We are now offering 5 handed poker! You’ll find all the games you love at Pensacola’s Poker Room. With games starting at 9am daily coupled with promotions running all month long, there’s always something to add a little extra excitement to your game. While traditional Chinese Pai Gow was played with 32 dominoes, Pai Gow Poker was played with a 52-card deck plus a joker card. Today, the game is one of the most popular in the gaming industry. Unfortunately for MrTorosian, bad advice from a lawyer resulted in him launching without a patent.
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So, you’ve seen Pai Gow Poker at the casino and thought it looked neat. You’re not alone! Since the late 1980s, Pai Gow has been featured in a number of American casinos and gambling establishments abroad.
- Pai Gow Poker is a simplified version of “Pusoy”. This card game is designed for fast-play. Evidently, by the reduction of the number of cards from 13 to 7 for each player. In addition, the number of hands has also been reduced from 3 to 2.
- Pai Gow Poker is a game that uses a 53-card deck. In addition to the standard cards, there is a joker. While a joker would be wild and replace any card in most poker games, it has narrow uses in Pai Gow Poker. A joker may only replace a card missing from a straight flush, flush, or straight. Otherwise, it is simply an ace.
It’s a fairly simple game derived from a dominos game (also called Pai Gow) that involves forming two of the best hands possible from a pool of seven cards. There are no additional draws and no ways to improve your hand. It’s just you versus the dealer in a showdown of hands where anything is possible.
Some might think that the fact there is no ability to draw and no community pool would mean there is little skill in Pai Gow Poker. Actually, the opposite is true, as you have to form two hands that can beat the dealer or come away with nothing.
Sound fun? It is. Let’s look at the game itself and how to make money off of it.
What Is Pai Gow?
A lot casino-goers and gamblers have heard of this poker variant, but probably have never played it and may not know the rules. If so, that’s fine. It’s an easy game to learn, though it can be difficult to master.
Also, it should be noted that “Pai Gow” is really shorthand for “Pai Gow Poker” in this article, because Pai Gow is a dominoes game played in China while Pai Gow Poker is the card equivalent of that game.
Confused so far? Good! This game is played with a standard 52-card deck with an additional joker. The joker is wild and can complete a straight or a flush, or it counts as an ace. It’s not completely wild like in some games.
In a hand, each player and the dealer are dealt seven cards.
“Best” in this case is defined by the typical poker hand ratings. Also, the high hand has to be of a higher rank than the low hand.
Once the players make their high hand and their two-card hand, the dealer assembles her hands and the hands are compared. If the player has a better high hand and two-card hand, they win their bet.
If the dealer has one better hand and one worse hand, the game is a push. Any other result, including ties, go to the dealer. At the end of the day, the casino may ask for a commission from your winnings. The standard commission is 5%.
Other Bets in Pai Gow Poker
There are also some other factors that go into Pai Gow Poker. First, there are a lot of other bets that can be placed to make the game more interesting.
For example, you can make a side bet that you will make a certain type of hand (for instance, a three of a kind or better). You can also make envy bets in which the house pays out based on the seven cards and doesn’t matter if the player wins or loses.
Finally, Pai Gow offers an almost unique betting experience. You can bank in Pai Gow Poker, which means you make a bet that you will beat another player’s hand, not just the dealer’s hand.
Now that you have at least a taste of the game of Pai Gow, let’s talk about how you can win at it. Like games such as online baccarat, it can be somewhat difficult to really win at Pai Gow because it lacks hand improvement via drawing and more skill-based actions like waiting for position, bluffing, or even doubling down.
Still, there are ways you can come out on top in the game. Just follow these tips.
1 – Make a Side Bet
Depending on the game, there are different types and amounts of side bets you can make. Sometimes, you’re betting on a certain hand strength. Other times, you’ll be entering into a progressive jackpot.
You may be able to make a single side bet, other times, you can make two. Check with the rules or your dealer to find your options.
No matter how you make the side bet, it will be paid out in multiples based on the strength of the hand. For instance, a straight pays out 3 to 1, while five aces pays out 250 to 1.
In this case, though, Pai Gow offers you very little else that you can do that will allow you to flex your skills. Therefore, if you’re feeling it, place a side bet.
But don’t go too crazy with your side betting because you will be asked to bet on things that are improbable. The house doesn’t want to pay out a lot of the hard-earned money it has collected, so please remember this tip.
In this case, “not going crazy” means don’t bet too much above the minimum side bet. Also, bet on hands you’re more likely to achieve. You can track if you win or lose your side bets. If you lose more than you win, find another bet to make.
2 – Make an Envy Bet
Envy bets work a lot like side bets except you’re betting that another player at the table will hit a hand of a certain strength. For instance, you might bet that a player will make a straight or a flush. If any other player at the table has a hand of that score, you get an envy bonus, which is a set dollar amount.
Unsurprisingly, the envy payouts are smaller than the side bet payouts. For instance, a four of a kind might pay $5, while five aces might only pay $50 for the first hand.
There are a number of reasons for this, the most obvious being that with more players at the table, there’s a greater chance you will hit the envy bonus. This brings us to the topic of winning with envy bonuses.
First, when you sit to play Pai Gow, you’ll want to find a crowded table. This is an important Pai Fow tip because it increases the odds you’ll hit an envy bonus. Second, the payouts for them aren’t huge, so don’t bet more than the minimum.
Finally, when you’re betting an envy bonus, try to bet hands that someone is more likely to get (a four of a kind or a straight flush). They will pay more than the minimum bet and someone is at least a little likely to get one of those hands.
3 – Deploy Your Joker Wisely
The strange thing about Pai Gow Poker is that you’re making two hands. Therefore, you have two potential places to use your joker. The natural tendency will always be to complete a straight or a flush with your joker, but don’t neglect your two-card hand.
Sometimes, it might be worth having a pair of aces or an ace high just so your small hand isn’t terrible.
A lot of that depends on what else you can put into your high hand. Just don’t make a high hand without thinking about the low.
4 – Be Aggressive
Aggressive is the name of the game in Pai Gow and, in this case, aggressive means presenting the highest value in both your high and your two-card hand.
Therefore, you need to win outright. How you do that will vary from hand to hand.
However, don’t get carried away with this tip… meaning don’t fall into the trap when you make a great high hand and a bad two-card hand. Try to find a way to maximize your strength so you can win the game.
Pai Gow Poker
5 – Bank Like Crazy
Banking is the part of Pai Gow when you play against other players. Do it. Especially if you’re playing on real money online casinos.
Unless you’re at a table in which banking makes you out to be the villain (in which case, find a new table), bet against other players as much as you can.
This way, you can earn money from them on top of money from the house.
Conclusion
Pai Gow is a fun casino game with just enough skill to make it exciting, but not so much that beginners feel totally lost.
As long as you can play aggressively and make enough side bets to keep some extra money rolling in, it can be a lucrative game as well. Sadly, not every casino offers it, but when you find one that does, play it. You will not regret the experience.
Votes
Please feel free to try out our free online Pai Gow Poker game. If you are playing this game on a desktop or laptop computer, you should have no problem with compatibility. However, if you are playing on a mobile device you may notice compatibility problems. If you are looking to play mobile Pai Gow Poker, please visit the casinos above for mobile versions of the game.
Pai Gow Poker as we know it today came about in the 1980’s and serves as an Americanized version of the Chinese domino game. Pai Gow has become more and more popular throughout the years, and has quickly become a hit among players who are seeking long-term player value in terms of playability. The game offers a lot of ties (or pushes), which sees bets returned to players. That means that you can play this game a long time on a relatively small bankroll and have a solid chance of walking away ahead or roughly even.With that being said, here is a basic breakdown on the rules of Pai Gow Poker:
Pai Gow is played with the Dealer dealing out seven cards to you as well as themselves. The goal of the game is to form a 5 card poker hand as well as a 2 card hand that is better than the dealer’s. Standard poker hands are used for ranking hands.
Pai Gow is unique in that it uses the 5 card and 2 card hands, and that the game is dealt out with Joker cards in the deck. The Joker serves as a connecting card in the 5 card hand, otherwise its an Ace. If the player opts to put the Joker in the 2 card hand, it serves as an Ace. This card is called a bug in Pai Gow.
Hand rankings in Pai Gow Poker are as follows, High to Low:
Royal Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card
It should be noted that because of the low house edge and length of play, there is a 5% commission paid out on winnings. While this may seem like a high amount, players still have a good chance of coming out ahead if they play with proper strategy.
There are a series of strategies players can employ in order to maximize their odds while playing Pai Gow. Below are a few tips to help you get ahead.If you have no pairs or standard winning poker hand, use your highest card in the 5 card hand and the next two highest cards in the 2 card hand, maximizing your chances of a push.
If you have two pair with Aces as the high pair, split. If you have two pair with Kings as the top pair, split unless the other pair is twos.
If you have two pair that are 6 or below, split unless you have an Ace, in which case use the Ace and next highest card in the hand.
Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy
If you have three pair, split the lowest pair in the hand
Pai Gow Poker Strategy
If you have a full house, split the low pair unless you have another pair in waiting.
Pai Gow Poker Hand Rankings
If you have a four of a kind, 6 or lower, keep them together. If you have 7-10’s , split unless you have an Ace to play in the low hand. If you have Face Cards, you always split the hands.
Pai Gow Practice
Don’t partake in the side-bets. They give a huge house edge to the casino and rarely pay out enough to make it worth your while.