Real Money Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a fusion of Asian traditional gaming with Western poker aspects. Its a challenging but fun game in that there is an element of skill involved and, of course, luck.

Pai Gow poker online is one of our real money casino's most popular features because the pace of the game allows players to have a seat at the table and play several hands on the same.

Practice Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow is a gambling game that has been played in China for over a thousand years. Traditional Pai Gow is played with Chinese dominos, which are definitely different from the dominos that Westerners are accustomed to, and in any case Pai Gow. Pai gow generally charges a commission to its players of 5%, similar to the rake in poker, but even with this rake, the house edge is only a bit higher than single zero roulette. Some real money casinos offer commission-free pai gow poker, which cuts this house edge in half. Obviously, the commission free version is preferable.

Pai Gow Poker is becoming more and more popular as players gain a better understanding of the nature of the game. Often, however, Pai Gow can be confused with Pai Gow Poker. Pai Gow is an old traditional Chinese game that behaves similar to playing dominoes, whilst Pai Gow Poker is card based and requires the use of one joker in the deck. So, be careful of which game you are playing when you see Pai Gow.

Pai Gow Poker Table Layout

Much like playing blackjack, players sit around a table with the Dealer/Banker on the other side. The table is slightly larger than a blackjack table as the hands are poker hands i.e. seven cards when compared to two for blackjack.

Similar to blackjack, sitting position can be anywhere on the table. There are a maximum of six seats at the table, with the empty seats dealt out then discarded. The dealing to all six positions on the table ensures that all cards except for four are used for each round.

How to play Pai Gow Poker

Each player is first required to place their wager. Three dice are then rolled to determine which play is dealt the first hand. Once the first hand is dealt the dealer proceeds anti clockwise to deal the remaining cards.

Where there is no player, but an empty position, the cards remain untouched until the round is complete.

Each hand that is dealt contains seven cards. Each player is then required to make two Poker hands out of the seven cards dealt. The first Poker hand is called the Big or High hand. The first hand uses five cards. The second Poker hand is called the Small or Low hand, and consists of the remaining two cards.

The Big hand is always arranged as the stronger hand, whilst the Small hand must be weaker. The single joker in the deck, can be used as a semi-wild card to complete a Straight, Flush in the Big Hand or it can simply be an Ace.

Once the seven cards have been arranged into the Big and Small hand, they are placed on the table in the Big and Small hand boxes in front of the player.

At this point, the player has the opportunity to also play where there is a empty position. This play is called the 'Dragon hand' which means that a player is effectively playing two hands instead of one.

When all hands actively in play have been assigned to Big and Small and displayed in the Big and Small hand boxes on the table, the Dealer /Banker flips his cards over and arranges them into Big and Small hands. Just like Blackjack, there are predefined rules that the dealer must follow when arranging the Big and Small hands. These defined rules are called the 'House Way'. As with Blackjack, the House Way is normally standard across the world, but there are variations found.

Once the dealer has completed arranging his hands according to the House Way, the dealer's hands are compared to the player's hands.

The results can be as follows:

• Both hands of the player beats both hands of the dealer. The pay out is 1-1, with a commission taken by the casino.
• Both hands of the player loses to the dealer, with the wager being lost.
• One hand of the player beats the dealer whilst the other hand loses. In this case, it is a stand off. Neither win or loss.

On the rare occassion where the player and dealer hands are the same, called a 'Copy', the dealer is deemed the winner and the player loses their wager.

It has been calculated that on average the result of the rounds are a tie. This occurs approximately 40% of the time, and what this means, is that your bank roll can stretch for some time. Naturally there will be times when you will encounter a string of losses, as well as a string of wins, but overall when compared to other casino games, you can stretch out your playing time.

Top 3 Pai Gow Poker Casinos

The Advantages of being the Banker

In Pai Gow Poker each player has the opportunity to play the Banker role. Players do not have to accept the role and can decline if they wish, but acting as the Banker has some advantages and disadvantages.

In order to be the Banker, the player must have:

• played at least a hand against the Banker; and
• must have sufficient funds to pay out all winning best that may have been made against the Banker.

The advantage of being the Banker is that the Big and Small hand can be set in any order. Later, described in the playing strategy section of this page, you will see that there are ways of being risk averse or aggressive in playing the Bank hands.

Sometimes the casino will offer to co-share with being the Banker. This means the player will split the winnings or loses in half. However, in choosing this option the player loses the ability to choose the hand strategy and must follow the House Way.

In general, the player edge is approximately 2.7% against, whilst the Banker edge is approximately 0.3%. With these odds, Pai Gow Poker is one of the more desirable games to play.

What is the House Way

As previously mentioned the House Way is a pre-defined way of setting the hands. The House Way usually is set to lean towards generating a winning hand which will lead to a stand off. Often a casino will allow players to request the casino to set their hands for them according to the House Way. This is particularly beneficial for new players who are unsure of how to set their hands.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy

There have been books upon books written in length outlining the optimal playing scenarios for Pai Gow Poker. There are so many scenarios that could be detailed that the variation of strategies available are endless. In essence, however, there are some very simple and basic strategies that can be followed that will give you the optimal outcome most of the time.

To begin with, if you have knowledge of how to play Poker, then you will be able to determine how to play hands in the majority of situations. To consider alternatives from what would be the 'optimal' play in complex scenarios would in most cases not change the outcome at all. If any, it would be extremely insignificant.

Therefore to learn the basic strategy for playing Pai Gow Poker, get a good grasp of playing Poker hands and play the optimal hand as you would in Poker. Don't get too carried away when complex scenarios arise and keep to playing the Big hand as the strong hand and the Small hand as the weaker hand.

How to arrange a Hand

A middle of the road hand would be a medium pair together with a high value card hand. Knowing this, will give you perspective as to what is a good deal as opposed to a bad deal. Anything better than what I have described as middle road, in general quite good, anything worse and you may find yourself on the losing end.

In Hand setting, you must have the five card hand as the stronger of the two hands and the two cards the weaker. You can choose to follow the House Way, however, this steers towards being conservative and would give a result more often of a tie rather than going for the all out win. And there is nothing wrong with this approach, it's just that the House Way can be more conservative than other ways of arranging the Big and Small hands.

In the following we will go through some typical Hands.

One Pair

Most of the time, the cards dealt will result in one pair only. Roughly this will occur about 60% of the time.

In this scenario must place the pair in the five card hand, creating the stronger hand. And your two remaining strongest cards in the weaker hand. This optimizes the opportunity of winning in the Big hand and gives the best Small hand.

No Pair, Straight or Flush

With this set of cards, it is poorer than average. In this scenario, to optimize the Big and Small hands, set the highest card in the Big hand, and the second and third highest card in the Small hand.

Two Pairs

If you have a set of cards that contains two pairs, then this is the hardest decision to make.

If one of the pairs is a high pair consisting of Ace, King or Queen, then place the high pair in the Big hand and the lower pair in the Small hand,

If the two pairs are low pairs and one of the remaining cards is an Ace of King, you can either contain the two pairs in the Big Hand with the Ace or King leading the Small hand, or you can split the two pairs, with the higher of the pairs in the Big hand.

If the two pair are low pairs and there is no remaining high cards, then split the pairs with the higher pair in the Big hand with the lower pair in the Small hand.

Three Pairs

If you have three pairs, then you have a very strong set of cards. Arranging the three pairs is relatively clear cut. Always set the highest pair on the Small hand, and the weaker two pairs in the Big hand. In most cases, in playing this manner, both hands will win.

Three of a Kind

If you have three of a kind, then it depends on whether the three of a kind are Ace, King or not.

If they are Ace/King three of a kind then you should split the hand and create an Ace/King pair in the Big hand, with the remaining Ace/King leading the Small hand. If the three of a kind is neither Ace or King the place all three in the Big hand.

Straight and Flush

If you have a straight or a flush use either one but ensure that you have the strongest Small hand. You want to try and win both hands in order to avoid a stand off.

Full House

Similarly with a Full House, it is in most scenarios you would split the three of a kind and place it in the Big hand with the pair in the Small hand. Again, you want to try and win all hands and avoid the stand off.

How to place your bets

In betting for Pai Gow Poker with the edge against you, over time you will eventually lose. But because the game often results in a stand off, you will find that you will be able to play Pai Gow Poker for a good length of time, in comparison to other casino games. There is one exception to this game, which makes it different to other casino table games. When you are the banker, if you are able to encourage players against you to take the risk when you have the advantage, you may be able to gain the upper hand.

This is one key difference you should take note of, and take advantage of.

Summary

Pai Gow Poker is not the simplest of games, but it is perhaps the most exciting if you enjoy complexity and a sense of control. If you are new to Pai Gow Poker, ensure that you have a good understanding of Poker hands and know the strength and weaknesses of each hand.

Keep to the strategy of playing low, and increasing the wager if you feel you are on a winning streak. When given the opportunity to be the banker, if you have the funds accept being the banker and take the banker advantage.

Many of you have played Pai Gow Poker at the best online casinos, but are you playing with a proper strategy? Despite the claim that Pai Gow Poker is a game of luck, there are strategies that you can use to improve your odds of winning.

Today, we will look at the basic strategy for playing your hands in Pai Gow Poker. Note that this strategy is based on you playing your hands as the player. It does not account for live Pai Gow games where you can play as the banker.

Playing Uncordinated Hands

There are going to be many times where you will receive a hand that's completely uncoordinated. With these hands, you don't have as much as a pair for either hand. When this happens, you have to play two high card hands and hope that the dealer has a bad low hand.

First, you will take your highest card and add your four lowest cards together. This is your high hand. You'll take your second and third highest cards to make your low hand. For example, if you have A-K-J-9-7-5-2, you'd play A-9-7-5-2 for high and K-J for low.

One Pair Hands

Another common hand is where you only have a single pair and nothing else in your hand. In this case, the pair will be your high hand. Take your two highest kickers and play them as your low hand. For example, if you have A-Q-10-8-8-6-2, you'd play A-Q for low and 8-8-10-6-2 for high.

One pair hands are scoop capable when you have a medium pair and at least one card of queen or higher in your low hand.

Real Money Pai Gow Poker

Two Pair Hands

The hands that will be the trickiest to play in Pai Gow Poker are hands with two pair. That's because you're often going to split your pair. Splitting pairs is where most people get tripped up in this game.

First, let's look at the three types of pairs. Low pairs are deuces through sixes. Medium pairs are sevens through tens. High pairs are jacks or better.

Here are the times where you will be splitting two pair, regardless of what your other cards are:

• Anytime one of your two pairs is aces.
• When you have two high pair.
• When you have one medium and one high pair.

In the following scenarios, you will also split two pair provided you do not have an ace in your hand:

• One low pair and one high pair.
• One Low pair and one medium pair.
• Two low pairs.
• Two medium pairs.

In all other cases where you have two pair and an ace in your hand, you will play your ace and the second-highest non-pairing card as your low hand and the two pair for high.

Playing Trips in Pai Gow Poker

Playing trips, aka three of a kind, is easy in this game. In most cases, you will play trips for your high hand and your two highest kickers for the low hand. The only exception is when you have trip aces. In this case, you will split the trips and play one ace as part of your low hand.

Flushes and Straights

Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy

Hands with a straight or flush are usually going to play themselves. In the majority of cases, you'll play the straight or flush as the high hand. For the times where you have a seven-card straight or a seven-card flush, you will play the two highest cards as your low hand.

The one exception for playing a flush is when you have a flush along with two pair. When this happens, you're going to break the flush and split the pair according to the rules for splitting pairs.

Pai Gow Poker is a fusion of Asian traditional gaming with Western poker aspects. Its a challenging but fun game in that there is an element of skill involved and, of course, luck.

Pai Gow poker online is one of our real money casino's most popular features because the pace of the game allows players to have a seat at the table and play several hands on the same.

Practice Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow is a gambling game that has been played in China for over a thousand years. Traditional Pai Gow is played with Chinese dominos, which are definitely different from the dominos that Westerners are accustomed to, and in any case Pai Gow. Pai gow generally charges a commission to its players of 5%, similar to the rake in poker, but even with this rake, the house edge is only a bit higher than single zero roulette. Some real money casinos offer commission-free pai gow poker, which cuts this house edge in half. Obviously, the commission free version is preferable.

Pai Gow Poker is becoming more and more popular as players gain a better understanding of the nature of the game. Often, however, Pai Gow can be confused with Pai Gow Poker. Pai Gow is an old traditional Chinese game that behaves similar to playing dominoes, whilst Pai Gow Poker is card based and requires the use of one joker in the deck. So, be careful of which game you are playing when you see Pai Gow.

Pai Gow Poker Table Layout

Much like playing blackjack, players sit around a table with the Dealer/Banker on the other side. The table is slightly larger than a blackjack table as the hands are poker hands i.e. seven cards when compared to two for blackjack.

Similar to blackjack, sitting position can be anywhere on the table. There are a maximum of six seats at the table, with the empty seats dealt out then discarded. The dealing to all six positions on the table ensures that all cards except for four are used for each round.

How to play Pai Gow Poker

Each player is first required to place their wager. Three dice are then rolled to determine which play is dealt the first hand. Once the first hand is dealt the dealer proceeds anti clockwise to deal the remaining cards.

Where there is no player, but an empty position, the cards remain untouched until the round is complete.

Each hand that is dealt contains seven cards. Each player is then required to make two Poker hands out of the seven cards dealt. The first Poker hand is called the Big or High hand. The first hand uses five cards. The second Poker hand is called the Small or Low hand, and consists of the remaining two cards.

The Big hand is always arranged as the stronger hand, whilst the Small hand must be weaker. The single joker in the deck, can be used as a semi-wild card to complete a Straight, Flush in the Big Hand or it can simply be an Ace.

Once the seven cards have been arranged into the Big and Small hand, they are placed on the table in the Big and Small hand boxes in front of the player.

At this point, the player has the opportunity to also play where there is a empty position. This play is called the 'Dragon hand' which means that a player is effectively playing two hands instead of one.

When all hands actively in play have been assigned to Big and Small and displayed in the Big and Small hand boxes on the table, the Dealer /Banker flips his cards over and arranges them into Big and Small hands. Just like Blackjack, there are predefined rules that the dealer must follow when arranging the Big and Small hands. These defined rules are called the 'House Way'. As with Blackjack, the House Way is normally standard across the world, but there are variations found.

Once the dealer has completed arranging his hands according to the House Way, the dealer's hands are compared to the player's hands.

The results can be as follows:

• Both hands of the player beats both hands of the dealer. The pay out is 1-1, with a commission taken by the casino.
• Both hands of the player loses to the dealer, with the wager being lost.
• One hand of the player beats the dealer whilst the other hand loses. In this case, it is a stand off. Neither win or loss.

On the rare occassion where the player and dealer hands are the same, called a 'Copy', the dealer is deemed the winner and the player loses their wager.

It has been calculated that on average the result of the rounds are a tie. This occurs approximately 40% of the time, and what this means, is that your bank roll can stretch for some time. Naturally there will be times when you will encounter a string of losses, as well as a string of wins, but overall when compared to other casino games, you can stretch out your playing time.

Top 3 Pai Gow Poker Casinos

The Advantages of being the Banker

In Pai Gow Poker each player has the opportunity to play the Banker role. Players do not have to accept the role and can decline if they wish, but acting as the Banker has some advantages and disadvantages.

In order to be the Banker, the player must have:

• played at least a hand against the Banker; and
• must have sufficient funds to pay out all winning best that may have been made against the Banker.

The advantage of being the Banker is that the Big and Small hand can be set in any order. Later, described in the playing strategy section of this page, you will see that there are ways of being risk averse or aggressive in playing the Bank hands.

Sometimes the casino will offer to co-share with being the Banker. This means the player will split the winnings or loses in half. However, in choosing this option the player loses the ability to choose the hand strategy and must follow the House Way.

In general, the player edge is approximately 2.7% against, whilst the Banker edge is approximately 0.3%. With these odds, Pai Gow Poker is one of the more desirable games to play.

What is the House Way

As previously mentioned the House Way is a pre-defined way of setting the hands. The House Way usually is set to lean towards generating a winning hand which will lead to a stand off. Often a casino will allow players to request the casino to set their hands for them according to the House Way. This is particularly beneficial for new players who are unsure of how to set their hands.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy

There have been books upon books written in length outlining the optimal playing scenarios for Pai Gow Poker. There are so many scenarios that could be detailed that the variation of strategies available are endless. In essence, however, there are some very simple and basic strategies that can be followed that will give you the optimal outcome most of the time.

To begin with, if you have knowledge of how to play Poker, then you will be able to determine how to play hands in the majority of situations. To consider alternatives from what would be the 'optimal' play in complex scenarios would in most cases not change the outcome at all. If any, it would be extremely insignificant.

Therefore to learn the basic strategy for playing Pai Gow Poker, get a good grasp of playing Poker hands and play the optimal hand as you would in Poker. Don't get too carried away when complex scenarios arise and keep to playing the Big hand as the strong hand and the Small hand as the weaker hand.

How to arrange a Hand

A middle of the road hand would be a medium pair together with a high value card hand. Knowing this, will give you perspective as to what is a good deal as opposed to a bad deal. Anything better than what I have described as middle road, in general quite good, anything worse and you may find yourself on the losing end.

In Hand setting, you must have the five card hand as the stronger of the two hands and the two cards the weaker. You can choose to follow the House Way, however, this steers towards being conservative and would give a result more often of a tie rather than going for the all out win. And there is nothing wrong with this approach, it's just that the House Way can be more conservative than other ways of arranging the Big and Small hands.

In the following we will go through some typical Hands.

One Pair

Most of the time, the cards dealt will result in one pair only. Roughly this will occur about 60% of the time.

In this scenario must place the pair in the five card hand, creating the stronger hand. And your two remaining strongest cards in the weaker hand. This optimizes the opportunity of winning in the Big hand and gives the best Small hand.

No Pair, Straight or Flush

With this set of cards, it is poorer than average. In this scenario, to optimize the Big and Small hands, set the highest card in the Big hand, and the second and third highest card in the Small hand.

Two Pairs

If you have a set of cards that contains two pairs, then this is the hardest decision to make.

If one of the pairs is a high pair consisting of Ace, King or Queen, then place the high pair in the Big hand and the lower pair in the Small hand,

If the two pairs are low pairs and one of the remaining cards is an Ace of King, you can either contain the two pairs in the Big Hand with the Ace or King leading the Small hand, or you can split the two pairs, with the higher of the pairs in the Big hand.

If the two pair are low pairs and there is no remaining high cards, then split the pairs with the higher pair in the Big hand with the lower pair in the Small hand.

Three Pairs

If you have three pairs, then you have a very strong set of cards. Arranging the three pairs is relatively clear cut. Always set the highest pair on the Small hand, and the weaker two pairs in the Big hand. In most cases, in playing this manner, both hands will win.

Three of a Kind

If you have three of a kind, then it depends on whether the three of a kind are Ace, King or not.

If they are Ace/King three of a kind then you should split the hand and create an Ace/King pair in the Big hand, with the remaining Ace/King leading the Small hand. If the three of a kind is neither Ace or King the place all three in the Big hand.

Straight and Flush

If you have a straight or a flush use either one but ensure that you have the strongest Small hand. You want to try and win both hands in order to avoid a stand off.

Full House

Similarly with a Full House, it is in most scenarios you would split the three of a kind and place it in the Big hand with the pair in the Small hand. Again, you want to try and win all hands and avoid the stand off.

How to place your bets

In betting for Pai Gow Poker with the edge against you, over time you will eventually lose. But because the game often results in a stand off, you will find that you will be able to play Pai Gow Poker for a good length of time, in comparison to other casino games. There is one exception to this game, which makes it different to other casino table games. When you are the banker, if you are able to encourage players against you to take the risk when you have the advantage, you may be able to gain the upper hand.

This is one key difference you should take note of, and take advantage of.

Summary

Pai Gow Poker is not the simplest of games, but it is perhaps the most exciting if you enjoy complexity and a sense of control. If you are new to Pai Gow Poker, ensure that you have a good understanding of Poker hands and know the strength and weaknesses of each hand.

Keep to the strategy of playing low, and increasing the wager if you feel you are on a winning streak. When given the opportunity to be the banker, if you have the funds accept being the banker and take the banker advantage.

Many of you have played Pai Gow Poker at the best online casinos, but are you playing with a proper strategy? Despite the claim that Pai Gow Poker is a game of luck, there are strategies that you can use to improve your odds of winning.

Today, we will look at the basic strategy for playing your hands in Pai Gow Poker. Note that this strategy is based on you playing your hands as the player. It does not account for live Pai Gow games where you can play as the banker.

Playing Uncordinated Hands

There are going to be many times where you will receive a hand that's completely uncoordinated. With these hands, you don't have as much as a pair for either hand. When this happens, you have to play two high card hands and hope that the dealer has a bad low hand.

First, you will take your highest card and add your four lowest cards together. This is your high hand. You'll take your second and third highest cards to make your low hand. For example, if you have A-K-J-9-7-5-2, you'd play A-9-7-5-2 for high and K-J for low.

One Pair Hands

Another common hand is where you only have a single pair and nothing else in your hand. In this case, the pair will be your high hand. Take your two highest kickers and play them as your low hand. For example, if you have A-Q-10-8-8-6-2, you'd play A-Q for low and 8-8-10-6-2 for high.

One pair hands are scoop capable when you have a medium pair and at least one card of queen or higher in your low hand.

Real Money Pai Gow Poker

Two Pair Hands

The hands that will be the trickiest to play in Pai Gow Poker are hands with two pair. That's because you're often going to split your pair. Splitting pairs is where most people get tripped up in this game.

First, let's look at the three types of pairs. Low pairs are deuces through sixes. Medium pairs are sevens through tens. High pairs are jacks or better.

Here are the times where you will be splitting two pair, regardless of what your other cards are:

• Anytime one of your two pairs is aces.
• When you have two high pair.
• When you have one medium and one high pair.

In the following scenarios, you will also split two pair provided you do not have an ace in your hand:

• One low pair and one high pair.
• One Low pair and one medium pair.
• Two low pairs.
• Two medium pairs.

In all other cases where you have two pair and an ace in your hand, you will play your ace and the second-highest non-pairing card as your low hand and the two pair for high.

Playing Trips in Pai Gow Poker

Playing trips, aka three of a kind, is easy in this game. In most cases, you will play trips for your high hand and your two highest kickers for the low hand. The only exception is when you have trip aces. In this case, you will split the trips and play one ace as part of your low hand.

Flushes and Straights

Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy

Hands with a straight or flush are usually going to play themselves. In the majority of cases, you'll play the straight or flush as the high hand. For the times where you have a seven-card straight or a seven-card flush, you will play the two highest cards as your low hand.

The one exception for playing a flush is when you have a flush along with two pair. When this happens, you're going to break the flush and split the pair according to the rules for splitting pairs.

Quads

You might be tempted to automatically play quads (four of a kind) as a high hand, but that's not the case. When you have quad jacks or better, you're splitting the hand into two pair. The same applies to medium quads, provided that you don't have an ace in your hand. If you do, you will play the quads. For low quads, you will play them together.

Five Aces

As counterintuitive as it sounds, you're almost never going to play five aces together. Instead, one ace and the joker will become your low hand and you'll play trip aces for high.

The exception to this rule is when you have a pair of kings and five aces. Then, you'll play the kings for low and five aces for high.

This Strategy Helps, But Not By Much

The above strategy is a great strategy to use to help improve your odds at winning in games where the dealer is always the banker. This applies to most Pai Gow Poker games at real money online casinos. However, the edge you gain with this strategy isn't massive. It only improves your odds by about 0.21%. The general house edge when using this strategy is around 2.5%

Where this strategy helps is in games where the player is the banker. In those games, the house edge is reduced down to less than a half of a percent. However, you will find few online Pai Gow games offering player banking. However, it is still great to know when you play in live Pai Gow Poker games.