So you’re actually building two hands at once.Īnd here’s the kicker: your high hand must beat your low hand. Two hands are dealt: a “high” hand consisting of five cards and a “low” hand consisting of two cards. Up to six players sit at the table along with the dealer. Like Blackjack, the object is to defeat the “banker,” who is usually the dealer. Playing the GameĪll you need to play Pai Gow Poker is a standard deck of 52 cards and one Joker.
Ironically, Torosian failed to patent his invention and was never able to make money on it. It quickly became very popular and started appearing in casinos. He took the basics of the ancient game and converted the rules to play with contemporary playing cards. As such, it was one of the earliest casino games ever played and was a mainstay in gambling houses throughout Eastern Asia for centuries.īut in 1985, Pai Gow Poker was created by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in California. Who could have thought that a domino game invented over a thousand years ago in China would transform into one of the 21st century’s hottest casino sensations? The original game of Pai Gow dates back at least to the Song Dynasty in about 960 AD.
