Let us learn some alternate styles of poker other than Texas holdem, seven card stud, five card draw and omaha/8. Yes, pai gow poker. Now you must be thinking that pai gow sounds a bit Chinese; yes you’re correct, this casino game is a blending of the Chinese game pai gow and our very own American poker
Certainly this isn’t one of the most popular varieties of poker but still broadly played. It can be enjoyed by up to 7 players. It’s played with one deck of 52 cards, plus a joker. Interestingly, joker can be used only as an ace, or to finish off a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush. The essential element here to always remember is aside from the typical ranking of hands we have an additional winning hand that is "Five Aces" (5 aces including the joker). Surprisingly, 5 aces beats all other hand yes, even a royal flush. Each player is given 7 cards. The cards are arranged to create 2 hands; a two card hand and a 5 card hand. The five card hand must be better or be equivalent to the 2 card hand.
After setting up the 2 hands, the cards are positioned on the table face down. Once down, you can no longer touch them. The dealer will turn over his cards and assemble their hands. Every competitors hand is compared to the dealer’s hands. Should the player wins one hand and loses the other, this is called a "push" and no cash is lost or won. If dealer wins both hands then the individual gives up their wager and vice versa. Now if the hand is a draw, the dealer wins all. Once the hand is competed, the next player clock-wise becomes the dealer and the next hand is given out.