It is a card game widely played at both, land-based and online gambling sites. Although most casino games are at least 100 years old, it is relatively young as it was created 30 years ago by an American on the basis of an ancient Chinese game, which is also played across the world. The poker version is played differently from the original game.
Origin – Song Dynasty (960-1279) in China
The origin of the Poker variant can be traced back to the Song Dynasty in China. During this time, a game called Pai Gow, using dominoes or small tiles was played. The name means ‘make nine’ in Chinese. As the country was highly militarized, the game was conceived on a war theme.
The dominoes were divided into sets that stood for civilian and military groups. As the game was slightly complicated, it did not become as well-known as Keno, the other Chinese game played at the time.
19th Century – Favorite Pastime in China
Several centuries later it once again became a popular pastime in China. The game was introduced in the US after several years. Americans found it hard to play due to its complicated rules and theme. For this reason, it was not well-received and was rarely played.
Late 20th Century – the poker version Created by American betting house Managers
The original game continued to be played by the Chinese and other Asian players. During the late 1980s, two Americans, Sam Torosian and Fred Wolf, who were managers at Commerce Casino recognized that the dominoes game could be changed and simplified into a card game. Wolf and Torosian understood that more people would start playing the game if it was easy and used cards instead of Chinese tiles.
Wolf created Pai Gow Poker, which was called double handed poker, as a variation of Poker and introduced it at Commerce Casino which was based in California. The new game had similar rules to the original Poker game with few changes such as using a 53 card deck instead of 52.
The game became an instant hit which helped beat rival casino Bicycle Club. Owing to its success, the game was introduced in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The Poker variant soon became a favorite among gamblers as it was simple and fun. Wolf took out a patent on the game.
Online version
As the game was well-received by players at land-based betting houses all over the world, casino sites made sure online Pai Gow Poker was included in their selection of games. Most website offer players the opportunity to understand and learn the game through free games. Playing on free games eliminates the risk of losing money. The game continues to be successful as it provides players different betting limits and the house edge is comparatively lower than other card games.
