Basic Gameplay. Pai Gow is played with a 53-card deck consisting of a standard 52-card deck with 1 wild card. The object of the game is to split your hand into a five-card hand and a two-card hand with both hands beating the dealer's two hands to win. The wild card is not a true wild card and has specific rules. How To Play Pai Gow Poker – Rules and Betting. Each round of Pai Gow Poker begins with each player placing a wager. Each player is then dealt seven cards. Many casinos follow a tradition in which the dealer deals seven hands regardless of how many players are seated at the table. Each player is then randomly given one of those seven-card hands.
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On This Page
Introduction
Pai Gow Poker is a variation of the Chinese domino game pai gow. The game is known for a slow rate of play and lots of pushes, resulting in low risk game. While a game of skill, most hands are obvious how to play, and it is not difficult to learn proper strategy for the rest of them. Every player plays against the same dealer hand, which causes the table to often win and lose together, resulting in a fun and social game.
History
Pai Gow Poker was invented in 1985 by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell card club in southern California. However, his is a name few people recognize. While other have made millions inventing casino games, Sam received some bad legal advice that card games were not patentable, and never filed one for his game. When his game was a success at his own casino there was nothing to prevent competing casinos from offering the game as well, and they didn't have to pay Sam a dime.
Source: Casino Boss Can't Cash In on Game He Developed — Los Angeles Times, Nov. 3, 2002.
The Rules
- A single 53-card deck is used, consisting of the usual 52 cards, plus one joker.
- The joker is semi-wild. It may be used as an ace, or to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, or royal flush. After the player makes a bet, the dealer will deal the player and himself seven cards each.
- Standard poker ranking rules are followed with one strange exception — the A2345 straight (known as 'the wheel') is considered the second highest straight. Some casinos have dropped this ridiculous rule, but most still cling to it.
- The player will separate his seven cards into a five-card high hand, and two-card low hand. The high hand must be of higher poker value than the low hand.
- The five-card hand is ranked according to conventional poker rules. The only poker hand in the two-card hand is a pair or no pair, after which the individual cards determine the value.
- After the player has set his hand, the dealer will turn over his cards and divide his hand in the same manner, according to specified rules known as the 'house way.'
- The two high hands will be compared, and the two low hands, the hand with the higher poker value winnings. If the event of a tie, for example both two-card hands are ace/king, then the tie has go to the 'banker.'
- If the player wins both comparisons, then the player will win even money on his bet, less a 5% commission. If the player wins one and loses one, then the bet shall push. If the player loses or ties both, then the player shall lose his wager.
- 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.
- The player may always decline to bank (which usually happens), in which case the option will revert to the next player, or dealer.
Strategy
I'm very proud to present my pai gow strategy page. It contains simple, intermediate, and advanced strategies for both playing as the banker, against the banker, and combined. This page took months for my assistant JB to create so I hope you'll have a look.
For your convenience, I also have my one-page simple pai gow poker strategy (PDF).
House Edge
The house advantage in Pai Gow Poker depends on partially on your skill setting hands but more on how much of the action you bank. I plan to publish some pai gow poker strategy in January, 2014. Until then, the following tables show the probability of each possible outcome and the expected value four ways — whether using the house way or optimal strategy and whether banking or the dealer is banking.
House way Strategy — Dealer Banker
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 0.95 | 2,402,491,783,820,756 | 0.291195 | 0.276635 |
| Push | 0 | 3,341,087,256,920,524 | 0.404958 | 0.000000 |
| Loss | -1 | 2,506,879,990,473,120 | 0.303847 | -0.303847 |
| Total | 8,250,459,031,214,390 | 1.000000 | -0.027212 | |
House Way Strategy — Player Banker
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 0.95 | 2,506,879,990,473,120 | 0.303847 | 0.288655 |
| Push | 0 | 3,341,087,256,920,524 | 0.404958 | 0.000000 |
| Loss | -1 | 2,402,491,783,820,756 | 0.291195 | -0.291195 |
| Total | 8,250,459,031,214,390 | 1.000000 | -0.002540 | |
Optimal Strategy — Dealer Banker
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 0.95 | 2,413,147,766,131,848 | 0.292486 | 0.277862 |
| Push | 0 | 3,337,551,044,510,696 | 0.404529 | 0.000000 |
| Loss | -1 | 2,499,760,220,571,856 | 0.302984 | -0.302984 |
| Total | 8,250,459,031,214,400 | 1.000000 | -0.025122 | |
Optimal Strategy — Player Banker
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 0.95 | 2,521,011,760,499,300 | 0.305560 | 0.290282 |
| Push | 0 | 3,330,840,908,447,708 | 0.403716 | 0.000000 |
| Loss | -1 | 2,398,606,362,267,392 | 0.290724 | -0.290724 |
| Total | 8,250,459,031,214,390 | 1.000000 | -0.000442 | |
The following table summarizes the expected value under all four scenarios. The 'difference' row and column show that banking, compare to not banking, increases expected value by 2.47%. The difference between following the house way and the theoretical optimal strategy, which I'm quite sure nobody knows, is 0.21%.
Summary
| Banker | House Way | Optimal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | -0.002540 | -0.000442 | 0.002098 |
| Dealer | -0.027212 | -0.025122 | 0.002090 |
| Difference | 0.024672 | 0.024680 |
Commission Free Pai Gow Poker
Often in Washington State the casino will not charge the 5% commission on banker wins. They make a profit on the banker's advantage and side bets only. With no commission, the banker has a 1.30% advantage, and all others playing against the banker a 1.30% disadvantage.
Banking Against Yourself
Sometimes, when a player invokes his right to bank, the other players will want a shot at whatever the side bet is, but dislike betting against another player on the primary wager. Another reason this might be done is to 'change the luck' at the table. In this case, non-banking players may make a deal with the banking player that if one beats the other, the winner will refund the loser, less the 5% commission. It is essentially banking against yourself through a gentleman's agreement with the banker. The dealer will have nothing to do with it. In some casinos, they will overtly not allow it, although it may be hard to prevent, especially if the deal is made in a foreign language the dealer doesn't know. I mention this as a warning that you may be asked to do this, if you choose to bank. How you respond is up to you, but I will say it may cause some ill-will at the table if you say 'no.'
There is a discussion of this in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.
The House Way
The house way is how the dealer arranges their own hand. It can vary from place to place the differences are marginal and happen infrequently. The house way is available for the following casinos:
- Great Britain (1124K PDF; see page 80)
- Silver Dollar (Washington)
- IGW (Software for Arrow's Edge Internet casinos)
Pai Gow Poker Probabilities
The following table shows the probability of forming any specified poker hand. These probabilities consider all seven cards and without regard to how the player may play the hand.
Probabilities in Pai Gow Poker
| Hand | Combinations | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Five Aces | 1,128 | 0.00000732 |
| Straight/Royal Flush | 210,964 | 0.00136862 |
| Four of a Kind | 307,472 | 0.00199472 |
| Full House | 4,188,528 | 0.02717299 |
| Flush | 6,172,088 | 0.04004129 |
| Straight | 11,236,028 | 0.07289350 |
| Three of a Kind | 7,470,676 | 0.04846585 |
| Two Pair | 35,553,816 | 0.23065464 |
| One Pair | 64,221,960 | 0.41663862 |
| All Other | 24,780,420 | 0.16076246 |
| Total | 154,143,080 | 1 |
Note: The number of combinations for a Royal Flush is 26,132; 21,620 wild and 4,512 natural.
Internal Links
- pai gow strategy page.
- pai gow poker simple strategy (PDF).
- Ask the Wizard questions about Pai Gow Poker.
- EZ Pai Gow Poker.
- Commission Free Pai Gow Poker.
- Dealer Probabilities: Shows the probability the dealer will form any given hand or less. Useful for making accurate strategy decisions.
- When to split Two Pair: My advice on when to split two pair.
- Side Bets: Analysis of various side bets such as Fortune, Jackpot, and Emperor's Challenge.
- No Push Pai Gow Poker: My analysis of this Pai Gow Poker variant.
- Pai Gow Mania: My analysis.
- Play Pai Gow Poker. Play my Pai Gow Poker game.
- Face Up Pai Gow Poker — Variant where the dealer's cards are dealt face up.
External Links
German translation of this page.
| 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 |
| Related games | |
| 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 7 cards (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]
Free Pai Gow Poker Games
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 — 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 trips or better. This is one of the most popular variations. Similar to Fortune Pai Gow is Emperors Challenge, which also allows a side bet on a 7 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. The hand that wins 100% of the jackpot is a combined seven card straight flush.[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]
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 3 hands would be too slow, but a simplified 2 hand version with only 7 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]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Pai Gow Poker Side Bets
- ^ abRichard 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.
- ^ abWong, 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.