Pai Gow Poker is a popular card game that is played in many casinos around the world. One of the most common questions asked by new players is whether or not three of a kind beats a straight in Pai Gow Poker. In this article, we will explore this question in detail and provide you with all the information you need to know.
Firstly, let’s take a closer look at the rules of Pai Gow Poker. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards plus one joker.
The objective of the game is to create two separate poker hands from your seven cards – a five-card hand and a two-card hand. Your five-card hand must be stronger than your two-card hand, and both hands must beat the corresponding hands of the dealer.
Now, to answer the question at hand – does three of a kind beat a straight in Pai Gow Poker? The short answer is no, it doesn’t.
In fact, in Pai Gow Poker, a straight beats three of a kind. This may come as a surprise to some players who are used to playing traditional poker games where three of a kind is considered to be quite strong.
To understand why this is the case, we need to take another look at the rules of Pai Gow Poker. In this game, straights are actually easier to make than three of a kind because there are more possible combinations that can create straights. A straight can be made up of any five consecutive cards in any suit, whereas three of a kind requires you to have three cards with the same rank.
For example, if you were dealt 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 in Pai Gow Poker, you would have both a straight and an additional pair (2s). This would give you two very strong hands that would likely beat both hands held by the dealer.
It’s worth noting that while straights do beat three of a kind in Pai Gow Poker, this is not always the case in other poker games. In traditional poker games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, three of a kind is considered to be a very strong hand that can often win the pot.
In conclusion, while it may seem counterintuitive to some players, straights do beat three of a kind in Pai Gow Poker. This is because straights are easier to make than three of a kind due to the rules of the game. Remember this important rule when playing Pai Gow Poker, and it will help you make better decisions when determining how to split your seven cards into two separate hands.
Thanks for reading, and we hope this article has helped clarify any confusion you may have had about whether or not three of a kind beats a straight in Pai Gow Poker.
