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Pai Gow Poker is one of the most fun casino games but it can be tricky to learn when first starting out.

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If you want to enjoy playing Pai Gow Poker online or live at a casino, then it is important to learn the basic rules and hands.

You are already ahead of the curve if you know the rules of Texas Hold’em, especially the hand rankings.

Play and Download Pai Gow Poker Now Available on PC & Mac FREE! Sam Torosian, the owner of the Bell Card Club in Los Angeles, invented Pai Gow Poker in 1985. Despite having a name similar to the Chinese domino game, the concept of Pai Gow Poker was acquired by its inventor from a Filipino card game called “Pusoy.”. 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.

Pai Gow Poker is one of the most fun casino games to play, but it can be difficult to learn when you’re starting out. If you would like to play Pai Gow Poker online or live in a casino, it is. Feb 15, 2019 Pai Gow Poker is a casino table game and is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one joker. The rules are fairly simple. After making a bet, each player is dealt seven cards and must make two poker hands: A standard five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand.

But don’t let the amount of previous poker knowledge stress you out. By the time you have completed this beginner’s guide to Pai Gow Poker, you will know:

What is Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow Poker rules
Pai Gow Poker hands
Pai Gow Poker strategy
How to Play Pai Gow Poker for Free

1. What is Pai Gow Poker?

Pai Gow Poker may not have the long and storied tradition of popular casino table games blackjack or roulette or of the most popular poker variant in Texas hold’em as it was invented by casino owner Sam Torosian in 1985.

'Pai Gow roughly translates to 'Make Nine' in Chinese'

But, the game does have deep historical roots as it was taken from the domino-based Pai Gow Tiles (also known as simply Pai Gow) that has been played in China for more than a millennium.

Pai Gow roughly translates to “Make Nine” in Chinese as this represented the maximum score in the game outside some special circumstances.

Most poker games pit player against player with the dealer not involved with the hand other than dealing cards and enforcing the rules.

Pai Gow Poker is a bit different in that it is a casino game that you are playing against the dealer or on occasion, can even choose to be the dealer yourself.

Despite being a casino game, it can be every bit as much as social as other forms of poker and is considered to be one of the lowest risk casino games thanks to the slow pace of play and many hands ending in a tie or push.

In addition, the Pai Gow Odds vary by venue but are typically among the lowest among casino table games.

If you are planning to play Pai Gow for the first time, starting from the basic rules of the game is key.

The good news is that the rules of Pai Gow Poker are easy to learn with a little practice and anyone – including you – can learn the optimal Pai Gow Poker strategy in no time flat.

2. Pai Gow Poker Rules

So how do you play Pai Gow Poker?

Pai Gow Poker utilizes a 53-card deck which features the standard 52 cards used in most poker games along with one joker.

The game is easier to master than most forms of poker as there is no bluffing involved as betting only takes place before any cards are dealt. In other words, you can master the best approach to the game simply by learning the rules.

So, let’s dive straight in…

A Pai Gow Poker hand begins after bets are placed when the dealer deals all of the players in a hand and the banker seven cards face down. The banker is often the dealer but it can also be a player or at some venues a player/dealer team.

Each player will then separate their hole cards into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. The high hand must always be better than the low hand.

The banker places their hand into a high and low hand as well via house rules which can differ between venue and online. Players can also ask the house for advice on how to set their hand the house way if they so choose at most if not all casinos.

A player can then win, lose, or push (tie) a hand based on the following scenarios:

The player wins their bet when both of the player’s hands are better than both of the banker’s hands. The amount won is the amount of a bet less a commission (usually 5%).
The player pushes (ties) and has their bet refunded when only one of the player’s hands beats one of the banker’s hand. This applies whether the banker has won or tied a hand while losing the other hand.
The player loses their bet when the player loses or ties both hands against the banker.

Pai Gow Poker Hand Rankings

Pai Gow Poker utilizes the same hand rankings as most poker games including Texas hold’em. One big difference between Pai Gow and other forms of poker is the joker in the deck.

In Pai Gow Poker, the joker is treated as an ace unless it can be used to complete a flush or straight.

The hand rankings are identical to that of Texas hold’em except for the two following rules.

Five aces, which can be achieved with the joker, beats a royal flush and is the best hand in Pai Gow Poker.
A wheel straight, e.g. , is the second best straight at most casinos, only behind a broadway straight, e.g. .

Here is a look at all of the Pai Gow Poker hand rankings. Please take note that in the two-card low hand the best hand that can be achieved is one pair.

Also in the case both the player and the banker have the same hand, the rank of that hand would be used to potentially break a tie. For example, if a player’s straight would be stronger than the dealer’s and a player’s one pair would be better than a dealer’s one pair.

Five Aces – five aces including the joker
Royal Flush — five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten; e.g.,
Straight Flush — five cards of the same suit and consecutively ranked; e.g.,
Four of a Kind — four cards of the same rank; e.g.,
Full House — three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank; e.g.,
Flush — any five cards of the same suit; e.g.,
Straight — any five cards consecutively ranked; e.g.,
Three of a Kind — three cards of the same rank; e.g.,
Two Pair — two cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank; e.g.,
One Pair — two cards of the same rank; e.g.,
High Card — five unmatched cards; e.g., would be called 'ace-high'

Pai Gow Poker Side Bets

Both online and live casinos often offer special Pai Gow Poker side bets.

These bets can often be lucrative in the short run, especially those with progressive jackpots, but in general should be avoided as they boast a higher house edge than the base game.

The Fortune Pai Gow Poker side bet is one of the most popular you will see. This side bet looks at all seven of the player’s cards regardless of how it was eventually set.

A natural seven-card straight flush without a wildcard can pay big with this side bet, especially if a progressive jackpot is involved instead of fixed odds. The pay tables can vary but very often players can win with trips or better while other payout structures begin with a full house. Cryptoreels download.

Other side bets include Dealer Bonus, Jackpot, Emperor’s Challenge, Progressive, Insurance, Lucky 8’s, and many more.

As these side bets vary from casino to casino, it is best to ask the dealer, who is usually more than happy to explain, how all the side bets work if interesting in an extra gamble before sitting down to play in a live casino. Likewise, you can read up about all the rules of any side bets your favorite online casino might feature in its Pai Gow offering.

Pai Gow Strategy

Setting a Pai Gow Poker hand can be tricky, although most of the time it is straight forward.

For example, being dealt a hand plays itself out with a straight going on the bottom high hand and the pair of deuces going on top for the low hand.

But what if you are dealt a hand like . Your best two options to choose from are as follows:

Strongest possible hand up top - = high hand for a straight; for low hand.
Very strong low hand – = high hand for a pair of nines; for low hand.

The first hand would almost guarantee a push but it might not be the best option even if it is at first the most intuitive.

The second hand presents better options as the pair of eights for the low hand is almost very strong while giving the player a chance for a win with the pair of nine for the high hand often being a winning hand.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker Online

Pai gow poker
Related games
Origin	United States
Players	2–7
Deck	French
Play	Clockwise
Card rank (highest first)	A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Random chance	High
Chinese poker

Pai gow poker (also called double-hand poker) is a version of pai gow that is played with playing cards, instead of traditional pai gow's Chinese dominoes. The game of pai gow poker was created in 1985 in the United States by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club.^[1]

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, plus a single joker. It is played on a table set for six players, plus the dealer. Each player attempts to defeat the banker (who may be the casino dealer, one of the other players at the table, or a player acting in tandem with the dealer as co-bankers).^[2]

Winning condition[edit]

The object of pai gow poker is to create a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand from seven cards that beat both of the bank's hands. The five-card hand's rank must exceed that of the two-card hand, and it is for this reason that the two-card hand is often called the hand 'in front', 'on top', 'hair', or the 'small', 'minor', or 'low' hand. The five-card hand is called the hand 'behind', or the 'bottom', 'high', or 'big', as they are placed that way in front of the player, when the player is done setting them.

Deals[edit]

The cards are shuffled, and then dealt to the table in seven face-down piles of seven cards per pile. Four cards are unused regardless of the number of people playing.

Betting positions are assigned a number from 1 to 7, starting with whichever player is acting as banker that hand, and counting counter-clockwise around the table. A number from 1 to 7 is randomly chosen (either electronically or manually with dice), then the deal begins with the corresponding position and proceeds counter-clockwise. One common way of using dice to determine the dealer starting number is to roll three six-sided dice, and then count betting spots clockwise from the first position until the number on the dice is reached.

If a player is not sitting on a particular spot, the hand is still assigned, but then placed on the discard pile with the four unused cards. In some casinos, such as the Golden Nugget and Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, an extra 'dragon hand' is dealt if a seat is vacant. After all players have set their original hand they are asked in turn if they would like to place another bet to play the dragon hand. Generally the bet on the dragon hand can be the table minimum up to the amount the player bet on their original hand. The first player to accept the dragon hand receives it; this player is effectively playing two separate hands. Rules vary from casino to casino, but generally the dealer turns over the dragon hand and sets it using the house way. This is because the player has already seen the seven cards of their original hand, which could affect the way they would set the dragon hand.

Hand rankings[edit]

The only two-card hands are one pair and high cards.

Five-card hands use standard poker hand rankings with one exception: in most casinos, the 'wheel' (the hand A-2-3-4-5) is the second-highest straight. At most casinos in California and Michigan this rule doesn't apply, and A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible straight.

The joker plays as a bug, that is, in the five-card hand it can be used to complete a straight or flush if possible; otherwise it is an ace. In the two-card hand it always plays as an ace, except in several southern Californian casinos where the joker is wild.

Win reckoning[edit]

If each of the player's hands beats each of the banker's corresponding hands, then he wins the bet. If only one of his hands beats the banker then he pushes (ties) in which case neither he nor the banker wins the bet. If both of his hands lose to the banker then he loses.

On each hand, ties go to the banker (for example, if a player's five-card hand loses to the banker and his two-card hand ties the banker then the player loses); this gives the banker a small advantage. If the player fouls his hand, meaning that his two-card hand outranks his five-card hand, or that there are an incorrect number of cards in each hand, there will usually be a penalty: either re-arrangement of the hand according to house rules or forfeiture of the hand.

In casino-banked games, the banker is generally required to set his hand in a pre-specified manner, called the 'house way', so that the dealer does not have to implement any strategy in order to beat the players. When a player is banking, he is free to set the hand however he chooses; however, players have the option of 'co-banking' with the house, and if this option is chosen then the player's hand must also be set in the house way.

California casinos typically charge a flat fee per hand (such as 5 cents or one dollar) to play, win or lose. Other casinos take a 5% commission out of the winnings, which is usually known as the rake.^[3]

Variants[edit]

There are a number of variations of Pai Gow poker that are popular in casinos today. These variations were mainly formulated in 2004 through 2009. Pai Gow Mania was the first variation to be created which allows for two side bets instead of the traditional one side bet per hand. Fortune Pai Gow is another variation which allows players to make a side bet on a poker hand ranking of three-of-a-kind or better, one of the most popular variations. Similar is Emperors Challenge, which also allows a side bet on a seven-card pai gow (no hand). Shuffle Master introduced a variation of the game in 2006, adding a progressive jackpot side bet, named Progressive Fortune Pai Gow. Part or all of the jackpot may be won by placing a side bet and landing one of the hands specified on the payout table; a combined seven-card straight flush wins the entire jackpot.^[4]

Advantage play[edit]

Advantage play refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling. In pai gow poker, a player may be able to gain an advantage in certain circumstances by banking as often as possible, taking advantage of unskilled players while banking, and dealer errors when not banking.^[3]

Pai Gow Poker Memory

History[edit]

Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in Los Angeles, invented the game of Pai Gow Poker in 1985. The idea for the game came to Torosian after being told about the game Pusoy by an elderly Filipino customer. He figured that the 13-card game with players arranging three hands would be too slow, but a simplified two-hand version with only seven cards would be faster and easier for players to learn. The game quickly became popular and by the late 1980s was being played on the Las Vegas Strip, and eventually worldwide. Torosian famously failed to patent the game he invented after being given bad advice by an attorney he consulted, and noted poker author Mike Caro, both of whom told him that the game was not patentable.^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^a^bRichard Marosi (3 November 2002). 'Casino Boss Can't Cash In on Game He Developed'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
^Michael Shackleford. 'Pai Gow Poker'. The Wizard of Odds. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
^ ^a^bWong, Stanford (1993). Optimal strategy for Pai Gow Poker. La Jolla, CA.: Pie Yee Press. ISBN978-0935926170.
^'Pai Gow Poker Variants'. Play Pai Gow Now. Retrieved 21 December 2016.