Pai Gow Poker on a postcard…

After a taxing day catching the island’s rays, enjoy an evening game of online Pai Gow Poker. ReefClub Casino's Pai Gow (pronounced "pie-gow") Poker is an exciting game of skill, which fuses modern Poker with the ancient Chinese game of Pai Gow (meaning: "makes nine"). In online Pai Gow Poker the guest competes, one on one, against the dealer.

The object of the game is for the guest to arrange seven dealt cards into two hands ("setting" the cards). The seven cards must be set in such a way so that the player's five-card ("High") hand scores a higher value than the two-card ("Low") hand. The player's High and Low hands must then have a greater value (see Poker Hands Value Chart below) than the dealer's High and Low hands. The best way to sharpen your Pai Gow Poker strategy is to play as much as you can and you may also find some of the Pai Gow Poker tips below useful.

Pai Gow Rules:

You must play Pai Gow Poker with a standard 52-card deck, plus a Joker (totaling 53 cards).

Pai Gow Poker rules state that the Joker may be used either as an Ace or to complete a Straight, Flush or Straight Flush, only. Once they have placed their bet, the guests are each dealt seven cards. They must then organise their cards into two separate hands. The first hand, which must consist of 5 cards, is referred to as the "High Hand", as it must have the highest value of the two hands. The second hand, which consists of the remaining two cards, is referred to as the "Low Hand".

The “House Way” button is available for guests to use in order to ask the house for the best way to arrange and set their cards. Alternatively, to arrange your cards by yourself, click on the cards, as you see fit, then click on the "Set" button.

The objective of Pai Gow Poker is to beat both of the dealer's hands, according to the standard Poker hand values rules (see the table below). If both hands beat the dealer's hands, the player receives "even money" on their bet (minus a 5% vigorish or house commission). If both of the player's hands lose against the dealer's hands, the dealer takes the player's bet. If only one of the player's two hands win, the round results in a tie or "Push".

Winning Combinations:

High (Five-Card) Hand:

The Five-Card Hand must have the highest rank of the two hands. The object is to form the best rank for the Five-Card Hand, from the seven dealt cards.

Low (Two-Card) Hand:

The Two Card Hand must have the second-highest rank of the two hands. The highest-ranking Two-Card Hand possible is a pair of Aces. If the Two Card Hand is not composed of a pair, the value of the cards will determine the hand's rank.

The Wild Card:

The Wild Card is the Joker card, which can be substituted only as a single Ace or to complete either a Flush, Straight, or Straight Flush.

Copy Hand:

When the player and the dealer compare hands that have the same rank, the hand is referred to as a "Copy Hand". In Pai Gow Poker, the dealer wins the Copy Hand, as opposed to BlackJack, where a Copy Hand results in a "Push".

*In Pai Gow Poker there exists an exception when calculating the value of a Straight (compared to common Poker Hand Values). The highest valued Straight in Pai Gow Poker is: A-K-Q-J-10 (as is true in Poker). However, in Pai Gow Poker the second highest valued Straight is: A-2-3-4-5 (in Poker this is the lowest valued Straight). For example, in Pai Gow Poker an A-2-3-4-5 Straight, beats a K-Q-J-10-9 Straight, but loses to a A-K-Q-J-10 Straight.

Shortcut Keys:

The betting limits may change according to Casino Policy.