A hand of pai gow poker is played against the dealer or another player who chooses to be the banker for that hand and uses a single 53-card deck consisting of the usual 52 cards plus a joker. The joker is partially wild. It can be used as an ace or it can represent any card that helps complete a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush. Once players have made their bets, the dealer will give each player and himself/herself seven cards each.
The players look at their own cards and must divide them into two hands – a high hand of five cards and a low hand of two cards. The five-card hand must have a higher poker rank than the two-card hand. Standard poker rankings are used with the five-card hand with a notable exception being that a straight consisting of A2345 is the second highest straight behind that of AKQJT. The best possible two-card hand is a pair of aces.
After all players have sorted out their hands, the dealer will set his/her own hand in the same manner, but must do so in accordance with the casino’s specific rules, known as the “house way.” All players’ five-card and two-card hands are each compared with the dealer’s. To win your bet, both of your hands must have a higher poker rank than both of the dealer’s hands. Any ties go to the dealer. If you do win your bet, you get paid at even money minus a 5% commission. If both of the dealer’s hands beat your hands, then you will lose your bet. If you win on one hand and lose on the other, then it is a push and your bet is returned. Pushes are quite common in this game, allowing for a slower pace of game play.
Unlike most table games, it is possible for a player to be the banker for a hand. Banking requires having a bankroll to cover the potential wins of all other players at the table should you get dealt a lousy hand, which is just one reason most players decline the option to bank, assuming they knew that they could in the first place. The one benefit of being the banker is that you will win on any individual hand that ties, bringing down the overall house edge considerably.
STRATEGY
Speaking of house edge, let’s take a look at that along with the strategy for pai gow poker. If you are just starting to play the game, a good idea would be to take a look at the house way for the casino you are playing at. You could even ask the dealer to set your hand based on the house way if you are unsure on how to play your hand. Using the “house way” strategy will result in a house edge of about 2.72% – not bad relative to many newer table games. If you are banking the game, that gets reduced to about 0.25%! There are various levels of strategies out there you can use to reduce the house edge by as much as 0.2% when the dealer is banking. However for this video, I will share some basic guidelines on how to best set some of the most common hands.
- No Pair/No Hand: This is the worst type of holding you can get and can be quite frustrating, as it almost guarantees a loss. The typical strategy is to play the second and third highest cards in the two-card hand.
- One Pair: This one is straightforward. Play the pair in the five-card hand and the two highest kickers in the two-card hand.
- Two Pair: This one depends on how high or low each pair is. Generally speaking, you should keep the high pair in the five-card hand and play the low pair in the two-card hand, unless both pairs are relatively low and you have high singletons. In such a case, it will be better to keep the two pair in the five-card hand and the two highest kickers in the two-card hand.
- Three Pair: This one is also straightforward and is quite amazing to see. Play the highest pair in the two-card hand.
- Three of a Kind: Most of the time you will keep the trips in the five-card hand, playing the two highest kickers in the two-card hand. If you have three aces or rarely with three kings, it might be better to split a card from that set into the two-card hand.
- Straight or Flush: You have to keep the straight or flush intact as part of the five-card hand. In most cases, that will leave you with a weak two-card hand, which will almost certainly result in a push against the dealer.
- Straight or Flush and a Pair: If a pair is possible with one of the cards needed for the straight or flush, in most cases you should still keep the straight or flush in the five-card hand. A rare exception is if the pair is high and you can play ace-king in the two-card hand.
- Full House: This one is easy. Play the pair in the two-card hand.
Before we finish off, I want to briefly discuss side bets in pai gow poker. A common one is known as the “Fortune” side bet. As with most other table game side bets, this bet pays based on the value of your dealt seven cards, regardless on how you play the regular game. The headline house edge is quite high at around 7% to 9% depending on the pay table, so it may be best to avoid it. If you must play it, I recommend keeping it to the minimum. Ideally, you would want to make the “Fortune” side bet when more players are in the hand making the bet, due to the envy bonus awarded to other players when one of them wins with a big hand. This lowers the house edge by between 0.5% and 1% for each additional player in the game making the bet.
I hope you this article helped give you a head start in playing Pai Gow Poker. Be sure to check out my other articles on this website and subscribe to my YouTube channel! Best of luck on your next visit to the casino.
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