Pai gow poker also called double-hand poker is an Americanized version of pai played with playing cards bearing poker hand values, instead of pai gow’s Chinese dominoes. 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.

In the game the most important role is to be the banker when your turn comes. In a real casino you can choose to skip this option, but if you can afford it, you probably should take advantage; the banker definitely has some advantages that the regular player doesn’t.

It’s worth pointing out that in online Pai Gow Poker, you’ll probably never be able to be the banker. This is because most Pai Gow Poker games are designed to be played by just one player (you) against the house, with the house always taking the role of the banker. While this does mean that you won’t be able to take advantage of the edge you get as the banker, it also means that you won’t have to worry about risking your bankroll by having to pay out your fellow players.

• Pai gow poker is the American version of pai gow – a Chinese dominoes game. Pai gow was introduced to the US market by Sam Torosian, who invented it based on the Asian model. Sadly for him, he didn’t patent it and ended up losing a potential fortune. The game quickly gained popularity and nowadays is considered a classic.
• Without a doubt, Pai Gow Poker is among the most exciting casino games on offer. However, understanding the basics of the game could be tricky, even for the ordinary gambler. Fortunately, with our Pai Gow Poker Glossary, players will be able to familiarise themselves with the card game in no time.

What it is to be a banker in Pai Gow Poker

Unlike most casino games, the player may bet against the dealer, and other players in pai gow poker. This is known as 'banking.' The turn to act as banker is supposed to rotate around the table, but at some casinos it zig-zags between the dealer and each player in turn.

Pai Gow Poker Odds In a one-on-one game between the player and the banker – the kind of game you’ll play in an online Pai Gow Poker game – the house edge is 2.73%, assuming both players are using the house way. According to an analysis by The Wizard of Odds, a perfectly optimal strategy would shave about 0.13% off of this edge. Pai Gow Poker, which is sometimes called “Asian Poker,” is an exciting game that is played with an ordinary deck of 52 cards plus one Joker. The Joker is used as an Ace or to complete a straight or a flush. The dealer shuffles their deck and then proceeds to deal out the cards in seven stacks of seven cards each.

Playing Pai Gow in a real land casino , you’ll find yourself given the opportunity to bank every few hands or so, depending on exactly how the game is structured. Some real casinos rotate the chance to bank around the table, while others have the casino bank every other hand in between the player opportunities to bank. In order to bank, you must have enough money on the table to pay off all potential winning bets; if you have less money than this, some casinos will also let you “co-bank,” sharing the responsibility with the casino.

You should never, ever pass up an opportunity to be the banker when the option is available. Even in a one-on-one game against the casino, there will only be the slightest of house edges for the casino on hands when you bank. Depending on the exact “house way” method used by both sides, the house edge on these hands is only about 0.2%; in a one-on-one game, this would drop the total house edge from 2.73% (the house edge when you are the player) to an average combined house edge of about 1.46%.

But the news gets even better when you’re playing against your fellow players and decide to bank. You can actually have a significant advantage as the banker, especially when there are many players at the table. At a full table, you’ll hold about a 0.2% edge over the house, assuming all players are using the correct house way strategy. When you take into account the fact that some of the other players will likely make mistakes – some of them significant – your advantage will likely be even bigger.

Much of this advantage comes from the fact that the 5% commission you pay on winnings is handled differently when you are the banker. As a normal player, if you play five hands and win three times while losing twice, you’ll pay that 5% commission on a total of three winning bets. As the banker, you only pay the commission on your net winnings at the end of the hand; so if you win three hands, but lose two, you’ll only come out ahead by one bet – and only pay commission on that one bet.

Therefore bankers, you or the house, have a slight edge at Pai Gow Poker. As “Copies” or opposing hands of equal poker rank go to the Banker. That is, the rank of a Player’s hand must exceed that of the Banker to win; a Banker’s hand may copy or exceed that of the player to win. Accordingly, there are more situations in which Bankers than Players can win.

The actual edge enjoyed by the Banker depends on the skill with which participants set their respective two- and five-card hands. With competent parties, opposing hands can be expected about 2.5 percent of the time. However, bets are decided only when both the five- and two-card hands win or lose; if there’s one of each, the bet is a push. Therefore, half of the opposing hands win money for the Banker and half push – so the natural edge is half the copy advantage, or 1.25 percent. Against weak players, this natural edge would be augmented by an advantage resulting from opponents’ poor tactics.

Also as said above the house takes a commission or “rake” which is usually 5 percent from the Banker’s net win on a round and effectively reduces the Banker’s edge by an amount dependent on the details of the game. Typical final edge is about 0.3 percent which is roughly the same as the house gets in a six-deck blackjack game from a bettor who follows perfect basic strategy.

Finally to be a banker means

• Having the natural advantage and when you are the banker you must have a sufficient bankroll to bank all the bets made by your fellow players.
• The casino dealer will open the game as the banker. In subsequent hands, players can request to be the banker. A small plastic marker (called a chung)is placed in front of the banker’s betting area to designate that this player is the banker.
• As the casino banking rules vary greatly some casinos allow the same player to be the banker on every other hand or a maximum of 2 consecutive hands. Others will allow a player to bank only once out of every 8 or the extreme 14th hand.
• Because the rules for banking differ it’s important that you look around and gt the best casino. Your goal is to bank as many hands as the casino will allow because that is the only way you can get the edge.
• As said above it’s important you have enough bankroll to withstand a couple of losing hands.

When the casino dealer is the banker, the casino edge in pai gow poker is about 2.8%. By skillfully setting your hands you can reduce the casino’s edge to about 2.5%. By being the banker as much as possible and betting as small as possible when you are the player, it is possible to have a slight monetary edge playing pai gow poker (about 0.2%). A smart player, therefore, should bank as much as possible and learn how to correctly set the hands. That’s the secret to winning at pai gow poker.

In China, pai gow is a popular gambling game played with Chinese dominoes. In 1985, Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club, created a poker game inspired by pai gow—he called it “pai gow poker.” It’s become a popular game in casinos throughout the United States.

Like blackjack, pai gow poker is a game of skill, where your decisions matter. It’s also a slow-paced game, and the probability of getting into a “push” situation (a tie) is relatively high. For someone with a small bankroll, pai gow poker can be one of the best deals in the casino.

But pai gow poker is also more complicated to play than many other casino card games. Playing well is another magnitude of difficulty. This post aims to provide everything you need to know to get started playing pai gow poker without making a fool of yourself.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

Pai gow poker is played with a standard 53-card deck of cards. (“53” is not a typo—it’s a 52-card deck with the addition of a joker.)

In most card games, jokers are “wild cards”—they can stand in for any card you need them to.

But in pai gow poker, jokers are only wild for certain situations. Here’s how you can use a joker in pai gow poker:

• You can use it as an ace.
• You can use it to complete a straight.
• You can use it to complete a flush.
• You can use it to complete a straight flush.

The game starts with the players making bets. Then the dealer and the players each get 7 cards.

As with most poker games, even house-banked games, the standard ranking of poker hands is used, with one exception:

After you get your 7 cards, you must “set your hand.” This means you divided your hand into 2 hands—a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. You have a lot of freedom for setting the hand, but you must follow one restriction:

The 5-card hand must have a better poker hand ranking than the 2-card hand.

Of course, the 5-card hand is treated like a 5-card poker hand. The 2-card hand can only qualify for 2 poker hand rankings, though—a pair, or not a pair.

The dealer also sets his hand, but he must follow specific rules set by the casino. This is called “the house way.” It’s comparable to how a blackjack dealer must play his hand in a prescribed manner.

When you compare hands, you have the following possibilities:

1. Both of the player’s hands beat both of the dealer’s hands.
2. One of the player’s hands beats the dealer’s hand, but one of the dealer’s hands beats the player’s hand.
3. Both of the dealer’s hands beat both of the player’s hands.

If both of the player’s hands beat the dealer’s hand, he wins even money less a 5% commission on his bet.

If both of the dealer’s hands beat the player’s hand, the player loses his bet.

But if one hand is a winner and the other is a loser, the bet is considered a “push.” This means the player gets to keep his bet, but he doesn’t get any winnings in addition to that.

Also, ties go to the banker.

40% of the time, the outcome is a push, which is huge. At most pai gow poker tables, you’ll see 30 hands per hour. If 12 of them are ties, you’re only looking at 18 hands per hour with a win or loss.

This kind of thing matters a lot when you’re trying to track how much money per hour it costs to play a specific casino game. In blackjack, for example, you’re liable to see 100 hands per hour, but most of them won’t result in a push.

I like leisurely games where I don’t lose a lot of money at once. Pai gow poker fits the bill nicely.

Banking in Pai Gow Poker

In most casino games, the betting is pretty straightforward. You’re the player, and you bet against the dealer. In pai gow poker, though, you have the option to bet against the dealer and the other players. Only one player gets to be the banker on each hand, though—the opportunity rotates.

Here’s the thing about being the banker in pai gow poker, though—it requires (as you might expect) a large bankroll. Most people just decline the opportunity to be the banker.

If you do choose to play as the banker, you can set your hand any way you like. You’re not required to follow the house way.

Being able to play as the banker enables players to get a small edge, especially if you’re playing with other players who are beginners and aren’t good at the game. The strategy in pai gow poker stems from how you’re able to set your hands.

The House Edge in Pai Gow Poker

The house edge is the long-term expected win for the casino expressed as a percentage. It’s a forecast and an estimate, but it only applies in the long run—over the course of thousands of hands. Still, it’s good information to have about a casino game.

Generally, the lower the house edge, the better the game is for the player. For example, the house edge in blackjack is usually around 1%, but that assumes the use of perfect basic strategy. This means that every time you place a $100 bet, the casino expects to win an average of $1.

The house edge in pai gow poker varies based on a couple of things. One of these is how good you are at setting your hand. The other is how often you can afford to play as the banker.

Banking In Pai Gow Poker

Generally, the house edge in pai gow poker is 2.7%, although it’s much lower when playing as the banker. This estimate assumes you’re just following the house way strategy. If you can play more optimally than that, you can whittle the house edge down by another 0.2%.

And if you’re playing as the banker and using optimal strategy, the house edge is even lower—around 0.3%. If you can find a table where the other players aren’t very good at setting hands, you might even be able to get a long-term advantage. This is an example of an advantage gambling technique.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy for Setting Your Hand

For most recreational gamblers, a strategy similar to the house way is sufficient. Getting any more optimal than that is more trouble than it’s worth for the tiny gain in expectation. Below I’ve outlined one common house way of setting hands.

To understand this guide to pai gow poker strategy, you should know which hand is your “front” hand and which hand is your “back” hand. Luckily, this isn’t complicated.

The front hand is your 2-card hand.

The back hand is your 5-card hand.

Here’s how to play with close to correct pai gow poker strategy:

First, if you have no pairs at all in your 7 cards, put the highest card in your front hand. Put the next 2 highest cards in your back hand.

If you have one pair, always put it in your back hand. Then put your 2 other highest cards in your back hand.

If you have 2 pairs, you’ll put one pair in your back hand and the other in your front hand. The higher ranked pair goes in your back hand, and the lower ranked pair goes in your front hand. But sometimes, you’ll want to keep both pairs in your back hand.

You’ll do this if you have a pair of 7s and no ace. You’ll also do this if you have a pair of jacks or better AND a pair of 6s or better along with an ace. And finally, you’ll do this if you have a pair of aces and any other pair.

If you get 3 pairs, put the highest-ranked pair in your front hand. The other 2, of course, go in your back hand.

If you have 3 of a kind, put all 3 of those cards in your back hand UNLESS you have 3 aces. In that case, you put an ace in your front hand and 2 aces in your back hand.

If you have a 3 of a kind AND a 2^nd 3 of a kind, put the lower-ranked 3 of a kind in your back hand. Then split up the 2^nd 3 of a kind so that you’ll have a pair in your front hand.

If you get a full house, split it up so that you have a pair in your front hand and 3 of a kind in your back hand.

If you get a straight, flush, or a straight flush, you should always keep those 5 cards together in your back hand.

If you have a 4 of a kind, how you play it depends on the ranks of the cards. If they’re 6 or lower, you’ll keep the 4 of a kind together in your back hand. If they’re 7, 8, 9, or 10, you should split them unless you have an ace, in which case you keep them together and put the ace in your front hand.

If you have a 4 of a kind consisting of face cards, split them unless you also have a pair of 10s or higher. And if you have 4 aces, split them unless you have a pair of 7s or higher.

If you get 5 aces, you should split them unless you have a pair of kings to put in your front hand.

Besides that, you should always play as the banker if you can afford to, because of the much lower house edge. This isn’t an option when playing in an online casino, but it’s an option at most traditional brick and mortar casinos.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for affordable entertainment in the form of casino gambling, you’ll have a hard time finding a better game than pai gow poker. A house edge of 2.7% sounds high, but it’s really not bad at all when you consider that 40% of the hands you’ll play will be a push.

Optimal strategy for pai gow poker is more complicated than the house way, but if you just play by the house way, you’ll be doing better than most other players at the table. Consider using the house way strategy provided in this post next time you play.

Finally, one of the biggest distinctions between pai gow poker and other casino games is the ability to play as the banker. You should take advantage of this as much as possible, but you’ll probably only be able to if you’re a high roller with a huge bankroll.

Banking In Pai Gow Poker