Poker Term Nitty
The origin of the noun sense (“dope fiend, druggie”) is unknown, but could refer to a person who is under the influence of drugs to the extent that he or she is careless about personal hygiene and unkempt. Compare the verb nit (“to be a nitty”). This kind of hand is way more common in live cash games, and this guide has tons of tips and examples to prepare you for beating live & casino poker games mo.
Looking for a new poker variant to get stuck into? Pai Gow Poker is the one for you. The game mixes elements of poker with the ancient Chinese domino game and is popular all around the world. Want to know more about this poker game? You’re in the right place!
What is Pai Gow Poker?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s explore what this poker game actually is. This casino game is best described as a combination of Chinese dominoes and poker. Invented in 1985, it’s grown in popularity over the years and is now popular worldwide, particularly in the USA and Asia. Pai Gow Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 cards and one joker. The object of the game is to create a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand from seven cards, with both hands beating the bank’s hands.
Rules of Pai Gow Poker (house rules)
Pai Gow Poker is played by six players. Once everyone has placed their bets, the dealer gives seven cards to each person at the table. The cards are dealt face-down onto the table. The player must then split their cards into two hands, one consisting of five cards and the other consisting of two. The hands are then compared with the dealers, and if both the player’s hands are higher, he wins the bet. If the dealer beats with both hands, the player loses the bet. If the player and the dealer have equal hands, the banker wins.
In Pai Gow Poker, the hands are grouped into High and Low hands. The High Hand is the hand with 5 cards, while the Low Hand consists of 2 cards. The rules of this poker game state that the 2-card hand cannot be higher in rank than the 5-card hand.
How to deal
To deal the cards in Pai Gow Poker, the first thing to do is shuffle the deck. You must then deal out seven cards face-down to each player. Before starting the game, randomly choose a seat to begin the deal and distribute the cards counter clockwise around the table.
If you’re playing with the maximum of six players, you’ll deal out 42 cards to the players and the another seven for yourself. This brings the number of cards in play to 49. When playing with a 52-card hand plus the joker, there will be four extra cards left over. These can be set to one side in the muck.
Pai Gow Poker House edge
Like many casino games, the house edge depends on your level of experience. Seasoned gamblers can lower the house edge by using strategies and techniques to increase their odds. While this game can be enjoyed by anybody, those unsure of how the game works will play with a higher house edge.
Hand rankings
There are only two different two-card hands – one pair and high cards. Five-card hands use the standard poker hand rankings. There is one exception to this rule: in most casinos, the hand A-2-3-4-5 or the “wheel” is the second-highest straight. In Pai Gow Poker, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible straight.
In here, the joker can be used to complete a flush or straight if possible. In all other hands, the joker acts as an ace.
History of Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow Poker is a variation of the Chinese game Pai Gow, which is traditionally played with dominoes. Pai Gow Poker was invented in the mid-1980s in the USA, by a man called Sam Torosian. Torosian was the owner of the Bell Card Club and had heard of a different game called Chinese Poker, where each player used 13 cards. To make the game easier for newcomers to learn, he created a simplified version using just seven cards.
Unfortunately, Torosian didn’t patent the game at the time, so didn’t end up making any money from it. Pai Gow Poker gained rapid popularity during the 1980s and was soon available in most casinos in Vegas. Today, the Pai Gow card game can be played in both online and land-based casinos.
Pai Gow Poker variants
Like most any other games such as Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker has a few variants. Many of these allow you to place side bets. For instance, Fortune Pai Gow allows you to place a side bet that you will make trips or better in your high hand. If you do, your bet is paid out accordingly. Other Pai Gow card game variants include Pai Gow Mania and Emperor’s Challenge, which offer a side bet on making a “no hand”, which means you cannot make a straight using all of your cards. When playing this poker game online, there are also progressive variants that offer the chance to win a generous jackpot.
While some gamblers like to use land-based casinos, others prefer betting online. Online casinos allow you to play your favourite games from your mobile phone. Thankfully, you can now play Pai Gow Poker online at any good online casino.
Poker pro and coach Jonathan Little has been producing a wide variety of strategy content for poker players for some time, including authoring multiple books and sharing videos and articles on his website and elsewhere, much of which is free to players of all levels seeking to improve their games.
Little started his popular 'Weekly Poker Hand' series on YouTube a while ago, using the format to focus on particular concepts and common mistakes as illustrated in his hand analyses.
In the episode shown below, Little celebrates the five-year anniversary of 'Weekly Poker Hand' by breaking down a hand from early in a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament, a World Series of Poker event.
With the blinds 75/150, a tight-aggressive player in early position opens to 350 and Little calls with from the cutoff. The big blind calls as well and after the flop comes , it checks around to Little.
Here Little weighs the pros and cons of betting, noting how the lack of draws and unlikelihood of getting called by worse hands both help make checking seem the better option.
The turn is the , and it checks to the preflop raiser who bets 500 into the 1,325 pot. Little chooses just to call, recognizing he could well be beat but not wanting to let go of his hand just yet. The big blind folds.
The river brings the and this time Little's opponent checks. Here Little decides a value bet might be in order, but with a marginal hand such as this perhaps checking is the better play. What do you think?
Take a look below to see what Little decided and listen to his reasoning. Concepts he discusses along the way include...
Poker Term Nitty Definition
- position
- pot control
- board texture
- value betting
- bet sizing
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $7,000,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. Sign up to learn poker from Jonathan for free at PokerCoaching.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
Poker Term Nit
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tournament strategyno-limit hold'empositionpot controlboard texturevalue bettingbet sizingJonathan LittlevideoRelated Players
Jonathan Little