Microgaming brings us the Western take on one of the most popular Asian card games out there, Pai Gow. The game has a very understandable and user-friendly interface, intuitive features and clear cut presentation. The visual style is minimalistic and quite enjoyable, or least irritating, and will ease you through long sessions or when you have just start learning the basics.
The Pai Gow Poker mostly follows vanilla poker rules, though some notable exemptions are present, as well as a few new fundamental mechanics. The player and dealer are both dealt seven cards. The player selects two of them to form a hand, while the other five must also form a hand which is also stronger than that of the two cards. Standard poker hand categories apply. Where the game ranks A-2-3-4-5 second, this means second among straights, not second among all poker hands; confirm the version’s ranking rules. The goal of the game is to have both hands higher than the dealer’s, while each party beating 1 hand returns bets. The game is played with a 53 card deck, adding a Wild Joker, which substitutes for other cards only when completing flushes and straights, and is otherwise an Ace. The House Way option arranges the cards according to preset rules and asks for approval before placing the hands; it is not a guarantee of winning.
Main game bets range from €1 to €200. The game also offers a Bonus Bet system. This allows you to wager up to €20 that you will be dealt at least a straight in the 7 cards. The minimal payout for the bonus bet is a x2 for a straight, while a 7-card straight flush has 8 000 coins in store, though there is a 25 000 coin limit on the bonus payout.
