Pai Gow Hand Issue

I have a question about a Pai Gow hand that everyone I work with has a different take on. If you, as a dealer, have 9, 9, 10, J, K, A, Joker (suit is irrelevant), how would you play it? Two pair and split? One pair in L and Straight in H? Some other way? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

No casino that I know of would do anything other than take the straight in the high hand and the pair of 9's as the low hand. Splitting 2 pair would lose the straight in favor of the pair of Aces and still have a pair of 9's in the low.


ZCore13

Quote: hilham07

I have a question about a Pai Gow hand that everyone I work with has a different take on. If you, as a dealer, have 9, 9, 10, J, K, A, Joker (suit is irrelevant), how would you play it? Two pair and split? One pair in L and Straight in H? Some other way? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Are you sure you types the hand right? I haven’t played Pai Gow in 15 years but it looks like an obvious 99 up top and broadway in bottom.

Quote: hilham07

I have a question about a Pai Gow hand that everyone I work with has a different take on. If you, as a dealer, have 9, 9, 10, J, K, A, Joker (suit is irrelevant), how would you play it? Two pair and split? One pair in L and Straight in H? Some other way? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the forum.

You must have a typo. The highest possible low hand with those 7 cards is 9,9. The highest possible high hand is a straight.... 10, J, Joker, K, A. Since it is possible to play the highest possible hand in the low hand while simultaneously playing the highest possible hand in the high hand, there can be only one reasonable answer.

I would be concerned about working with anyone who has a 'different take".



By the way, I believe the 'cards do the talking'. If you set your hand thinking you have split two pairs, in this case your pair of aces automatically is counted as a straight, as it would be A, Joker, K, J, 10. Even though you thought you had set a pair of aces.

I believe there is an unwritten rule in both pai gow and pai gow poker that if one way to set the hands is equal or better than all others in both high and low, you do that, even if it seems to conflict with a written rule.

In this case, I'm quite sure the dealer would play the nines in the low, because:
(1) The unwritten rule.
(2) Most of the time, with a straight or flush and a two pair, you follow the two pair rule, which would also put the nines in the low.

I believe there is an unwritten rule in both pai gow and pai gow poker that if one way to set the hands is equal or better than all others in both high and low, you do that, even if it seems to conflict with a written rule. For example, such is the case with 12-12-Gee-4 in pai gow.

In this case, I'm quite sure the dealer would play the nines in the low, because:
(1) The unwritten rule.
(2) Most of the time, with a straight or flush and a two pair, you follow the two pair rule, which would also put the nines in the low.

After having gotten a good night's rest, I can see where I was getting myself confused. No matter how I set the hand up, it's always going to be a straight with 9s, because the cards speak for themselves. I feel like I've come across the "issue" before, where the hand is funky and the Joker can go either way. Can't recall an exact hand though.

Thanks to those that responded. Now to explain this to everyone I work with that said it's 2 pair. 👍

Quote: hilham07

After having gotten a good night's rest, I can see where I was getting myself confused. No matter how I set the hand up, it's always going to be a straight with 9s, because the cards speak for themselves. I feel like I've come across the "issue" before, where the hand is funky and the Joker can go either way. Can't recall an exact hand though.

Thanks to those that responded. Now to explain this to everyone I work with that said it's 2 pair. 👍

Glad you got it!

Friendly recommendation.... DON'T try and explain it to those at work. The guy or gal who can't figure it out will frustrate you to no end. Nothing good can come from it. You are hoping for the 'oh yeah!, thanks!', but will most likely get... "but two pair, don't care!"