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Pai Gow Poker
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The Game | How It Works | The Rules | Betting Limits | Winnings | Options Dialog Box | Shortcut Keys
The Game
Pai Gow Poker, an exciting game of skill, has developed under the influence of American poker and the ancient Chinese game of Pai Go. The popularity of Pai Gow Poker in U.S. casinos has increased tremendously in the last ten years. The object of the game is to use seven dealt cards to construct two hands that will beat the dealer's two hands.
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How It Works
Select "Card Games" and then "Pai Gow Poker" from the games menu in the lower left-hand corner of your screen once you have entered the Sunset Casino lobby. You can then select either "Private Play" (to play alone, one-on-one with the dealer) or "Multi Player" (to play at a table among other players). "Game Settings" is a separate alternative.
Select "Private Play" to play alone at your own exclusive Pai Gow Poker table. By default, the private table betting limits are set as $25 minimum - $500 maximum. You can alter these betting limits at your table by selecting Pai Gow Poker "Game Settings" from the games menu.
Select "Multi Player" if you wish to play among other players at either a public table or a reserved table. Select a vacant seat at a public or reserved table by clicking on one of the illuminated JOIN buttons. You can take any vacant seat at a public table, but to join a reserved table, you must first ask permission of that table's sponsor. If you click JOIN at a reserved table a "Request To Join" dialog box will open. Enter your request-to-join message in the box and press SEND. The sponsor of the reserved table will receive your message and accept or decline your request to join.
Move along all multi-player tables that are currently active by clicking the "next" and "previous" arrows above the tables.
You can open a new public or reserved table by clicking on the START NEW GAME button under either the "Public" or "Reserved" tab. If you open a reserved table, you will become the table's sponsor and all request-to-join message from hopeful players will be directed to you.
To observe the action at a specific table before you decide to join and play yourself, click on the table itself.
"Game Settings" allows you to alter the settings at a private Pai Gow Poker table or at a new public or reserved table that you open. You can alter your table's betting limits, the time limit each player has on placing wagers and your own seat position at the table. (In "Game Settings", you can also choose to turn off/turn on the casino music and sound effects as well as customize your screen setting for all casino games.)
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The Rules
Pai Gow Poker is played with a deck of 53 cards: a standard 52-card deck plus one wild joker. Each player is dealt seven cards and must split them into two separate hands. The first hand is referred to as "the highest hand" and consists of five cards. The second hand is referred to as "the second highest" and consists of only two cards. The 5-card hand must always rank higher than the 2-card hand. [For example, if your seven cards are: ace + ace + 9 + 7 + 5 + 4 + 3, you cannot place the two aces in your 2-card hand. The pair of aces must be kept in "the highest hand" (i.e. the 5-card hand).]
Your goal as the player is to beat both of the dealer's hands: the 5-card hand and the 2-card hand. If both of your hands beat the dealer's hands, you receive "even money" on your bet (i.e. 1 to 1), with the exception that the bank takes a 5% commission from your winnings. If both your hands lose against the dealer's hands, the dealer takes the bet. If you succeed in winning only one of the two hands, the round results in a tie or "push".
Sunset Casino's Pai Gow Poker game follows the standard rules employed by casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. However, Sunset Casino has eliminated the option of playing the dragon and Sunset Casino does not automatically win if the player should create a so-called "dead" hand. This is explained further below.
Poker Hand Rankings
In Pai Gow Poker, the highest-ranking hand is five aces (i.e. four aces plus the wild card). This poker hand beats a royal flush. The only difference between the system of ranking hands in Pai Gow Poker and in other poker games is that A-K-Q-J-10 ranks as the highest straight, A-2-3-4-5 ranks as the second highest straight, followed by the straight composed of K-Q-J-10-9.
Highest, Five-Card Hand
The 5-card hand must have the highest rank of the two hands. The player must try to create the best possible 5-card hand from his seven dealt cards.
Second Highest, Two-Card Hand
The 2-card hand must have the second-highest rank of the two hands. The highest-ranking 2-card hand is a pair of aces. If the 2-card hand is not composed of a pair, the value of the cards determines the hand's rank.
The Wild Card
The wild card, or joker, may be used only as a single ace or to complete a flush, straight, or a straight flush.
Dead or Foul Hands
A dead or foul hand results when the Pai Gow Poker player fails to divide the seven cards properly into a highest and second highest hand. If the player places his two best cards in the second highest hand, the hand is considered dead. Unlike in most land-based casinos, you will not automatically lose if you create a dead hand at Sunset Casino. When you make a mistake dividing your seven cards, you are merely notified by the dealer that your cards must be redistributed between the two hands.
House Way
Ever get stuck on how to set your two hands? No need to worry at Sunset Casino Casino! Simply hit "house way" and your cards will automatically be set for you by the dealer using the same rules employed by the casino.
Copy Hand
When the player and the dealer compare hands that have the same rank, the hand is referred to as a "copy hand." The dealer wins the copy hand in Pai Gow Poker (as opposed to in blackjack, where a copy hand results in a push. For example, if your second-highest hand is composed of an ace + king and the dealer has an ace + king as well, the dealer will win that portion of the hand.)
Player Banking
Just like Pai Gow Poker in your favorite land-based casino or card room, Sunset Casino Casino now offers player banking. This means that you will occasionally be given the option to play as the house or banker. As the banker, you have the advantage of winning any copy hands, just like the dealer. When you play as the banker, you must first place a bet against the dealer. This wager will always be the amount of your previous wager or the table minimum. You must also cover all wagers placed by the other players seated at your table. In the first showdown, your cards will be judged against the dealer's. Your cards will then be judged against the cards of all players at your table. Your winnings will be charged a 5% commission by the house.
How Often Can You Be the Banker?
At Sunset Casino, the casino dealer will bank every other hand. On every second hand, the option to play as the banker will pass in rotation to the different seating positions at the table. In other words, seat #1 will be given the option to bank first, then seat #2, 3, 4, and 5 on every other hand, regardless if there is a player located in the seat or not. (This means that if you are seated in seat #5 and there is only one other player at the table in seat #1, you will still have to wait until the game passes seats #2, 3, and 4 before you will be given the option to bank.)
The Dragon
In many land-based casinos, Pai Gow Poker players have the option of playing the dragon in turn as an extra game. At Sunset Casino, the dragon has been eliminated.
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Betting Limits
Sunset Casino offers three betting limits:
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Winnings
Players win even money (i.e. 1 to 1) on their bets, but must pay a 5% commission on their winnings to the bank. Your actual winnings are thus 95% of your bet.
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Options Dialog Box
In Pai Gow Poker, the Options dialog box offers the following game settings:
- Play sound effects
- Play midi music
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Shortcut Keys
The following shortcut keys are available in Pai Gow Poker:
| Key |
Action |
| F1 |
Same bet |
| F2 |
Done |
| F3 |
House-way |
| F4 |
Not used |
| F5 |
Not used |
| F6 |
Not used |
| F7 |
Not used |
| F8 |
Not used |
| F9 |
Options |
| F10 |
Help files |
| F11 |
Not used |
| F12 |
Exit |
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