Poker rules for Pai Gow poker are fairly simple.  The game is played with a standard deck plus 1 joker,  which acts as a wild card but may be used only as an Ace,  or to fill in a straight or flush.  The dealer gives each player and himself 7 cards,  and each player divides these into a high 5-card hand and a low 2-card hand.  The high hand must equal or beat the low hand.

Pai Gow poker rules are almost identical among casinos and online casinos,  except for whether they allow you to play one-on-one against the dealer,  or a table of 6 players is the arrangement.  In most games  (casino games especially)  your cards will be dealt face up while the dealer’s are face down.  Once a player has arranged his hands,  he should not touch his cards again.

The ranks of hands go according to normal poker rules,  except that the second highest flush possible is  A-2-3-4-5,  which in some games is called a Bicycle.  (The first highest flush possible is, of course,  A-K-Q-J-10.)  A straight or flush containing a joker is worth the same as if it were a natural hand.  If the player beats both the dealer’s high and low hands,  he wins his bet at even money,  minus the house percentage.  If he beats only one of the dealer’s hands,  it is a push.  If one of the player’s hands is exactly the same as one of the dealer’s,  it is called a copy hand and he loses that hand.  The exception occurs if the player is acting as the banker for that round;  then he will win all his copy hands.

The dealer often acts as the bank,  but the option of being banker moves counterclockwise around the table.  If a player is banker,  by poker rules he must be able to cover all bets made by the other players,  and must also pay a 5% fee on his winnings.  All players also pay 5% to the house.

Dealers are told to arrange their cards according to a house way,  and not to vary from this set of poker rules.  In his book  Optimal Strategy For Pai Gow Poker,  card expert Stanford Wong writes that what the casinos use are not optimal hand setting rules,  however.  Under certain conditions the game can be beaten,  and he outlines strategy to beat those poker rules.

A broad poker rules tip is,  of course,  to try to make sure at least one hand will beat the dealer’s,  so you’ll at least have a draw.  This usually means your low hand takes your kicker from the higher hand.