Pai Gow Poker Black Hawk Colorado
Pai Gow Poker; Let it Ride Poker; Blackjack; Craps. The Lodge Casino located in Black Hawk, Colorado, 37 miles west of Denver, will have a smaller SuperBook on-site while also offering mobile.
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- Black Hawk is home to some of the largest and most active poker rooms in Colorado. Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour Promotions. COVID-19 Restrictions/Changes: Six player maximum per table, mandatory face masks. The Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Black Hawk features live poker 24 hours a day, seven days a week at up to 17 poker tables.
| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Players | 2–7 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Random chance | High |
| Related games | |
| Chinese poker | |
Pai gow poker (also called double-hand poker) is a version of pai gow that is played with playing cards, instead of traditional pai gow's Chinese dominoes. The game of pai gow poker was created in 1985 in the United States by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club.[1]
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, plus a single joker. It is played on a table set for six players, plus the dealer. Each player attempts to defeat the banker (who may be the casino dealer, one of the other players at the table, or a player acting in tandem with the dealer as co-bankers).[2]
Winning condition[edit]
The object of pai gow poker is to create a five card poker hand and a two card poker hand from seven cards that beat both of the bank's hands. The five-card hand's rank must exceed that of the two-card hand, and it is for this reason that the two-card hand is often called the hand 'in front', 'on top', 'hair', or the 'small', 'minor', or 'low' hand. The five-card hand is called the hand 'behind', or the 'bottom', 'high', or 'big', as they are placed that way in front of the player, when the player is done setting them.
Deals[edit]
The cards are shuffled, and then dealt to the table in seven face-down piles of seven cards per pile. Four cards are unused regardless of the number of people playing.
Betting positions are assigned a number from 1 to 7, starting with whichever player is acting as banker that hand, and counting counter-clockwise around the table. A number from 1 to 7 is randomly chosen (either electronically or manually with dice), then the deal begins with the corresponding position and proceeds counter-clockwise. One common way of using dice to determine the dealer starting number is to roll three six-sided dice, and then count betting spots clockwise from the first position until the number on the dice is reached.
If a player is not sitting on a particular spot, the hand is still assigned, but then placed on the discard pile with the four unused cards. In some casinos, such as the Golden Nugget and Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, an extra 'dragon hand' is dealt if a seat is vacant. After all players have set their original hand they are asked in turn if they would like to place another bet to play the dragon hand. Generally the bet on the dragon hand can be the table minimum up to the amount the player bet on their original hand. The first player to accept the dragon hand receives it; this player is effectively playing two separate hands. Rules vary from casino to casino, but generally the dealer turns over the dragon hand and sets it using the house way. This is because the player has already seen the seven cards of their original hand, which could affect the way they would set the dragon hand.
Hand rankings[edit]
The only two-card hands are one pair and high cards.
Five-card hands use standard poker hand rankings with one exception: in most casinos, the 'wheel' (the hand A-2-3-4-5) is the second-highest straight. At most casinos in California and Michigan this rule doesn't apply, and A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible straight.
The joker plays as a bug, that is, in the five-card hand it can be used to complete a straight or flush if possible; otherwise it is an ace. In the two-card hand it always plays as an ace, except in several southern Californian casinos where the joker is wild.
Win reckoning[edit]
If each of the player's hands beats each of the banker's corresponding hands, then he wins the bet. If only one of his hands beats the banker then he pushes (ties) in which case neither he nor the banker wins the bet. If both of his hands lose to the banker then he loses.
On each hand, ties go to the banker (for example, if a player's five-card hand loses to the banker and his two-card hand ties the banker then the player loses); this gives the banker a small advantage. If the player fouls his hand, meaning that his two-card hand outranks his five-card hand, or that there are an incorrect number of cards in each hand, there will usually be a penalty: either re-arrangement of the hand according to house rules or forfeiture of the hand.
In casino-banked games, the banker is generally required to set his hand in a pre-specified manner, called the 'house way', so that the dealer does not have to implement any strategy in order to beat the players. When a player is banking, he is free to set the hand however he chooses; however, players have the option of 'co-banking' with the house, and if this option is chosen then the player's hand must also be set in the house way.
California casinos typically charge a flat fee per hand (such as 5 cents or one dollar) to play, win or lose. Other casinos take a 5% commission out of the winnings, which is usually known as the rake.[3]
Variants[edit]
There are a number of variations of Pai Gow poker that are popular in casinos today. These variations were mainly formulated in 2004 through 2009. Pai Gow Mania was the first variation to be created which allows for two side bets instead of the traditional one side bet per hand. Fortune Pai Gow is another variation which allows players to make a side bet on a poker hand ranking of three-of-a-kind or better, one of the most popular variations. Similar is Emperors Challenge, which also allows a side bet on a seven-card pai gow (no hand). Shuffle Master introduced a variation of the game in 2006, adding a progressive jackpot side bet, named Progressive Fortune Pai Gow. Part or all of the jackpot may be won by placing a side bet and landing one of the hands specified on the payout table; a combined seven-card straight flush wins the entire jackpot.[4]
Advantage play[edit]
Advantage play refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling. In pai gow poker, a player may be able to gain an advantage in certain circumstances by banking as often as possible, taking advantage of unskilled players while banking, and dealer errors when not banking.[3]
History[edit]
Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in Los Angeles, invented the game of Pai Gow Poker in 1985. The idea for the game came to Torosian after being told about the game Pusoy by an elderly Filipino customer. He figured that the 13-card game with players arranging three hands would be too slow, but a simplified two-hand version with only seven cards would be faster and easier for players to learn. The game quickly became popular and by the late 1980s was being played on the Las Vegas Strip, and eventually worldwide. Torosian famously failed to patent the game he invented after being given bad advice by an attorney he consulted, and noted poker author Mike Caro, both of whom told him that the game was not patentable.[1]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abRichard Marosi (3 November 2002). 'Casino Boss Can't Cash In on Game He Developed'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^Michael Shackleford. 'Pai Gow Poker'. The Wizard of Odds. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ abWong, Stanford (1993). Optimal strategy for Pai Gow Poker. La Jolla, CA.: Pie Yee Press. ISBN978-0935926170.
- ^'Pai Gow Poker Variants'. Play Pai Gow Now. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
External links[edit]
The poker scene in Colorado has significantly improved since gambling was legalized in 1991. Casinos in the state host frequent tournaments, from casual daily walk-in games to high-profile events like the Colorado Poker Championship.
The poker rooms themselves have also improved, finally becoming larger and more elegant, and offering higher stakes. Most nights of the week you can find action at a wide assortment of poker rooms around Colorado.
Black Hawk Poker Rooms & Tournament Information
Carved into Gregory Gulch about 40 miles outside of downtown Denver, the historic former mining town of Black Hawk features 15 casinos and more than 1,000 hotel rooms. Black Hawk is home to some of the largest and most active poker rooms in Colorado.
Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour Promotions
COVID-19 Restrictions/Changes: Six player maximum per table, mandatory face masks.
Pai Gow Poker Black Hawk Colorado Springs
The Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Black Hawk features live poker 24 hours a day, seven days a week at up to 17 poker tables. Poker is available in a variety of limit games, as well as three-spread limit games. Golden Gates Casino features a number of tournaments, including the annual Colorado Poker Championship held in May, as well as a monthly freeroll and other events, including $340 monthly Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament.
Ameristar Poker Room
COVID-19 Restrictions/Changes: Only 9 tables open instead of the usual 22. Six player maximum per table, mandatory face masks.
Ameristar Casino’s poker room is one of the largest in Colorado. It offers 21 poker tables featuring games ranging from $1/$3 limit to $50/$100 and several spread limit games:
Ameristar Spread Games
- $1-3-100 Spread Hold
- $2-5-100 Spread Hold
- $2-5-100 Spread Big-O
- $30-60 Limit Hold‘em
- $50-100 Limit Hold’em
The poker room at Ameristar features a bad beat jackpot that pays whenever quad 8’s or better are beaten. To win, both players must have at least two cards that play in their hands, and there must be at least $30 in the pot. Ameristar players earn $1 per hour in comps on all play in the poker room.
Ameristar is a cash-only poker room and doesn’t host any poker tournaments.
The Isle of Capri Casino
COVID-19 Restrictions/Changes: Six player maximum per table, mandatory face masks, tournament play suspended.
Located on the second floor of the Isle of Capri Casino in Black Hawk, the Isle’s recently renovated poker room offers hold’em games and occasionally Omaha games, 24 hours a day. The poker room features tableside drink service and 10 flatscreen TVs on the wall. The main game at the Isle is 1-2-100 spread, however, 4-8 and many other options are often available on any one of the casinos 11 poker tables.
In addition to larger buy-in events, the Isle hosts tournaments every Friday and Saturday.
The Isle also features Aces Cracked bonuses. The first five players each day to have aces cracked win $100.
Cripple Creek Poker Rooms & Tournament Information
Until recently, Cripple Creek’s spot for live poker was the Midnight Rose, but the pandemic waylaid those plans. The poker room at the Rose is going to be closed until sometime next year.
Pai Gow Poker Black Hawk Colorado Lodging
Central City Poker Rooms & Tournament Information
As of this writing, Central City does not offer live poker.
Colorado Sweepstakes & Online Poker
Online casinos aren’t legal in Colorado, but there are still options for Colorado card sharks who want to play some poker on the go.
Sweepstakes poker is a legal option for online poker in Colorado, and Global Poker is the premier destination to play online. Global Poker’s format gives players the chance to win cash prizes by competing in poker games and touraments.
Players can purchase packages of gold coins that include sweeps coins as a bonus. While gold coins provide no monetary value, sweeps coins give players access to tournament play and other events where cash prizes go to those who finish among the top players.
Colorado Poker FAQ
Yes. Colorado casinos have poker rooms with live dealers, many open 24 hours a day.
For now, only Black Hawk offers live poker. There are 3 casinos in the mountain town where you can find a game:
- Ameristar
- Isle Casino
- Golden Gates Casino
Sort of. Online gambling is still illegal in Colorado, but sweeps casinos, like Global Poker, give CO card sharks a chance to scratch their poker itch along with the chance to win cash prizes.
Absolutely. The Golden Gates hosts No Limit Hold’em tournaments, with buy-ins ranging from $60 to about $200, nearly every day. The Isle used to host tournaments, but they’ve been suspended because of the pandemic. The Golden Gates is also home of the Colorado Poker Championship.
Yes. Colorado poker rooms are sticking closely to state law. Only 6 hands are allowed at a table at any given time, and some casinos have a limited number of tables open, so check with the casino’s poker room before you head out. Just like elsewhere in the casinos, face masks are required for all players.
Pai Gow Poker Black Hawk Colorado Restaurants
For now, the maximum bet allowed by law in any Colorado casino is $100. That same limit applies to poker tables for cash games.