Method of playing Pai Gow Poker with no commission option

Abstract

An improved Pai Gow Poker game offers players an option to pay no commission on their winning Main bets. After each Player places a Main bet and an optional Bonus bet, each Player and a Banker are dealt seven cards, which are arranged into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. A Player's Bonus bet plays against a pay table. The Player's Main bet loses if the Player loses both 2-card and 5-card hands to the Banker; the Player pushes if the Player wins one hand and loses the other; if the Player wins both 2-card and 5-card hands, the Player wins and is paid either 1 to 1 with no commission up to 4 times the Player's Bonus bet, which can be any amount between predetermined minimum and maximum amounts, or 1 to 1 less 5% commission if the Player's Bonus bet is less than the predetermined minimum amount.

1 . A method of playing Pai Gow Poker with no commission option among a plurality of Players and a Banker, each Player wagering against the Banker, comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing and shuffling one standard poker deck of 52 cards plus at least one Joker, wherein the Joker may either be used as an Ace or to complete a Straight or Flush, or be used as any card;   (b) a Player placing a Main bet;   (c) the Player may place an optional Bonus bet, wherein the Bonus bet must yield a house advantage of at least 4%; wherein if the Player wants to pay no commission on the Player's winning Main bet, the Player must place a Bonus bet that must be an amount between a predetermined minimum amount and a predetermined maximum amount;   (d) determining who will receive the first hand by using a random number generator or a dice shaker containing two dice to decide who will receive the first hand.   (e) dealing the cards into enough dealt hands of seven cards to provide a dealt hand for each Player and for the Banker;   (f) each Player and the Banker arrange their seven dealt cards into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand; wherein the 5-card hand must rank higher than the 2-card hand according to rankings disclosed below;   (g) determining whether the Player's Main bet wins, loses or ties; wherein the Player's 2-card hand and 5-card hand are compared to the Banker's corresponding 2-card hand and 5-card hand according to the rankings wherein hands are ranked in descending order as follows: 5 Aces, Royal Flush, Straight Flush, 4 of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, 3 of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card; wherein Ace is the highest High Card, following by King, Queen, Jack, Ten, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2; wherein A2345 is either the second highest Straight or the lowest Straight;   (h) settling the Player's Main bet against the Banker; wherein the Player's Main bet wins if the Player's 2-card hand and 5-card hand rank higher than the Banker's corresponding 2-card hand and 5-card hand; the Player's Main bet pushes if the Player wins one hand and loses the other; the Player's Main bet loses if both of the Player's 2-card and 5-card hands rank lower than or rank the same as both of the Banker's 2-card and 5-card hands; if the Player's Bonus bet is an amount between a predetermined minimum amount and a predetermined maximum amount, the Player's winning Main bet is paid 1 to 1 with no commission either up to a predetermined number of times of the amount of the Player's Bonus bet, or up to a specified maximum amount, and is paid 1 to 1-less 5% commission on the amount that exceeds either the predetermined number of times of the amount of the Player's Bonus bet or the specified maximum amount; wherein if the Player's Bonus bet is less than the predetermined minimum amount, the Player's winning Main bet is paid 1 to 1 less 5% commission; wherein if the Player banks, the Player's net win is paid 1 to 1 less 5% commission; and   (i) determining whether the Player's Bonus bet wins or loses, if any; wherein if the Player's hand matches one of predetermined winning combinations, the Player's Bonus bet wins and is paid according to a predetermined pay table; wherein if the Player's hand does not match one of the predetermined winning combinations, the Player's Bonus bet loses; and   (j) settling the Player's Bonus bet against the Banker.   
     
     
         2 . The method of playing Pai Gow Poker with no commission option according to  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined minimum amount and the predetermined maximum amount of the Player's Bonus bet that qualifies for no commission are $5 and $25. 
     
     
         3 . The method of playing Pai Gow Poker with no commission option according to  claim 1 , wherein the Player's Bonus bet wins if the Player's hand matches any of the following winning combinations: 7-Card 9 High, 3 of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush, 5 Aces, 7-Card Straight Flush with Joker, and 7-Card Straight Flush with No Joker; wherein the Player' Bonus bet loses if the Player's hand does not match one of the above winning combinations; wherein the Joker is used as an Ace or to form a Straight or Flush; wherein the Bonus bet yields a house advantage of 7.15%; wherein the player's winning Bonus bet will be paid according to the following pay table: 
       
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Hand 
                   Payout Odds 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   7-Card Straight Flush with No Joker 
                   8,000 to 1    
                 
                     
                   7-Card Straight Flush with Joker 
                   2,000 to 1    
                 
                     
                   5 Aces 
                   800 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Royal Flush 
                   200 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Straight Flush 
                   60 to 1  
                 
                     
                   4 of a Kind 
                   40 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Full House 
                   5 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Flush 
                   4 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Straight 
                   2 to 1 
                 
                     
                   3 of a Kind 
                   2 to 1 
                 
                     
                   7-Card 9 High 
                   10 to 1  
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
                
               
               
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         4 . A method of playing Pai Gow Poker with no commission option among a plurality of Players and a Banker, each Player wagering against the Banker, comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing and shuffling one standard poker deck of 52 cards plus at least one Joker, wherein the Joker may be used as an Ace or to complete a Straight or Flush;   (b) a Player placing a Main bet;   (c) the Player may place an optional Bonus bet, wherein the Bonus bet yields a house advantage of 7.15%; wherein if the Player wants to pay no commission on his or her winning Main bet, the Player must place a Bonus bet, which may be an amount between $5 to $25;   (d) determining who will receive the first hand by using a random number generator or a dice shaker containing two dice to decide who will receive the first hand.   (e) dealing the cards into enough dealt hands of seven cards to provide a dealt hand for each Player and for the Banker;   (f) each Player and the Banker arrange their seven dealt cards into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand; wherein the 5-card hand must rank higher than the 2-card hand according to rankings disclosed below;   (g) determining whether the Player's Main bet wins, loses or ties; wherein the Player's 2-card hand and 5-card hand are compared to the Banker's corresponding 2-card hand and 5-card hand according to the rankings wherein hands are ranked in descending order as follows: 5 Aces, Royal Flush, Straight Flush, 4 of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, 3 of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card; wherein Ace is the highest High Card, following by King, Queen, Jack, Ten, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2; wherein A2345 is either the second highest Straight or the lowest Straight;   (h) settling the Player's Main bet against the Banker; wherein the Player's Main bet wins if the Player's 2-card hand and 5-card hand rank higher than the Banker's corresponding 2-card hand and 5-card hand; the Player's Main bet pushes if the Player wins one hand and loses the other; the Player's Main bet loses if both of the Player's 2-card and 5-card hands rank lower than or rank the same as both of the Banker's 2-card and 5-card hands; the Player's winning Main bet is paid 1 to 1 with no commission up to 4 times the amount of the Player's Bonus bet that must be an amount between $5 to $25, and is paid 1 to 1 less 5% commission on the amount that exceeds 4 times the amount of the Player's Bonus bet; wherein the Player's winning Main bet is paid 1 to 1 less 5% commission if the Player's Bonus bet is less than $5; wherein if the Player banks, the Player's net win is paid 1 to 1 less 5% commission; and   (i) determining whether the Player's Bonus bet wins or loses, if any; wherein the Player's Bonus bet wins if the Player's hand matches any of the following winning combinations: 7-Card 9 High, 3 of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush, 5 Aces, 7-Card Straight Flush with Joker, and 7-Card Straight Flush with No Joker; wherein the Player' Bonus bet loses if the Player's hand does not match one of the above winning combinations; wherein the Player's winning Bonus bet will be paid as follows: 7-Card Straight Flush with No Joker pays 8,000 to 1, 7-Card Straight Flush with Joker pays 2,000 to 1, 5 Aces pays 800 to 1, Royal Flush pays 200 to 1, Straight Flush pays 60 to 1, 4 of a Kind pays 40 to 1, Full House pays 5 to 1, Flush pays 4 to 1, Straight pays 2 to 1, 3 of a Kind pays 2 to 1, 7-Card 9 High pays 10 to 1; and   (j) settling each Player's Bonus bet against the Banker.