This is done by creating two poker hands from the seven cards that are dealt to you – one of the hands has to be a five-card hand, and the other has to be a two-hand card. Also, the five-card (big or high) hand must be at least equal or have a higher rank than the two-card (small or low) hand. Download Classic Paigow Poker and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. ‎Game Rules Paigow is a comparing card game played between the player and the dealer. The goal of the game is to divide a seven-card hand into a left hand with five cards and a right hand with two cards. Familiarize Yourself With the Rules. The rules of Fortune Pai Gow Poker will be familiar to those of you who like to play Pai Gow Poker online or at land-based casinos. Like the original game, Fortune Pai Gow Poker uses a 52-card deck and a joker. It’s a battle between you and the house to create two winning poker hands out of seven cards.

Pai gow poker got started in the United States. It’s inspired by – but not to be confused with – pai gow, the Chinese domino game.

Pai gow poker was created in the USA by Sam Torosian and Fred Wolf.

Sam Torosian is the one who invented the game. But no one really knows who he is. The reason why is sort of sad.

Sam received bad legal advice from both Mike Caro, a poker player and author, and a lawyer. Both said card games were public domain. In other words, Sam couldn’t patent his game.

After adding the game to his casino floor, and Fred Wolf doing the same in the casino he managed, pai gow poker took off.

Unfortunately, Torosian later found out he could patent pai gow poker. But he had only one year after introducing the game before it became public domain.

Sam missed his window…and an estimated $70,000+ per month in royalty checks.

For that reason, you won’t have any problems finding pai gow poker. It’s offered at nearly every casino.

And it’s probably also because of Torosian’s mistake that Fred Wolf patented every other game he’s invented. Those include Sweepstakes Blackjack, Fast-Action Hold’em, Lucky Pan-9, and Pai Gow Jokers.

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rdw4potus
Say a player in Pai Gow Poker is dealt the following hand: Jh Qh Kh Ah Qs Ks Joker. How should the hand be set?
I've been fortunate enough to see this hand dealt twice so far this year (and twice in my life...and I'm not expecting to see it again), and I don't think either recipient set it right...
'So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened.' - Maurice Clarett
DJTeddyBear
I admit that when holding the cards, it's hard to ignore the royal, but I voted for JQQKK / A*.
Without doing the math...
While the Royal is a unbeatable, KQ is easily beat, making a push likely. More likely than not, this will win, but only marginally so.
The AA is Powalmost unbeatable, and the two pair is particularly strong. This makes a loss extremely unlikely, and even a push not very likely. This is far more likely to win. Not guaranteed, but close.
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
thegov2k2
I'd definitely set it two pair with aces up front. The likelihood of the dealer having 2 more aces AND a hand where they go in the low hand are almost nil. That hand is much more likely to win than the royal with KQ.
Doc
Today I posted a comment in a poker-related thread, even though I admitted I am not a poker player. Well, I am definitely not a Pai Gow Poker player -- never even tried the game. But it seems to me that *QQJA/KK or *KKJA/QQ would perhaps be a better hand than JQQKK/A*. Three of a kind should be better than two pair, and the KK or QQ isn't much lower than the A*. Or does Pai Gow have rules that I am overlooking?
I don't understand this game well enough to actually cast a vote.
Wizard
Administrator
This kind of question is what my pai gow poker appendix 1 is for. Add up the two power ratings (PR) for each viable way to play the hand, and go with the greater sum. The expected value (EV) is roughly 0.975×(total PR)-1. The following table is based on not banking. The EV of playing the AA/two pair is much higher.
Low hand High hand Low PR High PR Total PR EV
KQ Royal flush 0.452967 0.999507 1.452474 0.416162
AA KKQQJ 0.989071 0.821870 1.810941 0.765667
It's not whether you win or lose; it's whether or not you had a good bet.
Doc
Repeating my comment that I don't understand this game, I get that KK/QQQ gives Total PR=0.978758+0.880168=1.858926 (EV=0.81245); i.e., higher than either of the two suggested splits. Does making the hand with the joker change something?
rdw4potus

Repeating my comment that I don't understand this game, I get that KK/QQQ gives Total PR=0.978758+0.880168=1.858926; i.e., higher than either of the two suggested splits. Does making the hand with the joker change something?


The joker is only partly wild. It can complete a straight or flush, otherwise it's an ace.
'So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened.' - Maurice Clarett
Doc

The joker is only partly wild. It can complete a straight or flush, otherwise it's an ace.

Thanks! If I had good sense and good manners, I would stay out of a conversation where I don't know what I am talking about. (At least I admitted up front that I don't understand the game.)
DJTeddyBear
Wait a sec...
'Royal Flush + Royal Match in Pai Gow Poker'
I never play the silly side bets, but does the Royal Match change things? Or is that based upon the 7 original cards, and not how they are set?Pow gow poker rules 2019
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
PapaChubby

Wait a sec...
'Royal Flush + Royal Match in Pai Gow Poker'
I never play the silly side bets, but does the Royal Match change things? Or is that based upon the 7 original cards, and not how they are set?


I once played a Pai Gow game with a side bet that was based on the way you set your five card hand. Under these circumstances it would probably make sense to play the royal.

Pow Gow Poker Rules Cheat


Pow Gow Poker Rules 2019

But the most common 'Fortune' side bet is based on your 7 cards, regardless of how you set them. You'd get credit for the royal even if you play two pair + pair.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy Chart

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