Part I: Games & Gaming · Card Games — Poker & Variants
Joker (Pai Gow)
Poker (Pai Gow Poker)
A single Joker is added to the standard 52-card deck in Pai Gow Poker, functioning as a semi-wild card. The Joker can be used as an Ace, or to complete a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush. It cannot be used as any other card or to form a pair. The Joker creates additional hand possibilities not present in standard poker.
In practice
Five Aces (four Aces plus Joker) is the highest possible hand in Pai Gow Poker, outranking a royal flush. The Joker significantly alters hand probabilities and optimal strategy compared to standard poker rankings.
Related terms
More in Poker (Pai Gow Poker)
One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary — 1,157 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.