1/27/03:
Hell's Kitchen

BASIC QUESTION: IS THIS THE HAND YOU'LL DIE FOR?

BASIC ANSWER: IT AIN'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 banker¹s (in your case "Kitchen opponents¹") 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 Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the second highest straight possible. Only a 10, J, Q, K, Ace beats it, but not a 9, 10, J, Q, K straight. Another deviation from traditional poker is that the hand 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 "Don¹t Pass" and a "Don¹t Come" bet in craps? Stan J.

The opposite side of a Pass or Come bet is the Don't Pass or Don¹t 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 "Don¹t come" and a "Don¹t pass" bet in craps, there is very little. A Don¹t Pass bet is placed immediately before a "come out" roll, whereas a Don¹t Come bet is made after the come out roll and a point has been made. In all other respects a Don¹t Come bet it is exactly like a Don¹t 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 one percent 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