Perhaps you’re already well versed in playing Pai Gow Poker. But if not, then you’ll want to read this section on how to play the game.

• Pai Gow Poker Betting Strategy Against
• Pai Gow Poker Betting Strategy
• Rules Of Pai Gow Poker
• Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy

Pai Gow Poker is played with a fifty-two-card deck, plus a joker.

Pai gow poker is a low-edge game. Almost 42% of hands are pushes. Between that and the slow rate of play, pai gow poker’s house edge is 2.84%. You can reduce the edge even more by banking. And you can reduce it even more than that by following optimal strategy and/or following the house way. First-time online Pai Gow poker players can opt to use a “House Way” feature which will automatically set their hands using the same rules with which the dealer sets their hands. If you don’t know what you’re doing, then playing with house way is your safest bet, but it it may take some of the fun out of the game and wont necessarily.

Pai Gow Poker Betting Strategy Against

Each player receives seven cards, and they must make both a five-card and two-card hand. The goal is to beat the dealer with both of your hands and win your bet.

Your five-card hand must rank higher than the two-card hand. The only hands that you can form with the two-card hand include a pair and high card.

The five-card hand is based on standard poker rankings, for the most part. The only exception is that the “wheel” (A 2 3 4 5) is the second-highest straight.

This contrasts regular poker games, where the wheel is the lowest-ranking straight.

Also note that the joker can be wild in the five-card hand. This allows you to complete powerful hands with the joker, such as three-of-a-kinds, straights, and flushes.

The joker always acts as an ace in the two-card hand, unless otherwise stated.

Once you and other players have set both hands, the dealer will turn over their cards and divide them the same way (a.k.a. “house way”).

The two hands are then compared to see who has the stronger holdings. Here are the different outcomes that can occur:

• You win both hands; you’re paid 1:1 on your bet, minus a 5% commission.
• You win one hand and tie the other; your bet is a push.
• You win one hand and lose one; your bet is a push.
• You lose one hand and tie the other; you lose your bet.
• You lose or tie both hands; you lose your bet in both cases.

Casinos gain their edge over players based on the commission for winnings hands and how dealers win all ties.

Also note that you can act as the banker in Pai Gow Poker. This is preferable because you’ll be facing a lower house edge.

The only catch is that you need a bankroll to pay all of the players who beat you. Provided you don’t have much money, you can always decline to be the dealer.

A new player is offered the chance to be the banker in every new round.

Pai Gow Poker Betting Strategy

One of the most popular casino games both online and in live casinos is Pai Gow Poker. Also known as Doubled-handed Poker, this game gives the player a rare opportunity to act as the bank, increasing their odds of winning. In this game the bank holds a 1.3% edge over the player during a hand, so acting as the bank is something that you want to do as much as the game you’re playing will permit.

Splitting Strategy

Another small edge that will increase your chances to win at Pai Gow is to use a simple two-pair splitting strategy that most casinos do not suggest. By remembering two simple splitting rules you can lower the house edge by 0.04%. First, two pair should always be split unless the total sum of the pair (4+4 for example) is 9 or less and you have a single ace or king. Second, two pair should always be split unless the total sum of the pair is 15 or less and you have a single ace card.

Pai Gow Bet Sizes

There are a few betting strategies for Pai Gow that will increase your odds of winning. The biggest way to impact your odds will be the difference in the size of the bets you make when you’re acting as the bank compared to the bet sizes you make when you’re acting as the player. The bigger your bet sizes when acting as the bank the better your odds will be to win at Pai Gow.

How much to bet when you’re the bank is up to you when playing pai gow. Betting the table maximum when acting as the bank, and the table minimum when you’re in a player position, would be the best mathematical way to maximize your odds. It’s not very practical to have that much disparity in your bets, so you don’t have to bet the table maximum, any amount that you’re comfortable with will be fine.

The idea is to increase the action when your chances of winning are higher. Increasing your bet in these two situations will give you a chance to get ahead of the game if the action goes your way. Any other player positions will give the 1.3% edge to the house and are best played with smaller bet amounts.

The only exception would be when you’re in a player position just before you get your chance to bank. Betting a bigger amount in this position will force the dealer to put up a bigger bet in the next hand when you bank (the dealer must match your bet from the previous hand every time you bank).

Bonus Bet in Pai Gow

Rules Of Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow isn’t a game that you can sit down and kill for a fast profit. With all the ties that occur the action is pushed a lot, so a good profit usually takes a while to accumulate. One way to speed up the profits in Pai Gow is the bonus bet. This option offers bigger odds on high-ranked hands, straights or higher. Depending on the hand you have different odds are paid out. A seven-card straight flush can make it a big day at the Pai Gow table at any stakes, and can pay as high as 8000/1.

Playing the bonus bet will give the house a bigger edge over you, but you can’t hit a big odds payout if you don’t play it. Playing the bet all the time will be a losing proposition over the long term, but if you can reduce the number of times you play it, and you manage to get lucky, it can be the difference between a mediocre or big day at the tables.

Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy

Some players try to keep track of hands that would have paid out bonus odds and then opt for the bonus bet after a string of hands that would not have paid. The probability of one hand having a bonus hand in it over any other is the same, but this method at least limits the amount of times you make the wager while still giving you a periodic chance to hit a bonus.