In some casinos, such as the Golden Nugget and Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada , an extra "dragon hand" is dealt if a seat is vacant. After all players have set their original hand they are asked in turn if they would like to place another bet to play the dragon hand. Generally the bet on the dragon hand can be the table minimum up to the amount the player bet on their original hand.

The first player to accept the dragon hand receives it; this player is effectively playing two separate hands. Rules vary from casino to casino, but generally the dealer turns over the dragon hand and sets it using the house way.

This is because the player has already seen the seven cards of their original hand, which could affect the way they would set the dragon hand. A 7-card hand worse than one pair i. Five-card hands use standard poker hand rankings with one exception: in most casinos, the "wheel" the hand A is the second-highest straight.

At most casinos in California and Michigan this rule does not apply, and A is the lowest possible straight. The joker plays as a bug , that is, in the five-card hand it can be used to complete a straight or flush if possible; otherwise it is an ace.

In the two-card hand it always plays as an ace, except in several southern Californian casinos where the joker is wild. This means that the highest possible hand is five aces, outranking straight flushes including the royal flush.

If each of the player's hands beats each of the banker's corresponding hands, then he wins the bet. If only one of his hands beats the banker then he pushes ties in which case neither he nor the banker wins the bet.

If both of his hands lose to the banker then he loses. On each hand, ties go to the banker for example, if a player's five-card hand loses to the banker and his two-card hand ties the banker then the player loses ; this gives the banker a small advantage. If the player fouls his hand, meaning that his two-card hand outranks his five-card hand, or that there are an incorrect number of cards in each hand, there will usually be a penalty: either re-arrangement of the hand according to house rules or, typically, forfeiture of the hand.

In casino-banked games, the banker is generally required to set his hand in a pre-specified manner, called the "house way", so that the dealer does not have to implement any strategy in order to beat the players.

When a player is banking, he is free to set the hand however he chooses; however, players have the option of "co-banking" with the house, and if this option is chosen then the player's hand must also be set in the house way.

California casinos typically charge a flat fee per hand such as 5 cents or one dollar to play, win or lose. There are a number of variations of Pai Gow poker that are popular in casinos today. These variations were mainly formulated in through Pai Gow Mania was the first variation to be created which allows for two side bets instead of the traditional one side bet per hand.

Fortune Pai Gow is another variation which allows players to make a side bet on a poker hand ranking of three-of-a-kind or better, one of the most popular variations.

Similar is Emperors Challenge, which also allows a side bet on a seven-card pai gow no hand. Shuffle Master introduced a variation of the game in , adding a progressive jackpot side bet, named Progressive Fortune Pai Gow.

Part or all of the jackpot may be won by placing a side bet and landing one of the hands specified on the payout table; a combined seven-card straight flush wins the entire jackpot. A popular new variant that has spread from Las Vegas since the s is "Face-Up" Pai Gow poker in which the dealer sets the hand without concealing to the players and before the players set their hand.

No commissions are collected in this variant. To offset the player advantage due to the face up cards, any dealer Ace high Pai Gow results in a table push. Because of no commission or player deliberation, the game is faster. This variant has a slightly lower house edge, at 1.

Advantage play refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling. In pai gow poker, a player may be able to gain an advantage in certain circumstances by banking as often as possible, taking advantage of unskilled players while banking, and dealer errors when not banking.

Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in Los Angeles, invented the game of Pai Gow Poker in The idea for the game came to Torosian after being told about the game Pusoy by an elderly Filipino customer.

He figured that the card game with players arranging three hands would be too slow, but a simplified two-hand version with only seven cards would be faster and easier for players to learn. The game quickly became popular and by the late s was being played on the Las Vegas Strip , and eventually worldwide.

Torosian famously failed to patent the game he invented after being given bad advice by noted poker author Mike Caro and an attorney he consulted, both of whom told him that the game was not patentable.

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