N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69F-11.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 13:69F-11.9 - Procedures for completion of each round of play; setting of hands; payment and collection of wagers; payout odds; vigorish

(a) After the dealing of the cards has been completed, each player shall set his or her hands by arranging the cards into a high hand and low hand. When setting the two hands, the five-card high hand must be equal to or higher in rank than the two-card low hand. For example, if the two-card hand contains a pair of sevens, the five-card hand must contain at least a pair of sevens and the three remaining cards.

(b) Each player at the table shall be responsible for setting his or her own hands and no other person except the dealer may touch the cards of that player. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a player requests assistance in the setting of his or her hands, the dealer may inform the requesting player of the manner in which the casino licensee requires the hands of the dealer to be set in its Rules of the Games Submission. Each player shall be required to keep the seven cards in full view of the dealer at all times. Once each player has set a high and low hand and placed the two hands face down on the appropriate area of the layout, the player shall not touch the cards again.

(c) After all players have set their hands and placed the cards on the table, the seven cards of the dealer shall be turned over and the dealer shall set his or her hands by arranging the cards into a high and low hand. The dealer shall then place the two hands face up on the appropriate area of the layout. If banking or co-banking is in effect pursuant to 13:69F-11.10, after all players have set their hands and placed the cards on the table, the player banking the game shall turn over his or her seven cards and shall set the two hands by arranging the cards in a high and low hand on the appropriate area of the layout.

(d) Each casino licensee shall submit to the Division in its Rules of the Games Submission the manner in which it will require the hands of the dealer to be set.

(e) Unless a player has placed a progressive payout wager pursuant to 13:69F-11.14, a seven-card bonus wager pursuant to 13:69F-11.17, or one of the optional wagers authorized for the EZ pai gow variation pursuant to 13:69F-11.20, a player may announce that he or she wishes to surrender his or her wager prior to the dealer exposing either of the two hands of that player pursuant to (f) below. Once the player has announced his or her intention to surrender, the dealer shall:

1. Immediately collect the wager from that player; and

2. Collect the seven cards dealt to that player without exposing the cards to anyone at the table. The dealer shall verify that seven cards were collected by counting them face down on the layout prior to placing them in the discard rack.

(f) Once the dealer has set a high hand and a low hand, the dealer shall expose both hands of each player, starting from the right and proceeding counterclockwise around the table. The dealer shall compare the high and low hand of each player to the high and low hand of the dealer and shall announce if the pai gow poker wager of that player shall win, lose, or be considered a tie (push). The dealer shall also examine the seven cards of the player and announce whether any of the following wagers shall win or lose:

1. A progressive payout wager pursuant to 13:69F-11.14;

2. A seven-card bonus wager pursuant to 13:69F-11.17;

3. An imperial pai gow bonus wager pursuant to 13:69F-11.19; and

4. Any optional wager for the EZ pai gow variation pursuant to 13:69F-11.20.

(g) All losing pai gow poker wagers, imperial pai gow bonus wager, seven-card bonus wagers, progressive payout wagers, and optional wagers for the EZ pai gow variation shall be immediately collected by the dealer and put in the table inventory container. Unless the player has a winning progressive payout wager, winning seven-card bonus wager, or optional wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation, all losing pai gow poker hands shall also be collected. A pai gow poker wager made by a player shall lose if:

1. The high hand of the player is lower in rank than the high hand of the dealer and the low hand of the player is lower in rank than the low hand of the dealer;

2. The high hand of the player is identical in rank to the high hand of the dealer or the low hand of the player is identical in rank to the low hand of the dealer (a "copy hand") and the other hand of the player is identical in rank or lower in rank than the other hand of the dealer;

3. The high hand of the player was not set so as to rank equal to or higher than the low hand of that player; or

4. The two hands of the player were not otherwise set correctly in accordance with the rules of the game (for example, a player forms a three-card low hand and a four-card high hand).

(h) If a pai gow poker wager is a push, the dealer shall not collect or pay the wager, but shall return the pai gow poker wager to the player. Unless the player has a winning progressive payout wager, a winning seven-card bonus wager, or a winning optional wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation, the dealer shall then immediately collect the cards of that player. A pai gow poker wager made by a player shall be a push if:

1. The high hand of the player is higher in rank than the high hand of the dealer, but the low hand of the player is identical in rank to the low hand of the dealer (copy hand) or lower in rank than the low hand of the dealer;

2. The high hand of the player is identical in rank to the high hand of the dealer (copy hand) or lower in rank than the high hand of the dealer, but the low hand of the player is higher in rank than the low hand of the dealer; and

3. The EZ pai gow variation is offered, the dealer/playerbank hand is a dealer's queen dragon hand.

(i) All hands that resulted in a winning pai gow poker wager, winning seven-card bonus wager, winning imperial pai gow bonus wager, winning progressive payout wager, or a winning optional wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation shall remain face up on the layout. Winning wagers shall be paid after all hands are exposed. The dealer shall pay winning wagers beginning with the player farthest to the right of the dealer and continuing counterclockwise around the table. A pai gow poker wager made by a player shall win if the high hand of the player is higher in rank than the high hand of the dealer and the low hand of the player is higher in rank than the low hand of the dealer, except in the EZ pai gow variation if the dealer's hand is a dealer's queen dragon hand. If a player has a winning pai gow poker wager and a winning progressive payout wager, winning imperial pai gow bonus wager, a winning seven-card bonus wager, or a winning optional wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation, the pai gow poker wager shall be paid first.

(j) A winning pai gow poker wager shall be paid by a casino licensee at odds of 1 to 1, except that the casino licensee shall extract a commission known as "vigorish" from the winning player at the time the winning payout is made in an amount equal to five percent of the amount won; provided, however, that when collecting the vigorish, the casino licensee may round off the vigorish to 25 cents or the next highest multiple of 25 cents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a casino licensee offers the EZ pai gow variation, a winning pai gow poker wager shall be paid without extraction of a commission. After a winning pai gow poker wager has been paid and the vigorish, if applicable, collected, the dealer shall then pay the winning progressive payout wager, winning imperial pai gow bonus wager, the winning seven-card bonus wager of that player, or the winning optional bonus wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation. Before paying a winning progressive payout wager, winning imperial pai gow bonus wager, winning seven-card bonus wager, or a winning optional bonus wager(s) for the EZ pai gow variation, the dealer shall, if necessary, reset the player's high hand and low hand to form the hand type yielding the highest progressive wager payout or seven-card bonus payout to which the player is entitled. Except as otherwise required pursuant to (m) below, the dealer shall then collect the cards from that player.

(k) If a casino licensee offers the dragon's eye variation of pai gow poker, it shall extract vigorish by one of following two alternative methods:

1. Five percent on the amount won on the poker phase of the game, provided, however, that any roll of triples during the dice phase of the game shall result in losing odd and even wagers; or

2. No vigorish shall be extracted during the poker phase of the game, provided, however, that any roll of triples during the dice phase of the game shall result in losing odd, even and pai gow poker wagers.

(l) All cards collected by the dealer shall be picked up in order and placed in the discard rack in such a way that they can be readily arranged to reconstruct each hand in case of a question or dispute.

(m) If a player has won a progressive payout wager that is not being paid from the table inventory container, the cards of that player shall remain on the table until the necessary documentation has been completed.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69F-11.9

Amended by R.2014 d.009, effective 1/6/2014.
See: 45 N.J.R. 1225(a), 46 N.J.R. 97(a).
Rewrote the introductory paragraph of (e), (f), the introductory paragraph of (g), the introductory paragraph of (h), (i), and (j); in (h)1, deleted "or" at the end; in (h)2, substituted "; and" for a period at the end; added (h)3; added new (k); and recodified former (k) through ( l) as ( l) through (m).