Pai Gow

Pai Gow , also P'ai Kao , is a Chinese game of chance with dominoes and - apart from its home country Macau - it is also played a lot in the USA and Australia.

The basic idea of this game was transferred to the game of cards , and so the variant Pai Gow Poker was born , which is very common in the casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City .

Pai Gow , in German roughly: to make nine (points) , has some distant similarities with baccarat chemin de fer ; however, the occasional claim that it was a forerunner of Baccarat is incorrect.

Pai Gow Dominoes

The 32 stones of the Chinese domino game

The basic rules

Pai Gow is played by up to eight players with the 32 stones ( bricks ) of the Chinese domino game. Such a set contains all 21 combinations of the numbers from [6–6] to [1–1], but the following eleven stones appear twice:

[6–6], [6–5], [6–4], [6–1], [5–5], [5–1], [4–4], [3–3], [3 -1], [2-2], [1-1].

At the beginning of each game, the punchers bet against the respective banker ; he mixes the stones and layers them concealed to form a wall ( pile of wood ) of eight stacks of four each. The banker then throws three dice and counts, starting with himself, counterclockwise according to the total of the eyes: The player determined in this way receives the first stack of four stones, the player to his right the second, and so on. The players may share their stones with the other players dont show.

Each player now arranges his four stones in two groups of two stones each,

a high hand and
a lower hand ,

it has the high hand a higher value than the Niedere hand have (see below precedence). The banker does the same with his stones. When all players are done with their arrangements and have placed their pieces face down on the corresponding fields of the game table, the croupier reveals the pieces and the settlement takes place.

Each player plays for himself against the banker. To win, a player must

both a real high hand
as well as showing a real lower hand than the banker;

In this case the player receives a profit equal to his stake.

However, if the player wins with only one hand while the other hand is beaten or suspended by the banker, the game is a tie .

If the banker can hit both hands of a player, or at least stop, he wins his stake; however, the banker must pay a 5% tax to the casino on his winnings .

The individual players have the right to play two coups in a row as the banker, after which the right to hold the bank changes to the player on the banker's right; Of course, a player can pass the bank on after his first coup.

The ranking of the hands

The ranking of hands is very complicated and is as follows:

The highest pair is the Gee Joon , the highest possible hand consists of the stones [4–2] and [2–1]. These two stones are also considered wild cards and can replace each other alternately, i.e. H. the stone [2–1] can also be used as a stone [4–2] and counted with 6 eyes, and vice versa .

Below the Gee Joon, the pairs ( Bo ) rank according to the following order

the sky , d. H. the stones [6–6] and [6–6],
the earth , d. H. the stones [1–1] and [1–1],
the person d. H. the stones [4–4] and [4–4],
the goose , d. H. the stones [3–1] and [3–1],
the flower , d. H. the stones [5–5] and [5–5],
the length , d. H. the stones [3–3] and [3–3],
the board , d. H. the stones [2–2] and [2–2],
the hatchet , d. H. the stones [6–5] and [6–5]
the partition , d. H. the stones [6–4] and [6–4]
the long leg seven , d. H. the stones [6–1] and [6–1]
the Big Head Six , d. H. the stones [5–1] and [5–1]
the Mixed Nine ( Jaap Gow ), d. H. the stones [6–3] and [5–4]
the mixed eight ( Jaap Baart ), d. H. the stones [6–2] and [5–3]
the Mixed Seven ( Jaap Chut ), d. H. the stones [5–2] and [4–3]
the mixed five ( Jaap Ng ), d. H. the stones [4–1] and [3–2]

Below the bo are the wongs , which are combinations of a stone with nine eyes and a double six or double one, these are in descending order:

[6–6] and [6–3]
[6–6] and [5–4]
[1–1] and [6–3]
[1–1] and [5–4]

The wongs are followed by the gongs , which are formed analogously, but with an eight instead of a nine, i.e. H:

[6–6] and [5–3]
[6–6] and [4–4]
[1–1] and [5–3]
[1–1] and [4–4]

The other hands are rated as follows: You add up the numbers and - as in Baccarat - only look at the units.

If two hands are equivalent according to the above criteria, then the following ranking of the individual stones will be decided, this is in descending order

[6-6] Teen
[1-1] Day
[4-4] Yun
[3–1] Gor
[5-5] Mooy
[3–3] Chong
[2–2] Receipt
[6-5] Foo
[6-4] ping
[6-1] Tit
[5–1] look
[6–3] and [5–4]: Gow
[6–2] and [5–3]: Bot
[6-1] and [5-2]: Chu
[4–2] Luk , part of the Gee Joon
[4-1] Ng
[3-2] Ng
[2–1] Saam , the other part of the Gee Joon

Tips for putting your hands together

It is recommended to proceed as follows when putting the two hands together:

If possible, put pairs ( Bo ) together,
Combine a [6–6] or [1–1] with any stone of 7, 8 or 9 eyes,
Combine the two lowest stones so that the sum is 7, 8, or 9 points.
Each deal can be played in three different ways: trying to get a very good high hand can result in the lower hand being of very little value and the game ending in a draw while another break results in a win would have.

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Casino Gaming Rules of Queensland, Australia (PDF file; 2.1 MB)

Pai Gow Poker

The basic rules

Pai Gow Poker or Asian Poker is an adaptation of the classic Pai Gow for playing with cards, introduced as a casino game by the Tropicana in Las Vegas in 1986 : the complicated ranking of domino combinations has been replaced by the more common order of poker hands .

Up to seven players can take part in a game of Pai Gow Poker ; one player is the banker, the rest bet against him. The croupier shuffles the cards, lets draw and deals seven cards face down to each player. In order to determine who will be served first when sharing, the ceremonial of the game with dominoes is often used, in other words: the dice are rolled as there.

Every opponent and also the banker divides his hand into two groups:

a high hand or back hand made up of five cards and
a low hand or front hand made up of two cards.

The ranking of the high hands essentially follows the usual order of poker combinations, with a few minor exceptions (see below).

The ranking of the low hands is in descending order:

Pairs: Aces - Kings - Queens - Jacks - 10s - ... - 2s
No Pair: A – K, A – Q, A – J, ..., A – 2, K – Q, K – J, ..., 3–2

There are no straights or flushes in the ranking of the low hands : consecutive cards or cards of the same suit are not rated separately here. The low hand must be ranked below the high hand again. B. not taking two kings in the low hand and showing a combination of two eights as the high hand .

The other rules follow those of the domino game:

When all players have finished their arrangements and have placed their cards face down on the corresponding fields of the gaming table, the croupier reveals the cards and the accounting takes place.

Each player plays for himself against the banker. To win, a player must

both a real high hand
as well as showing a real lower hand than the banker;

In this case, the player receives a profit equal to his stake, but he too - in contrast to the classic Pai Gow - has to pay a 5% tax to the casino.

However, if the player wins with only one hand while the other hand is hit or suspended by the banker, the game is a push . H. draw.

If the banker can hit both hands of a player, or at least stop, he wins his stake; the banker in turn has to pay 5% of his profit as a tax.

The individual players have the right to play two coups in a row as the banker, after which the right to hold the bank changes to the player on the banker's right; Of course, a player can pass the bank on after his first coup.

Special features of Pai Gow Poker

The playing cards

Pai Gow Poker is played with a pack of 53 cards (52 French playing cards and a joker ).

The joker is called " The Bug " in this game and is only allowed

to complete a straight , flush , straight flush or royal flush or
as an ace

be used.

The poker combinations

Since you are playing with a joker, which can be used as an ace, there is the possibility of holding five aces ; this is the most valuable combination - there are of course no other quintuplets due to the limited uses of the joker.

The order of precedence for straights or straight flushes differs from the usual order: the highest straight is A – K – Q – J – 10, the second highest follows 5–4–3–2 – A and the third highest K – Q – J -10-9; the other straights follow in their usual order, d. H. the decision is based on the rank of the highest card; the colors play no role in Pai Gow as in most poker variants.

Tips for putting your hands together

If the croupier plays the banker for the casino, he is tied to so-called house ways when putting his hands together . These rules describe the optimal game strategy for the banker - with minor simplifications, and so the house ways differ slightly from casino to casino.

If a player holds the bank he is not forced to stick to house ways, but it is advisable to do so. Such a rule is therefore reproduced below.

If the banker has no pair , he puts the highest card in the high hand and the next two higher in the low hand .

If the banker has a pair , he puts the pair in the high hand and the two highest single cards in the low hand .

If the banker has two pairs , he puts both pairs in the high hand and the two highest single cards in the low hand . However, in the following cases, he splits the two pairs and puts the higher pair in the high hand and the lower pair in the low hand :

a pair is two sevens or higher, and there is no single ace
the higher pair is two jacks or higher, the lower pair is two sixes or higher, and there is a single ace
two aces and any other pair.

If the banker has three pairs , he always puts the highest pair in the low hand and the other two in the high hand .

If the banker has three of a kind , he places three of a kind in the high hand , but if he has three aces, he places an ace together with the next highest card in the low hand .

If the banker has three of a kind and a pair , he always puts three of a kind in the high hand and the pair in the low hand , unless it is a pair of twos and the banker can put an ace and a king in the low hand - in this case he puts the full house in the high hand .

If the banker has three of a kind and two pairs , he puts the higher pair in the low hand and the remaining cards as full house in the high hand .

If the banker has three of a kind twice , he puts two cards of the higher value three of a kind in the low hand .

If the banker has a straight , flush , straight flush or royal flush , the following rules apply:

The banker always puts a straight or flush into the high hand . However, he plays the hand according to the two pair rules in the following cases:
- any two pairs and a single ace
- a pair of jacks and a pair of sixes
- a pair of aces and any other pair
If the banker has a straight or flush of six cards, he plays the highest possible low hand without destroying the straight or flush in the high hand .
If the banker has a straight flush and can convert it to a straight or flush so that he can place at least one jack in the low hand , he should play the straight or flush in the high hand instead of the straight flush.
If the banker has a royal flush and can convert it to a straight or flush so that he can place at least one king in the low hand , he should play the straight or flush in the high hand instead of the royal flush.

If the banker has four of a kind , he plays according to the rank of four of a kind as follows:

Twos to sixs are never split and placed in the high hand as four of a kind .
Sevens through tens are split into two pairs unless you can put an ace or other pair in the low hand .
Jacks, queens and kings are divided into two pairs, unless you have another pair of tens or better.
Aces are always split unless you can put a pair of sevens or better in the low hand .

If the banker has five aces , he always splits them, unless he can put a pair of kings in the low hand .

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The United States Playing Card Company, Joli Quentin Kansil, Editor: Official Rules of Card Games , 90th Edition, 2004
House Ways, Golden Nugget Casino, Las Vegas

Web links

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