Internet Pai Gow Poker
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Internet Pai Gow Poker
The original version of Pai Gow used special dominos and dice and dates back to ancient China. But what was once a dice game is now a poker-related card game and it has taken the gambling world by storm.
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The original game of Pai Gow is hundreds of years old and used domino-like playing pieces. It was considered a complicated game, played at a slow pace and was mostly restricted to Asian gaming houses. But as Chinese workers made their way to the "new world," they brought Pai Gow with them and when East met West, Pai Gow poker was created.
Pai Gow poker is played with a deck of 53 cards - a regular deck plus a joker - and uses poker-like hands for ranking. Like its ancient predecessor, Pai Gow poker is still considered a fairly complex game but as it was modernized it was also simplified and it is now accessible to everyone, making it one of the most popular poker variants in land-based and online casinos. As befits a game with Asian roots, Pai Gow poker is a fairly slow paced game and the rounds often result in tied hands. This is one of the advantages of the game and it allows players to stay at the table for longer periods of time.
How Internet Pai Gow Poker is Different
Pai Gow poker is a multi-player game where the deal rotates around the table much like regular real money poker. In online Pai Gow poker the player plays against the house/computer. A round of Pai Gow poker begins when seven cards are dealt to each player. All players other than the dealer look at their cards and divide them into two hands - a 2-card hand called the "low" or "front" hand, and a 5-card hand called the "high" or "back" hand. The goal is to beat the dealer on both hands.One of the rules of Pai Gow poker is that the player's front hand (the one with 2 cards) may not beat his back hand. For example, if the two cards were a pair of aces, the five-card hand would have to contain two pairs or better. If the front hand does not beat the back hand, it is called a "foul" and both hands lose. Because Pai Gow poker is played with a joker, five aces is the highest 5-card hand, beating even a straight flush. For the 2-card hand, any pair beats any two unmatched cards, but no other combinations are possible.
Playing Pai Gow Poker for Money and Fun Online
Betting Pai Gow poker for real money in an internet casino is simple - the player makes a single opening bet and that is the end of it. If both hands lose to the dealer, you lose your bet. If both hands win, you win even money. If one hand wins and the other loses, it's a push (a tie). The great thing about Pai Gow poker is that it doesn't require a lot of decision-making - none of the raising or bluffing or deliberations that other card games entail. Pai Gow poker is an old game with new sensibilities - perfectly suited to online casinos on the Internet.
