Quote:
Originally Posted by grando1.0
just got back from vegas - I had a hand that I've never seen before:
I had an ok hand - but the dealer had a hand where she could've had aces as low and the second highest sf (a2345) as high, but didn't set it that way
I'm trying to remember the hand - she did have a joker, but I could also have been really wrong
is this even possible? am I still drunk? I was legitimately shocked and asked the dealer (and my friend, who was clueless) how that could happen? she just said that's how we set it. I seem to recall her having a5 as the low somehow and me getting a push
Ah yes, I deal pai-gow poker quite a bit and I see a hand like this once every couple weeks. As far as I know, casino house ways universally say that whenever the dealer has three aces, they keep a pair of aces in the high hand and put one ace and the next highest card in the low hand. On the other hand, they always play a straight or flush if they only have one pair. It gets confusing when the joker is involved and a straight or flush is also possible. Let's say the dealer has A-A-Joker-Q-J-T-2. Should the dealer play the ace high straight and the A-2 in the low hand? Or should he apply the three aces rule and put the A-Q in the low hand? The house way where I work does not specifically address this situation.
It appears that the dealer in your story had something like A-A-Joker-2-3-4-5. Obviously anybody with half a brain would play the straight with the pair of aces in the low hand. I would guess that the dealer blindly applied the three aces rule and put one ace on top with the next highest card (the 5). If this ever happens to you again, just consider yourself lucky and keep your mouth shut. However, if the situation I previously described occurs and the dealer sets it in a way that is not to your benefit, ask to see a written copy of the casino's house way and argue the hell out of it. If the supervisor doesn't give you a break, demand to speak to the pit manager. Chances are that the casino's house way does not explicitly address this type of situation.
Another similar scenario is when the dealer has something like A-Joker-K-K-K-J-T. Should the dealer play three kings in the high hand and the pair of aces in the low hand? Or the straight in the high hand and pair of kings in the low hand? Again, it's very likely that the casino house way doesn't provide a specific way to set this hand. These types of hands don't occur very often, but if you have a lot of money in the betting circle when they do happen, I would suggest doing whatever you can to get the most beneficial result for yourself.