Pai Gow With A Twist

We had seven runners at J-Dawg's Poker Extravaganza Tuesday night, eager to pitch a few cards. After consuming several slices of pizza, we were off and running.

From left to right on your radio dial were Ollie the Accountant, Bobby Dee, Cell, Farmer Harry, J-Dawg, Stamps, and yours truly.

Bobby Dee won the High Hand Jackpot in this $20 buy-in, dealers choice limit game, with quad 9's, netting him a $15 pot. I had a good night, getting more than my share of playable hands. Even better, I was connecting with the board and having my hands hold up. Amazing!

I introduced a new game to the table a few weeks ago and it has turned out to be pretty popular. It's played like Pai Gow, but the twist is that you are playing against each other, not just the dealer.

Each player is dealt two hole cards and have a round of betting. After the first round of betting is completed, the remaining players are dealt three more hole cards, followed by another round of betting. Another hole card, followed by another round of betting, then a final card, followed by the last round of betting.

The remaining players then split their cards into two hands, a two card hand that is played "up front" and a five card hand played behind. One stipulation of Pai Gow is that the five card hand must be of a higher value than the two card hand. After the hand has been split, each player places his hands face down. The two card hands are exposed first, with the highest hand winning half the pot. The five card hands are then laid on their backs with the high hand winning the other half.

It's a lot of fun! Try it at your next game and let me know what you think.

I left with an extra $32 in my pocket. Not bad for a $20 buy-in. I wish my investments would do half as well!

Till next time, win the flips!