Pai Gow is poker gambling against the bank

The rise in popularity of online casino gambling in Ireland has created a resurgence of interest in some of the old established casino games. Whilst poker was not available in many of the land based casinos and was therefore relegated to a game between friends on one night a week, it has now become one of the most popular online casino games and poker tournaments get massive support. Tournament poker gambling is currently focused on the Texas Hold’em format of poker, but the online casinos offer us a choice of many other forms of gambling on poker which we should not overlook, particularly for those of us who enjoy poker but are conscious of budget restrictions. One of these alternative forms of poker is Pai Gow, which is a form of poker played against the bank and therefore ideally suited to online gambling on a budget. The rules of Pai Gow poker are detailed in our casino games pages, but the basics are that the player and the bank are each dealt seven cards from a standard 52 card deck plus one joker, and must then form one 5 card hand and one 2 card hand both of which must be winning hands for the player to win the game. The 5 card hand must always rank higher than the 2 card hand, and the joker can only be used to complete a straight or a flush in the 5 card hand, or as an ace in either hand. Those new to Pai Gow poker gambling should note that the house edge is enabled by the fact that the bank can win the game if it wins the 5 card hand and ties the 2 card hand, whereas the player can only win the game by winning both hands. There are also some differences in the ranking of A,1,2,3,4 on some online casino sites, so always check before gambling with real money. As usual with any online gambling game we recommend using the free play option until you understand how the game works, but Pai Gow is great fun and worth a try.