The Rules of Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow poker is a variation of the Chinese domino game Pai Gow. Pai Gow first appeared around the mid-1800's, and Pai Gow poker started gaining popularity in 1986 in Californian card rooms. Pai Gow is played with a 53-card deck - a standard deck of 52 cards and one Joker (the Joker may only be used as an Ace, or to complete a Straight, Flush or Straight Flush). Pai Gow poker is played one on one, the player against the dealer (or banker), each competing to make the best possible hands. After placing an initial bet, both player and dealer receive seven cards. The object of the game is for the player to split (or "set") the seven dealt cards into two hands - a five-card "High" hand, and a two-card "Low" hand. The cards must be set in such a way that the five-card hand has a higher poker rank than the two-card hand.
For example, the player's hand is: 6,7,8,9,10,A,A. The player sets the pair of Aces as the Low hand, and 6,7,8,9,10 (straight) as the High hand. The dealer's hand is: 2,2,2,A,K,4,5. The dealer sets the Ace and King as the Low hand, and 2,2,2,4,5 (three of a kind) as the High hand. The player beats both the dealer's High and Low hands, thus winning the round.

The hands are ranked according to standard poker rules, with the exception that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight. By the way, the best Low hand is a pair of Aces. After the player finished arranging his/her hands, the dealer arranges his/her hands according to a set of fixed rules (the "House Way"). The player's two hands (High and Low) are then compared with the dealer's two hands (High and Low) to determine the winner. In order to win, both the player's High and Low hands must have a higher poker rank than both the dealer's High and Low hands (according to the Pai Gow Poker Hand Ranks table below).
If the player's two hands beat the dealer's two hands, the player wins an amount equal to the initial bet minus a 5% commission.

If both of the dealer's hands beat both of the player's hands, the dealer wins.
If the player wins only one of the two hands, the game is a push and neither the dealer nor the player wins.

If either the five-card hands or the two-card hands rank exactly the same, the equal hands are called "copies" of each other. The dealer wins all copy hands. For example, if the player beats the dealer in the High hand but copies the dealer with the Low hand, the game is a push. In case of a push, all bets are returned to the player.

Pai Gow Poker Hand Ranks (from highest to lowest)

The only real difference between Pai Gow poker hand ranks and standard poker hand ranks is that a five-Aces hand (four Aces and a Joker) beats a royal flush, and is the highest hand in the game.

Rank Hand Description
1 Five of a Kind Four Aces and a Joker
2 Royal Flush Five consecutive denomination cards of the same suit, starting from 10 and ending with an Ace - 10,J,Q,K,A
3 Straight Flush Five consecutive denomination cards of the same suit
4 Four of a Kind Four cards of the same denomination
5 Full House A set of three cards of the same denomination plus a set of two cards of the same denomination
6 Flush Five non-consecutive denomination cards of the same suit
7 Straight Five consecutive denomination cards of different suit
8 Three of a Kind Three cards of the same denomination
9 Two Pairs Two sets of pairs of the same card denomination
10 One Pair Two cards of the same denomination