The History of Pai Gow Poker by Gambling Win

If the Chinese have one thing for which they are known, it could easily be their love of gaming. Derived from an ancient Chinese dominos game called Pai Gow, its modern counterpart, Pai Gow. Poker is the Americanized version that has since replaced the dominos with a standard deck of playing cards. In this version, all poker hand rankings apply, with the exception of the addition of a single joker. Like any other table game, each player is pit against the dealer, and the values of other players' hands do not directly affect each other's outcome. The traditional table has six seats, the dealer of course being the seventh player.

The game itself is an ancient Chinese game that has been around for thousands of years. Its modern variation, both with dominos and playing cards is still as popular as ever in Asia. In fact, the game has gone underground, yet can be easily found in many Chinese communities throughout the world. The game is unique to poker in that the player actually uses all of his cards to create two separate hands, a high hand and a low hand. It is also unique to most other table games in that it offers much more interaction and strategy, where the player must rely on a certain level of skill and logic to become successful. In order to win, both the player's high and low hands must beat the dealer's. If it is a split, the hand is considered a push and no money is neither won nor lost.

Each player receives sevens cards, and from that they must make the best five card and the best two card hand, giving equal consideration to both. The player is responsible for making sure that his high hand (five cards) is actually higher in value than the low hand (2 cards). If he inadvertently makes a better low hand, it is considered a foul, and the player automatically loses his bet. As far as the odds of a player winning, in respect to the house advantage, Pai Gow Poker offers its patrons a pretty fair game. Each player is given the opportunity to be the banker, which may be accepted or declined at any time. The house advantage from a player's position is a mere 2.5%, which is more than reasonable by table standards.

The history and origins or modern Pai Gow Poker might not be as clear as some of the other table games found in the table, but its domino played precursor can be credited to the Chinese with the influence of other nations, which can be said for many other games as well. The game has seemingly grown in popularity over the years, and by allowing the gambler to act as the banker, with the proper strategy and money management skills, the gambler can chisel down the house advantage and possibly have a chance at going home the big winner.