Pai Gow Hands

• Pai Gow Poker Ranking Hands
• Pai Gow Game For Fun
• Pai Gow Poker Hands
• Pai Gow Hand Rankings
• How To Pay To Pai Gow

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

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.

How to play Pai Gow Poker? A cup consisting of three dice s is shaken at least three times by the casino before finalizing who would receive the first card. Though this practice was followed in the past, now a Random Number Generator (RNG) technique is used. Each player has to make the bet and after that, players are dealt seven cards. Pai Gow Poker Hand Rankings The 2-card hand- The best hand you can have is a pair of Aces (or an Ace and a joker). From there, pair rankings descend. As you probably realize, flushes are irrelevant within your 2-card hand. In descending order of value The best 5-card hand you can have is 4 Aces.

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

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:

1. What is Pai Gow Poker
2. Pai Gow Poker rules
3. Pai Gow Poker hands
4. Pai Gow Poker strategy
5. 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:

1. 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%).
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. Five aces, which can be achieved with the joker, beats a royal flush and is the best hand in Pai Gow Poker.
2. 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.

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:

1. Strongest possible hand up top - = high hand for a straight; for low hand.
2. 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 is one of those Americanized Chinese gambling games that today are part of almost every casino. This game is a social game just as poker and can be played by six players simultaneously using a 52-card deck. In addition to the players, land-based casinos appoint a dealer at the table to assist players. Similar to other casino games, the players in Pai Gow Poker play against the house, not against each other.

This game came to be when a Chinese game called Pai Gow in which dominoes were used, was mixed with poker cards. What came out as a result was a gambling game with a very reasonably low risk compared to other games. Pai Gow Poker is a more of a game of skill, although learning the cards and using the skills is not that farfetched for beginners. The hands are easy and obvious, and strategies can be applied without much difficulty. The fact that all the players play together against the house makes this game very fun and leisure game.

The game as we know it today was established in California in the mid-80s in 1985. The person that invented the game first began offering it at his own casino, and later the game began appearing across many other casinos without prior permission of its author due to a lack of patent for the game. Since then Pai Gow Poker has brought millions of players to casinos and the game today has a well-deserved status.

Pai Gow Poker Rules

Pai Gow Poker uses many rules that are commonly known in standard poker, such as:

• The game is played with standard fifty-two cards and a joker from a single deck only.
• As in other games, the joker is used to complete a hand like straight flush, flush, straight or royal flush, and it can be used instead of an Ace.
• Each player receives 7 cards along with the dealer too after all the players have made their bets previously.
• With these seven cards, the players have to form two hands, one five card hand and one two card hand. The only condition is for the five card hand to be of higher value than the two card hand.
• The two card hand will always be a pair of the highest possible value, while the five card hand will be a standard poker hand.
• The dealer will reveal his cards after the players have divided their cards. The dealer follows a special rule referred to as the House Way. This rule is actually a predetermined manner in which the dealer will play the cards. This rule varies from casino to casino.
• The two hands of each player are then compared against the dealer’s hand and the player with the two hands of higher values will take his winnings.
• There is a special rule for a tie. If the two card hand of both the player and the dealer are composed of pair of Kings or Aces, then the house wins.
• In order for the player to win his both hands need to be stronger than the dealer’s hands. In this case the bet pays 1 to 1. If the player loses one hand to the dealer, then it’s a push. In all other scenarios, the player loses. Five percent commission is taken of each winning.
• The banker role rotates between players, and each player can refuse the role.

The Basics of Pai Gow Poker

Objective of the Game

The objective in Pai Gow Poker is for players to assemble hands that are stronger than the dealer in order to beat the house and win the bet with the help of seven cards. The only chance to win is to have both hands of higher value. The lower hand, which is the two card hand is always a pair (if there two cards of same value) while the higher five card hand can be any of the standard hands used in poker. The two card hand mustn’t be of a higher value than the five card hand.

Pai Gow Poker Hands

In order to form a hand, players can use a joker. It can be used to replace a card any kind of straight or flush. In other cases the joker is valued as an Ace. The following are the hands in Pai Gow Poker arranged from the weakest to the strongest:

Pai Gow Poker Ranking Hands

• No Pair hand is a hand that has no cards that can be combined together to form a pair.
• One Pair is a hand consisted of any two cards of the same value.
• Two Pair is a hand consisted of two pairs with cards of the same value.
• Three of a Kind is a hand consisted of three cards of the same value.
• Straight is a hand in which all cards are arranged in a sequence, for example from 6 to 10.
• Flush is a hand in which all cards are of the same suite, either clubs, diamonds, spades or hearts.
• Full House is a hand consisted of two cards of the same value, and three cards that are all of some different value.
• Four of a Kind is a hand consisted of four cards of the same value.
• Straight Flush is a hand in which all cards of the same suite, but also they need to be arranged in a sequence, for example from 7 to Jack.
• Royal Flush is a hand consisted of Jack, King, Queen, Ten and an Ace, but all five cards need to be of the same suite.

In any of the hands, the remaining cards help determine the winner in cases when the competing five card hands are identical.

The Ranking of Two Card Hands

There are special rules set for the ranking of the two card hands. It is obvious that with two cards the only hand you can play is a pair i.e. a hand consisted of two cards of the same value, with a pair of 2s as the weakest, and a pair of Aces as the strongest two card hand.

But, there is also a No Pair hand. This hand is also valued, but here the weakest hand is a combination of 2 and a 3, while the strongest No Pair two card hand is consisted of a King and an Ace. A Pair hand always beats a No Pair hand. The Joker here is used instead of an Ace too.

The House Way

As mentioned previously, the House Way is a predetermined manner of how the dealer will play with his hand. This rule can vary from casino to casino. Somewhere you may find it more in your favor, somewhere you may not, in general it doesn’t vary substantially.

The Odds

Although Pai Gow Poker a house edge that is worse than craps, blackjack and baccarat, it is still a very decent edge that varies between 2 and 3 percent. Since it is a game of skill this edge can be easily eliminated with a little spell of luck. Also, since it is a much slower paced game compared to other games with a lot of ties and pushing your playing time is much longer and your bankroll is more prone to survive.

An Easy Pai Gow Strategy to Use

First, when playing Pai Gow Poker, whether using a strategy or not, you need to remember that both of your hands need to win. So basically you have to think how to equally distribute your hands. If you can’t form a strong five card hand, make sure at least for your two card hand to be as high as it can get in order to cause for a push and stop the house from winning. Or do the other way around, by setting a strong five card hand while making a weak two card hand.

If your hand is a no pair hand, just use the third and second highest cards for the two card hand. If you have at least one pair the highest two cards should be used as a two card hand. This strategic playing extends to different scenarios for having dealt 2 pairs, 3 pairs, three of a kind and all the other possible hands and involves how to split your hands and use the most of all cards dealt.

Summary

Pai Gow Poker has spurred so much interest in the public due to its ingenious way of playing with two hands at the same time so that many experts have even written books on the optimal strategies that can be used for playing the game. Try the game a little at any online casino offering it for practice, and we guarantee you will immediately like it.

Useful Pai Gow Poker Glossary

– Back Hand: used to refer to the five card hand.

– Banking: this is when players bet either against the players or the dealer.

– Foul Hand: this is when a player has not split his hands appropriately which means his two card hand is stronger than his five card hand. It is used in land-based casinos.

Pai Gow Game For Fun

– Front Hand: used to refer to the two card hand.

For a more comprehensive list of terms and phrases, check out our Pai Gow Glossary section.

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