Game rules
Paigow Poker
Game objective
Paigow Poker is a combination of the ancient Chinese game 'paigow' - which is played with tiles - and the American card game, poker.
The objective of Paigow Poker is for both of a player's two hands (denoted the highest and second-highest hands) to rank higher than both of the dealer's two hands. The player receives seven cards and makes two traditional poker hands - one of five cards (the highest hand), another of two (the second-highest hand).
The rankings of the two hands are based on a basic poker ranking. Thus, the highest two-card hand is two Aces and the highest five-card hand is five Aces (four Aces and a Joker). The player's two hands are compared with the dealer's two hands and the payoff is determined.
Game overview
- All suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs) have equal rank.
- The game is played with a single deck of 53 cards consisting of a standard deck of cards plus one Joker.
- The cards are shuffled at the start of every game.
- The minimum bet is 0 and the maximum is 0.
- The game rules and payouts are identical in both the play for real and play for free versions.
- The Joker always counts as an Ace except to complete a Straight, a Flush, a Straight Flush or a Royal Flush. In these cases the Joker is wild and can substitute for any other card.
How to play
- Place your bet by clicking on the desired chip at the edge of the table; to increase your bet continue to click on the desired chip. To remove a bet, click on the chips within the betting area.
- To place a bonus bet, click on the 'BONUS BET' area of the table. To remove a bonus bet, right-click on the chip within the 'BONUS BET' area.
- Once you have placed your bets, click 'DEAL' to begin the hand.
- Seven cards are then dealt to the player face-up and seven cards to the dealer face-down.
- You must then select two of your cards to form the second-highest hand; this is done by clicking on the desired card.
- The second-highest hand MUST be of a lower hand value than the highest hand.
- Once a card is selected, you may also deselect it by clicking on the card again.
- Once you have selected your second-highest hand, click on the 'DONE' button.
- The dealer will then reveal their cards and form hands based on the 'HOUSE WAY' as shown below.
- The hands are compared. In order for the player to win, he must win both the highest and second-highest hands.
- If the player loses both the highest and second-highest hands, the dealer wins and the player's bet is lost.
- If the player wins one hand and loses the other, the hand is a tie and the player's bet is returned.
- If the player's second-highest hand is greater than the highest hand, it is a termed as foul and the player loses his bet.
- To play again at the same bet level, click on 'REBET' to start a new hand.
- To alter your bet level or clear your bets, click on 'CLEAR' and begin placing your bets again.
- Your game balance shows the amount of funds you have left available for the game (see below for more details on 'REBUY').
- If your game balance falls below that of the last bet placed, the system will prompt you either to choose a lower bet level or to click on 'REBUY' to add more funds to the table.
- The game rules can be viewed by clicking on the 'RULES' button on the bottom-left of the game screen. You can go back to the game at any time by clicking on the 'GAME' button.
- Click the 'GAMELOGS' button to view the logs of the games you played.
- Click 'VERSION' to view the current version number of the game.
- Click 'REBUY' to buy in more credits to the game from your ITV Play Account.
- To exit the game, click on 'EXIT GAME'.
Game rules in detail
The dealer deals the player seven cards face-up and himself seven cards face-down.
After the player has his seven cards, he must form two hands. The second-highest hand must contain two cards and the highest hand five cards.
Once the player has selected his highest hand and the second-highest hand, the highest cards are placed at the bottom area and the second-highest cards are moved up in the section named 'SECOND HIGHEST'. Also, the dealer's cards are revealed face-up and arranged as highest and second-highest hand).
The formation of the dealer's highest and second-highest hands is dictated by the house rules. These rules are described below. The dealer's cards are now compared with the player's cards.
The Joker can be used only as an Ace or as a card to complete a Straight, a Flush, a Straight Flush or a Royal Flush for any of the hands.
The player's highest hand is compared to the dealer's highest hand.
The player's second-highest hand is compared to the dealer's second-highest
hand.
The result is displayed at the bottom of the table, and:
- If the player's second-highest hand and highest hand are lower than the dealer's then the player loses the bet.
- If the player wins any one of the hands (highest hand or second-highest hand), but loses the other, the bet is a push and the bet is returned to the player. A message is displayed for the result.
- If both the player's and dealer's hands are identical (that is to say when there is an exact match between hands, which is called a copy), the player loses his bet. A message displaying the result will appear.
- If the player wins any one of the hands and the second hand results in a tie, the bet is a push and will be returned to the player.
- If the player loses any one of the hands and the second hand results in a tie, he loses his bet.
- If the highest hand set by the player is lower in strength than his second-highest hand, the bet is termed 'Foul' and the player loses his bet.
Hand comparison
Highest hand - For the highest hand, five Aces (four Aces and a Joker) would be the highest. Among the Straights, a Straight with A, K, Q, J, 10 would be the highest, with A, 2, 3, 4, 5 being the second highest. If both the hands have the same ranking, the higher hand is that with the higher cards. For example, three Kings would rank higher than three Jacks. In case of the same ranking, then the highest card(s) not being held in common determines the winner. For example, two Jacks with an Ace high beats two Jacks with a King high. The suit order of the cards is not taken into account when deciding on the winning cards. If a Joker is used in a winning combination, then the Joker will act as the highest card (for example Joker, 6, 5, 4, 3, rather than 6,5,4,3, Joker, where Joker will substitute as a 7 and not as a 2).
Second-highest hand - In the case of the second-highest hand, the highest would be a pair of Aces. If both the hands have the same ranking, the winner is the one holding the higher cards. For example, a pair of Kings is higher than a pair of Queens. In case of the same ranking, then the highest card(s) not being held in common determines the winner. The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while deciding on the winning cards.
The house rules
The 'front' refers to the two-card hand (second-highest hand) and the 'back' refers to the five-card hand.
- No Pair: Place the second and third-highest cards in the front.
- One Pair: Place the pair at the back and the two highest singletons in the front.
- Two Pair: Split the Two Pair except for the following three situations:
-
- Both pairs are 6s or less.
- Both pairs are 10s or less plus Ace singleton. The Ace singleton is to be used in the front hand with the next highest card.
- One pair of face cards, one pair of 5s or less, and an Ace singleton. The Ace singleton is to be used in the front hand.
- Three Pair: Place highest pair at the front.
- Three of a Kind: Place three of a kind at the back except to break up three Aces. Out of the three aces, play two at the back and the remaining one in the front.
- Three of a Kind twice: Place a pair extracted from the highest three of a kind at the front.
Straights and Flushes
Always play a Straight or Flush in the back hand or play as a two pair in one of the following circumstances:
- Pair of Aces and any other pair.
- Both pairs 10s or over.
- Both pairs 10s or under with an Ace singleton. Play according to the two-pair rule (i.e. play both the pairs at the back and out of the remaining cards, play Ace singleton at the front with the next highest card. The Ace singleton will not be used in the back hand.)
If the hand includes a Joker, the system will first try to use the Joker to complete a Straight Flush, Straight and Flush and then check for other combinations.
A Straight Flush is given preference over a Straight and a Flush and is played at the back.
- Full House: split except with pair of 2s and an Ace/ King can be played at the front.
- Full House with Three of a Kind and two pairs: play the highest pair at the front.
- Four of a Kind: play according to the rank of the four of a kind:
- Two to six: always keep together.
- Seven to ten: split unless an Ace and a face card or better can be played at the front.
- Jack to King: split unless hand also contains a pair of 10s or higher.
- Aces: split unless a pair of 7s or higher can be played at the front.
- Straight Flush
- Play the Straight Flush at the back except play as a Two Pair with:
- Aces and any other pair.
- Both pairs 10s or higher.
- Both pairs 10s or less and an Ace singleton.
-
Royal Flush
Play the Royal Flush at the back except play as a Two Pair with: - Aces and any other pair.
- Both pairs 10s or higher. If the above-mentioned criteria are not met, a Royal Flush will always be played at the back.
-
Five Aces
Five Aces will always be split unless a pair of Kings can be played at the front.
Description of hands for the highest hand (five cards)
| Hand strength | Description |
|---|---|
| Five Aces | Five Aces is the highest-ranking hand possible. This means four Aces and a Joker. |
| Royal Flush | An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit. Starting with an Ace, all five cards are in sequence and of the same suit. Example: A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit |
| Royal Flush with a Joker | An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit with any one card
replaced by a Joker. Example: A, K, Q, Joker, 10 of the same suit |
| Straight Flush | Five cards in numeric sequence and of the same suit. Example: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 of the same suit |
| Straight Flush with a Joker | Five cards in a numeric sequence with any one card replaced by a
Joker. Example: 10, 9, 8, Joker, 6 |
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same value. Example: 5, 5, 5, 5, 2 |
| Full House | One Pair plus Three of a Kind. Example: K, K, K, 4, 4 |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit of any value. Example: K, J, 9, 6, 3 of the same suit |
| Flush with a Joker | Five cards of the same suit of any value with any one card replaced by a
Joker. Example: K, J, 9, Joker, 3 (the four cards of same suit) |
| Straight | Five cards in numerical sequence, but of different suits Example: 5, 4, 3, 2, A (Note that with Paigow Poker, the 5, 4, 3, 2, A Straight is the second-highest Straight, only beaten by A, K, Q, J, 10.) |
| Straight with a Joker | Five cards in numerical sequence but of different suits with any one card
replaced by a Joker. Example : 5, 4, Joker, 2, A |
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same value. Example: 9, 9, 9, A, 8 |
| Two Pair | Two pairs of different rank. Example: 8, 8, 7, 7, 3 |
| One Pair | Two cards of same value. Example: 8, 4, J, J, A |
| High Card | The rank of hands containing less than one pair is determined by the
highest-ranking card. Example: A, K, 9, 6, 3 |
Description of hands for the second-highest hand (two cards)
| Hand | Description |
|---|---|
| Pair | Two cards of same value. Example: 8, 8 |
| High Card | The rank of hands containing less than a pair is determined by the
highest-ranking card and, if that matches the opponent's, then the
second-ranking card. Example: A, Q beats A, J |
Bonus paytable
| Hand | Payoff | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Seven Card Straight Flush | 8000/1 | Seven cards of the same suit in sequence without any Joker. |
| Royal Flush Plus Royal Match | 2000/1 | Five card Royal Flush plus a King and Queen of the same suit. |
| Wild Seven Card Straight Flush | 1000/1 | All seven cards of the same suit and in sequence including a Joker. |
| Five Aces | 400/1 | Four Aces and a Joker. |
| Royal Flush | 150/1 | Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of the same suit. |
| Straight Flush | 50/1 | Five cards in numeric sequence and of the same suit. |
| Four of a Kind | 25/1 | Four cards of the same value. |
| Full House | 5/1 | One pair plus three of a kind. |
| Flush | 4/1 | Five cards of the same suit of any value. |
| Three of a Kind | 3/1 | Three cards of the same value. |
| Straight | 2/1 | Five cards in numerical sequence but of different suits. |
Adding funds to your ITV Play Account
To add funds to your ITV Play Account, click on 'DEPOSIT' in the 'Cashier' menu and then select the desired deposit option. You can also add funds to your account by clicking on 'REBUY' from the game screen and then clicking on 'CASHIER', or by clicking on the 'DEPOSIT' button or 'REAL BALANCE' in the 'My Account' section in the left panel of the main Lobby. As each deposit option is different, the time to transfer funds and the fees charged will vary in the procedure. However, funds cannot be added in the middle of the game and have to be added at the beginning of a new game.
What do I do if I reach my betting limits?
If your game balance drops below the minimum bet you are trying to place, you will have to click on 'REBUY' to add credits to your game balance from your ITV Play Account.
To add funds to your ITV Play Account, click on the 'DEPOSIT' option in the 'Cashier' menu in the main Lobby or click on 'CASHIER' button from the 'buy-in' window of any game. You can also click on the 'DEPOSIT' button or 'REAL BALANCE' in the 'My Account' section in the left panel in the main Lobby.
I could not complete the game. What should I do?
If you are unable to finish a game of Paigow Poker or get disconnected from the internet, then log out of the casino and log back in. You will be prompted to complete the unfinished game. If you still face problems or have any other questions, please contact our 24/7 Customer Care team.
