one generation after another. Frankly, there are few forms of diversion ever invented throughout the history of humankind that can boast a track record even close to that of poker. Many great thinkers have devoted reams of paper over the years, trying to determine what exactly it is about this game that casts such an unbreakable spell on people from all over the globe and all walks of life. Some universities have devoted entire courses to the academic study of poker, or so I've been told.

Whenever I am trying to explain to a novice just how powerful the allure of poker is, I often point to the popular variation of pai gow poker as a good example. The fact that an ancient Chinese game involving tiles has been so flawlessly translated to a traditional card-based American poker format is more than enough evidence of the point I am laboring to make. When you think of how easy it is to play pai gow poker, the whole thing becomes even more remarkable.

Still, many avid poker players in the western hemisphere have not yet taken the time to familiarize themselves with the game of pai gow. This is a low down dirty shame, one which I intend to at least partially remedy in this article. Those of you out there who are pai gow virgins should read the following words with care, then get out and play.

In pai gow, each player is dealt seven cards which are arranged into two discrete hands. There is a two-card (or low) hand and a five-card (or high) hand. The five-card hand must be higher than the other. If the two-card hand is a pair of tens, the five-card hand must be at least a pair of jacks or better.

The player's two hands must rank higher than both of the banker's (or dealer's) two hands. Thus, the player's low hand must be better than the banker's low hand and the player's high hand must rank higher than the banker's high hand. The banker always wins any ties.

You must remember that once the banker shows his cards, you are absolutely not allowed to touch yours. This is an important rule to bear in mind because it's easy to forget. You are also forbidden from showing your hands or chatting with the other players about what you're holding before all cards are exposed. Any player's hand that is improperly arranged (e.g. the low hand manages to rank better than the high hand, or the player allocates three cards to the low hand and four cards to the high hand, or some other gaffe) automatically forfeits the game.

That's right, the rules can be pretty strict in pai gow, but any true lover of poker must give this game a try.