How to Play Pai Gow Poker
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Pai Gow Poker Basics
The game of Pai Gow Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 cards plus one joker. Each player is dealt a seven-card hand and must make a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand. The object of the game for the player is for each of his hands to beat the banker's corresponding hands.
Pai Gow Poker is a slower-paced game than games such as blackjack or craps, and the tables have more of a social atmosphere than many other games. Additionally, players play only against the house, and the actions of one player do not affect the outcome of the other players' hands in any way.
Game Play and Betting
A hand begins with the shaking and rolling of three dice. The dice are totaled, and the deal begins with the player seated in the seat number shown on the dice, counting to the dealer's right. Most casinos have eliminated the dice and instead have a counter that appears on the table indicating which seat to deal first.
Each player places a bet, which cannot be raised during play, and receives seven cards. There are six playing positions plus a dealer; all hands are dealt even if a playing position is empty. There will then be four cards left over which are not used in the hand.
The players divide their cards into a five-card "high" hand and a two-card "low" hand. Cards can be divided in any way by the player, but the high hand must be better than the low hand. Standard poker rules apply when determining the rank of hands, although a straight consisting of A-2-3-4-5 is considered to be the second-highest straight. The best possible two-card hand is a pair; there are no straights or flushes. The lone joker in the deck may be used only as an ace or as part of a straight or flush (i.e., it cannot be used to make a pair of 10s, for example, into three 10s).
The outcome of the game is determined by comparing the banker's two-card hand with the player's two-card hand, and the banker's five-card hand with the player's five-card hand. If the banker wins both hands, the banker wins the bet; if the player wins both hands, the player wins the bet. If the hands are split, the bet is a push. In case of a tie within the high or low hand (i.e., both have a pair of 4's in the low hand), the banker wins the tie.
Quick math reveals that roughly half of the hands will push, with the banker winning either the high or low hand and the player winning the other. The player will win both hands roughly 25% of the time, while the bank will win both hands roughly 25% of the time. The bank has a slightly higher chance of winning due to having the advantage on ties.
In casinos, the house takes a 5% commission on all winning bets. The opportunity to bank is available to all players, but may be refused; if a player declines to bank, the house dealer is the bank. If a player wishes to bank, he must back all bets placed by the other players at the table, and may bet his own hand against the dealer's hand in an amount no larger than his previous bet.
Pai Gow Poker Strategy
While the rules of the game are simple if one is familiar with poker, the game's strategy takes some thought and practice. Since the high and low hand have equal weight, it is important that both be strong hands. This often means that very strong hands will be broken up to create a strong low hand. For example, a full house is often best played as three-of-a-kind in the high hand and a pair in the low hand; this is because a pair is a much stronger low hand than any single card, while a full house in the high hand is only marginally better than three-of-a-kind. Similarly, two pairs are usually split, with the high pair assigned to the high hand. An ace-king in the low hand is considered to be a very good hand, and can be beaten only by a pair. Since most poker players are used to playing with five card hands, this can take some getting used to.
The strategy of Pai Gow takes practice, but most principles are common sense. Each casino has a "house way" that hands must be set, and in most cases the dealer will set your hand the house way if you ask. An excellent way to learn good strategy is to set your hand, then ask the dealer how the house would have played the hand.
Some basic strategies for Pai Gow Poker:
- No pairs, straights, or flushes - When a player has no pairs and no straights or flushes, he has "Pai Gow," and can only hope that the banker also has a poor hand. In this case the strategy is to play the highest card as the high hand and the second and third highest cards as the two-card hand. In some cases, where the two card hand has a face card, this is enough to squeeze out a push.
- Single pair - When you have only a single pair, always set your low hand to be the two highest cards that are not part of the pairing. Example - You have been dealt a 3-5-7-7-9-J-K of varying suits. You should set your high hand to be 7-7-9-5-3 and your low hand to be K-J.
- Pairs - The simple rule of thumb is, if you have two pairs and no single ace or king, split the pairs. If you have a single ace, keep the pairs together if both are 9 or less, otherwise split them. If you have two pairs and a king, keep them together unless one pair is 9 or less and the other is 6 or less. If you have three pairs, always play the highest pair as the low hand and the two remaining pairs as the high hand.
- Three-of-a-kind - If you have three aces, play the hand as a pair of aces in the high hand and an ace in the low hand.
- Straights and flushes - If you have a straight or flush with a pair, always play the straight or flush in the five-card hand and the pair in the low hand. If you have no pair, play the two highest cards that are not part of the straight or flush as the low hand, and the straight or flush as the high hand. Keep in mind, if your straight or flush consists of 6 or 7 cards, play the highest two cards in the low hand. For example, a flush with 3-5-6-7-10-Q-K should be played as K-Q in the low hand and the flush in the high hand. A straight of 6-7-8-9-10-J with an ace should be played as A-J in the low hand, and 6-7-8-9-10 in the high hand.
- Full house - If you have a full house with no additional pair, play it as three-of-a-kind and a pair. The exception to this is if the pair is 2's and you have an ace. In that case, play the full house and the ace. If you have a full house with an extra pair, play the higher pair as the low hand.
- Four-of-a-kind - If you have four jacks or higher, split them into two pairs and play a pair as the low hand. The exception to this is if you have four face cards and an ace; in that case, play the ace as the low hand and the four as the high hand. If you have four of 7 through 10 with an ace or king, play the ace or king as the low hand and keep the four together. If you have four of 2 through 6, always keep the four together.
You can adjust your strategy to meet your own feeling for the game. In many cases, there is no right or wrong answer that can be determined in advance. If you play at two different casinos, you are likely to find two different sets of house rules for setting the casino's hand.
Pai Gow Poker is a great game that is played at a leisurely pace. Its simple rules allow anyone to play, and your enjoyment and success at the game will increase the more you practice.