Pai Gow Poker Hands

The ranking of the hands in Pai Gow Poker is more or less the same as normal poker games with two exceptions.

1. A suited hand of A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest possible hand after a Royal Flush, the next highest being K-Q-J-10-9.
2. It is worth noting that a Joker is played in as a 53rd card in Pai Gow and this makes the highest possible hand five Aces.

The ranking of hands in Pai Gow are detailed below with the best hands at the top.

Five of a Kind is when you have in your five card hand, four cards with the same value and the Joker, for example, 10-10-10-10 and the joker card.

A Straight Flush is five cards in order where all of the cards are of the same suit, for example, 5-6-7-8-9 of clubs.

Four of a Kind is when you have been dealt four cards with the same value, for example, Q-Q-Q-Q plus one other unrelated card.

A Full House is where the player has been dealt 3 cards of the same value and also a pair. An example of this would be J-J-J-5-5.

A Flush is where all of the cards in the hand are of the same suit. They can be of any card values. Example, 2-4-9-J-K of Hearts.

A Straight is where the 5 cards value are in a running order but are made up of different suits. Example; 8-9-10-J-Q but varying suits.

Three of a Kind is where the players five card Pai Gow hand 3 cards of the same value, example, K, K, K, 9, 8. If both the player and the dealer have Three of a Kind then the highest value 3 cards win.

Two Pairs is when the player has been dealt 2 sets of 2 cards of the same value. If the player and the dealer both have two pair, then the highest value pair wins.

A common hand in Pai Gow Poker is one pair. This often occurs, especially in the low hand. If both the player and the dealer have a one pair, then the highest pair wins. If both pairs are the same, under Pai Gow rules, the dealer wins.

When all cards in the hand are of different values and suits, then the valuing of the poker hand is by the highest card.

New Pai Gow players should be familiar with the hand valuing above, or print out a copy for reference with playing.