A foul hand is a losing
hand every time
26 July 2004
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I was involved in an interesting situation
recently at a casino. Playing Pai Gow poker, I
set my hands appropriately, or so I thought. In
any case, even though I possibly set my hands
wrong, I would have beaten the bankers hands
either way, except that, I was denied payment.
The dealer said I set my hand wrong and took my
money. I complained to the floor supervisor, but
he confirmed I should NOT be paid. So, my
question is, even if I set my hand incorrectly,
but both ways would have beaten the house, was I
treated unfairly? Jim D.
To win at Pai Gow poker, you have to beat both
of the banker's hands with both of your hands.
Fair enough, Jim, you did that. Still, the pit
boss was correct in NOT paying you, as I believe
by your letter that you fouled your hand.
In Pai Gow Poker, players set seven cards into
two separate hands of two and five cards. A Pai
Gow poker hand is foul when hands have the wrong
number of cards, or, the two card low hand has a
higher poker value than the five-card high hand.
Though your letter did not illustrate the exact
hands dealt, an example would be the banker
having a pair of 5's for his two-card hand and a
pair of 7's for his five-card hand. You possibly
could have had a pair of jacks and queens, but
inadvertently set the queens in your two-card
hand instead of the jacks. True, both of your
pairs would have beaten both of the dealer's,
but you fouled your hand by putting the stronger
of the two pairs up front. If the two-card hand
turns out to be higher in value, the hand is
foul and is an automatic loser.
Dear Mark,
You state that slot machines operate randomly,
but do video keno machines also operate using a
random chip? Thomas D.
All of today's video machines, like video poker,
video blackjack, and video keno, operate using
the same microprocessor technology and
randomized sequencing as slot machines.
Dear Mark,
I have a running disagreement with my husband
regarding video poker and drawing to an inside
straight. I believe you should always draw to
one. He (John) on the other hand believes you
should never draw to an inside straight. Since
we play side-by-side often, I figure you could
put this difference of opinion to finally to
rest. Kaye R.
An example of an inside straight would be a
4-5-6-8, and you are holding those four cards
and hoping to draw a seven. Therefore, is
holding those four cards and rooting for the
seven to appear a smart move? Not really, Kaye,
as most experts recommend never drawing to an
inside straight unless it is an ace-high
straight. One example of this would be 10-Q-K-A,
and you try to draw a Jack to complete the
straight.
Hopefully, Kaye, this tip will improve your
conjugal play.
Gambling quote of the week: "When a man gets a
streak of luck…he don't get tired. The luck
gives in first. Luck is a mighty queer thing.
All you know about it for certain is that it's
bound to change. And it's finding out when it's
going to change that makes you." Bret Harte, The
Outcasts of Poker Flat (1870)
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