What is Pok Deng?

Pok Deng is a Thai two-card game in which each player is dealt two cards against the dealer and only the last digit of the total counts, exactly as in baccarat. A two-card total of 8 or 9 is a Pok and wins the round immediately, before anyone draws. A hand that is not a Pok may take one further card. The feature that distinguishes it is deng, a multiplier that comes from the shape of the hand rather than its total. Two cards of the same suit, or a pair, is usually song deng and doubles the settlement; three cards of one suit, or a run, is sam deng and triples it. The multiplier is what most players learn first and what most people misunderstand, because it applies to the settlement in both directions: a hand carrying a two-times deng loses two times its stake when the dealer wins. Worked example: stake 100 with two hearts in hand. Beat the dealer and you are paid 200; lose to the dealer and you pay 200. The bet you thought was 100 was really 200 the moment the second heart landed. Gambling is heavily restricted in Thailand, so Pok Deng is described here as a set of rules rather than as an activity to take part in. Where live tables do offer it, the deng rules and dealer draw rules are on the rules screen and vary between studios.