Dear Mark,
Hell broke out at our kitchen table poker game last
Friday night. Quite an argument ignited over the following hand in pai gow
poker. Does the five card straight of 9-10-J-Q-K beat an A-2-3-4-5 straight? Scooter T.
BASIC QUESTION: IS THIS THE HAND YOU'LL DIE FOR?
BASIC ANSWER:
'TAIN'T WORTH IT, FRIEND.
Pai gow poker is a banking poker game
played today in most casinos and California card rooms. The object of
pai gow poker is to make two poker hands that beat the banker's (in your
case "kitchen opponents'") hands.
Each player is dealt seven cards that he makes into a five-card hand
(the "high hand") and a two-card hand (the "low hand"). The hands are
played and ranked like traditional poker hands, but with a couple of
exceptions. Your question, Scooter, highlights one of them. An A-2-3-4-5 is the second highest straight possible. Only a 10-J-Q-K-A
beats it, but not a 9-10-J-Q-K straight.
Another deviation from traditional poker is that the hand — four aces and
a joker — always beats a royal flush. Now that we have settled last
Friday night's brouhaha, the most High Queen Goddess of Pai Gow, the
honorable Hung Lo, ordains that the losing Bob-a-looie will buy all the
beer and munchies at your next game, but is forbidden to sing in
Mandarin.
Dear Mark,
What are the differences between a "don't pass" and a
"don't come" bet in craps? Stan J.
The opposite side of a pass or come bet is the don't pass or don't come
wager. And though being a "wrong" bettor might get you elected to public
office, if the 3 rolls, you and the casino get paid, but not your fellow
stake-holders, all rooting for the Point on the game.
As to your question, on any differences between a "don't come" and a
"don't pass" bet in craps, there is very little. A don't pass bet is
placed immediately before a "come out" roll, whereas a don't come bet is
made after the come out roll and a point has been made. In all other
respects a don't come bet it is exactly like a don't pass bet. Both
wagers have a house edge of 1.40%, compared to a 1.41% casino advantage
for a pass line or come bet.
Dear Mark,
Please explain a "lay" bet in craps. Clint S.
With a "lay" bet you are wagering that a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9
or 10) will NOT appear before a 7 rolls. In casino cant, making a lay
bet is also called "buying behind" the number. The casino takes a 5%
commission on the winnings on these bets. This 5% is usually taken on
the front end (though some casinos take it after the win) and figured on
the amount that you could win but not on the size of your bet. The house
edge ranges from 2.5% behind the 4 and 10 to 4.2% behind the 6 and 8.
Gambling quote of the week: "The only difference between
bucking a game with a house percentage of 1% or less compared
to bucking a game which has a much higher percentage is that the player
bucking the higher percentage goes broke much sooner." Elmer
West
