Luckystorm

Pai Gow is a great game that involves both skill and luck, adding the excitement of traditional poker. Aiming to create two powerful hands of cards and the player to understand the different options available and learn how to use the cards in an optimal way, and what better way than free play Pai Gow? Pai Gow Poker, also called Double Hand Poker, is a version of Pai Gow played with cards instead of Chinese dominoes, or pai gows. While a fun game to play, understanding its fundamentals can be a bit tricky in the beginning. How to play Pai Gow Poker. Pai Gow Poker uses a standard deck of 52 cards plus one joker.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

Pai gow poker is a casino table game designed by Sam Torosian. The game came into being in 1980 and has since enjoyed quite a huge followers. Many casinos offer the game to their clients for their enjoyment as it elicits social behaviour from the players. It indicates the level of fun the players are experiencing while at the table.

The game requires the players to beat the high hand, and the lower hands of the dealer or whoever is dealing might be their fellow player. The game is simple, easy to understand but does require a high level of skill. To help you out, we do have an optimal winning strategy that can help you through the game and win. The game can be described as a low-risk game due to the number of pushes made and the rate at which the game is played “slow”. Therefore, it is a winning game for the player with the right playing tips at hand.

Rules

Pai Gow Betting Strategy

Pai Gow Poker rules do not vary much from the usual poker rules. However, there are some differences. Here are the game’s rules:

1. The game consists of one joker and a 52 card deck. The joker can be played as an Ace, used to complete different poker hands including a Straight, straight flush, a flush or a royal flush.
2. The game starts with the six players in the game, placing their ante bets. The dealer then deals out seven cards for himself and each of the players. The cards face down.
3. The player evaluates his cards and separates them into two; a high hand composed of five cards and a low poker ranking hand consisting of two cards. In the low side, individual cards indicate the poker value if there is or there isn’t a pair.
4. After evaluating, the player sets his hand according to the house rules. The house rules regarding card arrangement must be followed in this game less risking being forfeited from the competition. If unsure of the house rules, ask the dealer to help you out.
5. The dealer then does the same and reveals his high hand and low hand. He will also similarly place his cards, as described in the house rules.
6. The cards are then compared; the dealer’s high hand is compared against the player’s top card and the same with the low hand cards. The side with the higher poker hand ranking wins. when the player and the banker experience a tie in their poker rankings, then the dealers win the bets.
7. If you succeed in both the high hand and the lower hand, then you win all the stakes with a commission of 5% going to the house which in most cases they choose not to take. If you win one hand, the game goes on, and the bets push.
8. However, the sport enjoys one strange exception from other poker-based games. The straight or A2345 is the 2nd ranking highest straight in this game.
9. Another exceptional rule is that the player can bank on other players by betting against them as they bet against the dealer. You can also play the dealer according to the house rules. They determine who represents the dealer after the dealer in each game. If the player doesn’t want to play the banker, then the chance is offered to another player, or it goes back to the dealer.
   

Types of Bets

© New Vision Gaming – Pai Gow Poker Mania | © SG Gaming – Fortune Pai Gow Poker | © Galaxy Gaming – Emperors Challenge Pai Gow Poker

The game has several types of bets. These are:

• Ante Bet

The bet is placed before the game starts.

• Fortune Pai Gow Bet

It is a side bet made by players dependent on the outcome, i.e. trips or a better hand.

• Pai Gow Mania Bet

In this type of bet, the player makes two different side bets.

• Emperors Challenge Bet

The bet gives the player the chance to place a side bet on Pai Gow.

• Progressive Fortune Pai Gow Bet

The stake allows a player the opportunity to place different types of side bets based on a seven card straight flush poker rank win.

Objective

The objective of Pai Gow Poker is to beat the dealers, banker, house or other players hand to win the bet with the highest five-card poker ranks and low two card poker rank.

Hand Ranks

• Five of A Kind – Highest Hand in Pai Gow poker, includes 4 Aces and a Joker
• Royal Flush or Straight Flush – Consists of 10, J, Q, K & ace all of the same suit
• Four Of A Kind – Four cards of the same denominations
• Full House – Three cards of same denominations and a pair
• Flush – Five cards of the same suit
• Straight – Five cards in sequence
• 3 of a Kind – Three cards of the same denomination
• Two Pair – Two sets of cards of the same Denomination
• One pair – 2 cards of the same denomination
• High Card – All five cards of different denominations and suits
  

Payouts

The Pai Gow Poker payouts are as follows

House Edge

The game has a house edge of 2.8%. It is quite low, and you can reduce the percentage further by following the set Pai Gow Poker strategies.

Playing Strategy Tips

How to play Pai Gow Poker is a question that distracts many as they do not know what they need. Well, apart from the general knowledge of the game rule, here are the strategies or tips for playing this game is to split the cards dealt in a way that you have the highest ranking poker hands or hand. It will ensure that your bet pushes through.

Equipment

You need a table with the games logo in the middle, six sitting spots for the players and another place for the dealer. Besides, you will require 52 cards and an additional joker to play the game. If playing online, then you need a reliable internet connection, a playing device and a comfortable place to sit.

FAQ

The predominant strategy is to split the cards into the two best possible hands. However, if you have a straight in one hand (best possible hand) the other hand will not matter since it defeats all other hands. On the contrary, with a bad hand, the strategy is to place the two best cards in the front hands and the rest in the backhand.

Other hands that can lead to a strategy e.g. when you have a pair, the best strategy is to put the pair in the back hand and the two other strongest cards in the low hand. Also, if you have two pairs, it is always best to split them. However, the split will depend on the pairs dealt.

There are also other generic strategies such as when you have 4 of a kind you should keep them together. Another one is to keep 3 of a kind in the high hand unless you have 3 aces. Straights and flushes should also be kept in the higher hand. If you have all five aces including the joker, you should always split them, unless you also have two kings then you can place all aces in the high hand.

The thought of beating the house at its own game is one that excites many a gambler in the online casino world. Ultimately, if your primary goal is to win a game of Pai Gow Poker, you’ll find that a gambler’s ability to implement a strategy is what distinguishes a poorly prepared player from one who is fully armed to meet all that the casino can throw at you. So evidently, the best thing you can aim to do is to prepare yourself before you sign up to an online casino and hit the Pai Gow Poker table. Have a look at our Pai Gow Poker Strategy article in order to learn how to implement strategy whilst playing the game.

Beating the House – Overcoming the Pai Gow House Edge

Playing Pai Gow Poker offers gamblers the opportunity to enjoy a casino game with a relatively low house edge of approximately 2.9%. In fact, the house edge in Pai Gow Poker is just slightly more than that of the much loved casino classic; blackjack. Now, you might be asking yourself, ‘Can one possibly eliminate the house advantage whilst playing the game?’ Well, eliminating the house edge altogether is impossible due to the fact that the house usually takes 5% commissions on winning hands. Yet, you can effectively cut it down to 2.57% by implementing a Pai Gow Poker Strategy, if desired.

Taming the Dragon in Pai Gow Poker

The wise Roman philosopher, Seneca once said, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.’ This is especially true in regards to some casino games such as the casino classic Blackjack, but also Pai Gow Poker. Ultimately, many gamblers who play this game, which is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, will agree that you must be prepared to implement some kind of strategy in order to tame the dragon. Since you only play against the dealer and no other players, Pai Gow Poker strategy is not as rich as regular poker strategy. Nevertheless, you will obviously benefit from playing an optimal game. This will definitely increase your prospect of winning at the casino game by about 0.15%. Ok, so we know what you’re thinking. It’s a really small percentage which perhaps in your opinion will not make any difference. In fact, we bet you $10 that you’re thinking it can be totally disregarded. But, wait before you take us on for that bet, you should listen up first to see why strategy is in fact so important. If you play the game over a long session, implementing a Pai Gow Poker Strategy will be beneficial as your odds of winning will improve in your favor.

Pai Gow Strategy Tips

House Way Strategy

If you want to beat the house, you should think and act as if you were the casino’s dealer. Think about it. How would a dealer play his hand? Would he split his two pairs? Would he place a pair in the front hand? Or would he simply leave them both in the back hand? What about if he/she has absolutely no pair, what do you do then? Well, if you’re worried about all these things, we have it down to a tee. Have a look at our Pai Gow Poker Strategy which mimics the way that the house would play below!

1) If you happen to have been dealt absolutely no pair, you should place your highest card in your back hand and whatever your next two highest cards in the front whatever they may be.

2) When you’re dealt one pair, you should always keep it in your back hand, which is the five card hand, and move your two highest cards to your front hand. This will give you a better chance of beating the dealer, even though they are both not the best hands you could have.

3) If you happen to be dealt a two pair, which consists of two different pairs, you should split them between each hand. Put the highest ranking pair in the back hand and the lower ranking pair in the front hand. Why? This is due to the fact that if you do the opposite, you’ll be fouling your hand. However, don’t split the two-pair into two separate hands, provided that you’ve come across the following situations:

- A pair of 7s or greater with absolutely no single ace.

- A pair of Jack’s or better and 6’s or pairs which are better and an ace.

- A pair of aces and any other pair.

4) Put the highest pair of cards in the two-card hand and the two other pairs in the back hand, provided that you have been dealt a three-pair.

5) When you’re dealt three-of-a-kind, make sure you keep all the three cards which are of the same rank in your back hand. Yet, if you happen to be holding a three-of-a-kind with three aces, you should put two aces in the back hand and one in the front.

6) If you’ve ended up with two three-of-a-kinds, you should play the lowest three of a kind in the five-card and split the higher three of a kind to play a pair in the front hand and the other hand in the back hand.

7) If lady luck is on your side and you find yourself holding a full house, you should split with the exception of when you have a pair of 2’s and an ace/king is played infront.

8) If you’ve been dealt a full house with three of a kind and two pairs, you should split your initial hand into two and paly the highest pair in front and the rest in your back hand.

9) When you’re dealt two three-of-a-kind hands, you should always play your highest pair in front.

10) Whenever you’re dealt straights, flushes, straight flushes and royal flushes, you should always play a straight or a flush in the back hand. However, you should play as a two pair only if you come across one of the following:

- A pair of jacks and a pair of 6s.
- Any pair and a pair of aces.
- Any single ace and two pair.

11) If you’ve got a four-of-a-kind, play according to the rank of your cards. For example:

- Provided that you’ve got 2 through 6, you should always keep it together.

- If you’ve got 7 through 10, you should split unless you have an ace or better which can be played in front.

- When you’re holding a 4-of-a-kind consisting of a Jack through King, you should split the hand unless it contains a pair of 10’s or higher.

- You should split aces in this case, unless you’re holding a pair of 7’s or higher which you can put in your front hand.

12) If you happen to be lucky enough to be holding five aces, you should split unless there is a pair of kings which can be put in your front hand.

Using Jokers to Your Benefit

Most variations of Pai Gow Poker include Jokers which act as semi-wild cards. A joker is either counted automatically as an Ace. However, if it's used to complete a pair, flush etc, it can stand for whichever card you need to make up the hand. So, count yourself luck, if you've got one present in your hand.

YOU CAN’T BE THE BANKER in Pai Gow Online

In brick-and-mortar casinos, a hand of Pai Gow Poker sometimes starts with a player taking on the responsibility of being banker. This enables the player to have some advantage over other players around the table and reduces the house edge.

Although, this is seen very often at land- based casinos, you’ll find that online Pai Gow Poker generally doesn’t have this option. The house is always the banker by default. So, in online Pai Gow, you won’t get the chance to “run the game”. Thus, in its digital variation you’ll always find the player trying to beat the dealer.

Consider the Pai Gow Poker Odds

Whether you’re playing online or at a brick and mortar casino, you must always keep in mind that the lion’s shares of casino games are based on luck. Pai Gow Poker is of course no exception to this statement. So, you really should pay attention to the odds involved. Yet, the house way as well as the strategies used by players at casinos can vary. So, the probabilities which are shown below are not set in stone. Nonetheless, the calculations our experts at CasinoTop10 have made based on various house way methods have determined that the dealer will win both hands approximately 30% of the time, the player will win both hands about 29% of the time and they will draw hands approximately 41% of the time.

As a player you can acquire any of the 154,143,080 hand combinations in Pai Gow Poker. Ergo, what you need to know is how likely it is to get a specific hand through the cards you’re dealt. Due to the fact that each hand consists of seven cards, there is a great probability of acquiring a pair or possibly even two pairs. So, you’re probably asking yourself, what are the probabilities of getting certain hands? Well, let us spell it out for you through the two tables below:

Implement Pai Gow Poker Strategy and Walk away with the Prize!

Pai Gow Poker is a product of Chinese history and American ingenuity which has been adopted by many brick-and-mortar casinos as well as online casinos around the globe. It is one of the very few casino games which is not totally based on luck and can incorporate some sort of strategy. Ultimately, if you incorporate strategy into your game, instead of playing instinctually, you’ll be able to better your game and possibly walk away with some cash in your pocket! If you’ve already read through this page, we highly recommend that you practice implementing your strategy by playing one of the online casino’s Free Pai Gow Poker games. Once you feel satisfied with how you’re playing the game you can go ahead and dive right into a real money game! Have a look at our Best Pai Gow Poker Casinos list to find one of the best casinos along with an online casino bonus to suit your gambling needs!