Let us become versed in some alternate forms of poker other than holdem, seven card stud, 5 card draw and omaha high. 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 poker
Certainly this isn’t one of the most popular styles of poker but still commonly played. It can be enjoyed by up to 7 players. It’s played with 1 deck of cards, including a joker. Interestingly, joker can only be used as an ace, or to finish off a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush. The important element here to always remember is aside from the customary ranking of hands we have an additional winning hand that is "Five Aces" (5 aces including the joker). Surprisingly, five aces is greater than every other hand yes, even a royal flush. Each player is dealt seven cards. The cards are aligned to make two hands; a two card hand and a 5 card hand. The five card hand must be better or be equal to the two card hand.
After setting up the 2 hands, the cards are laid on the table with the faces down. Once down, you can no longer switch them. The croupier will turn over his cards and make their hands. Every competitors hand is played against the croupier’s hands. Should the player take 1 hand and loses the other, this is called a "push" and absolutely no cash is lost or won. If dealer wins the two hands then the individual looses their wager and vice versa. Now if there is a tie, the croupier wins everything. After the hand is played, the next person clock-wise gets to be the dealer and the next hand is dealt.