Pai
Gow Poker also has a 53rd card, the joker, and
that jester can be
used as a wild card in a straight, a flush, straight
flushes, or as an
ace. The hierarchy of Pai Gow poker hands is comparable
to that of
typical poker hands, except that a five-ace hand
(four aces plus the
joker) outranks a royal flush.
Newbies at Pai Gow Poker typically make two rookie
mistakes. They
fail to see a five-card flush or straight, or
they incorrectly set their
hands when dealt two or more pairs. Since two-pair
hands appear fairly
often, setting them correctly is imperative. Perfect
strategy protocol
for playing two pairs is this: If your hand has
either an unmatched Ace
or King, keep the two pairs in your five-card
hand. If you have
neither, play the lower-ranking pair as the two-card
hand.
As for three pairs, always use the highest pair
in your two-card
hand, and the second and third highest pairs in
your five-card hand.
Your
heap of consecutive copies, Shawn, was eerie because
you lost, but
it happens. For those needing to know, a copy
is where the player and
banker have identical two-card or five-card hands.
For example, let's
say both you and the dealer each have a King and
Queen as your two-card
hands. Copies always go to the banker, giving
him/her a built-in
advantage over the player.
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Columns By Mark Pilarski
Have a question? Ask Mark pilarski@markpilarski.com
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