Pai gow poker III
Derived from the Chinese gambling game of dominoes called Pai gow, the modern casino gambling game of Pai gow poker has an interesting system of determining winner of hands. Though sometimes any one of the six players can be the banker, generally it is the dealer’s role. The banker has a slight edge over others playing for the pot in that, he stands the chance to win in situation of a tie. So, if a player has tied with banker in the 2-card play, but his 5-card hand has lost to the banker, it is the banker’s game. In case, there is a violation of the rules and someone is found to have a higher value of 2-card hand than his 5-card hand or the arrangement of cards in his hands is incorrect, then either the casino calls for the hand to be arranged again or the hand is forfeited in penalty.
Arrangement of hands in a game of Pai gow poker can either be preset if the house or casino dealer is acting the banker or it can be determined by the player who assumes he banker’s role. In case, someone wants to exercise the option of co-banking, then he loses his freedom to set the hand and must follow the casino’s rules.
Gamblers are required to pay a fixed charge, ranging from 5 cents to $1 to play a single hand in the casinos is California, regardless of him winning or losing the hand. However, there are some casinos that deduct a rake from the winner’s payout amounting to 5% as commission. The reason why such a steep rake is assigned to the game of Pai gow poker is that unlike other casino gambling games, this game can go on for a long time for a single hand to be completed as there may be several pushes in the play, thereby limiting the house’s rake collection as compared to other games.
