11.10
Double-hand Poker Rules
Let’s discover some alternate forms of poker other than holdem, seven card stud, five card draw and omaha/8. Yes, double-hand poker. Now you must be wondering that pai gow sounds a bit Chinese; yes you’re right, this game is a blending of the Chinese game pai gow and poker
Certainly this isn’t one of the highly acclaimed varieties of poker but still broadly played. It can be played by up to seven players. It’s played with one deck of cards, with a joker. Interestingly, the Joker can only be used as an ace, or to finish off a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or a royal flush. The essential aspect here to bear in mind is apart from the usual ranking of hands we have one more winning hand which is "Five Aces" (4 Aces and the Joker). Surprisingly, five aces beats all other hand including royal flush. Each player is dealt seven cards. The cards are arranged to create 2 hands; a two card hand and a five card hand. The 5 card hand must rank higher or be equivalent to the two card hand.
After setting up the 2 hands, the cards are positioned on the table with the faces down. Once on the table, you cannot switch them. The croupier will flip over their cards and make their hands. Every players hand is compared to the dealer’s hands. If the player wins one hand and lose the other, this is called a "push" and no cash is lost or won. If croupier wins the two hands then the bettor looses their bet the opposite is correct if the player wins both hands. Now if there is a tie, the dealer wins all. After the hand is played, the very next person clock-wise becomes the dealer and the following hand is dealt.