Played around a special pai gow table, the table has room for the dealer and six
players. The house initially assumes the role of the bank with the dealer as the
banker, and then the position moves around from player to player. The role of
banker can be declined by any player, and passed on to the next person in line.
The role of banker is indicated with a chung that is set in front of that player’s
area. When the dealer is not the banker, he/she plays the hand as a player.

GAME PLAY

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck and a joker that serves as a wild
card in straights, flushes and straight flushes. The joker may also be used as an
ace in any hand, and in some casinos may be considered completely wild. The
dealer shuffles the deck and deals out seven stacks of seven cards, discarding
the remaining four cards. All bets are made and then the dealer shakes and rolls
three dice from a teacup to determine which player will get the first stack of cards.
The dealer totals the amount shown in the dice, and then starting with himself,
counts around the players at the table in a clockwise motion until he reaches the
player who gets the first hand. The remaining hands are dealt out to the players in
a counterclockwise motion.

When the players receive their cards, they set them into two hands of five and two
cards. The two-card hand is known as the low hand is placed in front of the
five-card hand known as the high hand. Each five-card hand is ranked according
to the pai gow poker hierarchy which varies only slightly from the standard poker
hand hierarchy. The only real difference is that five aces, which are accomplished
by adding four aces to a joker, beats out a royal flush and is the highest hand in
the game.

1        Five Aces                       Five aces and a joker
2        Royal Flush                     A, K, Q, J, 10 all of same suit
3        Straight Flush                  Five cards of the same suit in sequence
4        4 of a Kind                       Four cards of the same rank
5        Full House                       3 of a Kind and a Pair
6        Flush                               Five cards of the same suit
7        Straight                            Five cards in sequence
8        3 of a Kind                       Three cards of the same rank
9        2 Pair                              Two cards of one rank, plus two of another
10      1 Pair                              Two cards of the same rank

The hierarchy of two-card hands is much simpler in that the hand is either a pair
or it is not. The highest two-card hand is a pair of aces, and the rank of
subsequent pairs falls in order from kings down to two’s. The same ranking order
applies to single cards.

It is the players’ responsibility to ensure that their five-card hand has a higher
ranking then their two-card hand. If the two-card hand turns out to be higher, the
hand is said to be foul and the player automatically loses his bet.

When all the player’s cards have been set, the banker’s cards are turned face up
by the dealer. It is then the banker’s job (not the dealer’s) to arrange the stack
into a two-card hand and a five-card hand. The banker’s hands are then
individually compared to the players’ hands in a clockwise order, starting with the
player who received the cards first.

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