To make a long story short, no casino house way I have ever seen, in either pai gow poker or pai gow tiles, clearly explains how to play every possible hand. They are full of contradicting rules. Until somebody cares to do anything about it, you'll have to go by the interpretation of whoever is working the floor. Pai Gow Poker House Way, casino wien damentag, gambling share prices, poker ferari. Live Roulette Theme Park: Tickets of Fortune. NETELLER Safe and Secure Banking. Hot Spot 777 Everi RGS Slots. Best Guide for Casino Players! Aug 21, 2019 The House Way for Pai Gow Poker at the Trump Plaza Introduction The 'front' refers to the two card hand and the 'back' refers to the fivecard hand.
This page is an introduction to how to play Pai Gow Poker, and it’s also a beginner’s tutorial for Pai Gow Poker strategy. I’ll write additional articles about Pai Gow Poker in the future which will go into more detail about the game and its strategies.
Pai Gow Poker is a poker-based game based on an ancient Chinese domino game called pai gow. The two games have some superficial similarities, but make no mistake, they ARE different games.
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How to Play Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow Poker is not a true poker game. Like most casino games, in pai gow poker, you’re playing against the dealer, not against the other players. In a true poker game, you’re not playing against the dealer at all, you’re playing against the other players.
Pai Gow Poker is always played with a 53 card deck–a standard deck of cards with the inclusion of a joker as a wild card. The goal is to beat the dealer by putting together a better hand.
In a game of Pai Gow Poker, everyone is dealt seven cards. Each player then makes two poker hands out these seven cards–a five card hand and a two card hand.
The poker hand rankings that are used in Pai Gow Poker are the standard poker hand rankings explained on this site’s poker strategy page, with one exception–a straight of ace to five is considered the 2nd highest straight possible. (That straight is called a “wheel.”)
The dealer also arranges her hand into a five card hand and a two card hand, but she doesn’t use her judgment when arranging her hands. She uses a set of prescribed rules called “the house way.” (See the similarities to blackjack?)
The player’s goal is to win BOTH hands, in which case she wins even money less a 5% commission.
If the player wins one hand but loses the other, the hand is considered a push, and her bet is returned.
One rule that all Pai Gow Poker players must follow is that when they arrange their hands, they’re forbidden from arranging their two card hand in a way that would make it a better hand than their five card hand. A player who arranges her hands in this way automatically loses; this is considered a “foul.” It’s not cheating, even though it breaks a rule–it’s just a dumb way to lose your money playing Pai Gow Poker.
Pai Gow Poker Rules
Another quirk of Pai Gow Poker is that the player has the option of being the banker. If the player opts to be the banker, she needs enough of a bankroll to cover the bets at the table, and she also has to arrange her hands according to the “house way.” But a player can’t opt to bank every hand; the option rotates around the table. Most players don’t choose to be the banker at all anymore.
Pai Gow Poker House Edge
According to the Wizard of Odds, the house edge for a player who knows how to arrange her cards correctly in a game of Pai Gow Poker is 2.73%. The house edge for the banker is only 0.20%, so it’s a good idea to be the banker when you have the option. If you play the game long enough, and you choose to be the banker every time you get the chance, the overall house edge for the game is only 1.46%, making Pai Gow Poker a pretty good casino game, percentage-wise.
How to Arrange Your Hands in Pai Gow Poker
If you want to get the detailed specifics for the correct Pai Gow Poker strategy, find a copy of Stanford Wong’s book Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker. He goes into a lot of detail about the math of each situation and how to make the right decisions.
Another option is to visit Michael Shackleford’s site and just copy the “house way” even when you’re the player. You can find that link, labeled “Wizard of Odds”, in the paragraph before last.
But my preferred approach to Pai Gow Poker strategy is to apply a little bit of thought to each hand. This isn’t the mathematically correct approach every time, but I figure that even if I use perfect strategy, I’m still playing a negative expectation game, so why not?
According to Andrew Brisman, author of American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways, the best you can hope to achieve by playing perfectly at Pai Gow Poker is to shave 0.3% off the house edge. I’m not willing to study hard to gain 0.3% on a game that’s still a negative expectation game, so I’ll just relate the simple strategy for how to arrange your hands in Pai Gow Poker that Brisman shares in his book, and it boils down to a single sentence.
Arrange your hand so that you have the highest possible two card hand possible while still not having a two card hand that’s better than your five card hand.
This makes a lot of sense if you think about it. It doesn’t do you any good to have a full house for your five card hand if your two card hand is going to lose, because you won’t win any money. You’re better off with a three of a kind in your five card hand and a pair in your two card hand, because then you’ve at least got a chance of winning some money.
You shouldn’t arrange your cards in such a way as to almost guarantee a push, in other words.
Like most casino games, there are more nuances and details I could share about Pai Gow Poker, but this is meant to be an introduction to the game and its strategies, so I’ll leave the other details for future articles on the subject.
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Games at MGM Grand
There are more than 2,500 machines for gaming as well as 139 poker and table games including Pai Gow.
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MGM Grand House Way for Pai Gow Poker
The following is the house way for the MGM Grand as mentioned by Wizard of Odds and taken from a document on the procedures of the game, dated 2002.
NO PAIR: Use the highest card in the high hand, then use the second and third highest as the low hand.
ONE PAIR: Always use the pair as the high hand and use the highest ranking cards for the low hand.
TWO PAIRS: Pairs will be broken into three groups (when splitting, always play the lowest pair in the front hand).
- 2’s thru 6’s — Low Pair
- 7’s thru 10’s — Medium Pair
- Jacks thru Aces — High Pair
Play the two pair as follows:
- NEVER SPLIT ANY TWO LOW PAIRS (6 OR UNDER).
- LOW PAIR — MEDIUM PAIR: Split unless holding an Ace, then play two pair in high hand.
- LOW PAIR — HIGH PAIR: Split unless holding an Ace, then play two pair in high hand.
- MEDIUM PAIR — MEDIUM PAIR: Split unless holding an Ace, then play two pair in high hand.
- MEDIUM PAIR — HIGH PAIR: Always split.
- HIGH PAIR — HIGH PAIR: Always split.
- PAIR OF ACES AND ANY OTHER PAIR: Always split.
THREE PAIRS: Always play the highest pair for the low hand.
THREE-OF-A-KIND: Always keep, unless Aces, then play one of the Aces for the low hand.
(TWO) THREE-OF-A-KIND: Play Pair of the highest Three-of-a-Kind for the low hand.
ALL STRAIGHTS, FLUSHES, STRAIGHT FLUSHES AND ROYAL FLUSHES
WITH NO PAIR: When given a choice to play either a straight, flush, straight flush or royal flush, play the category which will allow the highest two cards to be played on the low hand.
WITH ONE PAIR: Play pair in front hand if a straight, flush, straight flush or royal flush can be preserved in high hand. With Ace or Joker and pair of 10’s, Jacks, Queens or Kings — play Ace or Joker in front hand and pair in high hand, unless a straight or flush can be maintained with an Ace in the low hand.
Bally’s Atlantic City House Way - Wizard Of Odds
WITH TWO PAIR: Use two pair rule. (With two low pair, play straight or flush unless you can play two low pair in the high hand with at least an Ace in the low hand. )
WITH THREE PAIR: Use three pair rule.
WITH THREE-OF-A-KIND: Play pair in front hand.
Pai Gow Poker Free
WITH FULL HOUSE: Use full house rule. Example: (A Heart, Joker, J Heart, J Spade, J Club, K Heart, 2 Heart, play: Ace, Joker/J, J, J, K, 2)
- Three-of-a-Kind and pair: Always split and play pair in front hand. Exception: When the hand contains a pair of 2’s, an Ace, King and Three-Of-A-Kind, you will play A, K as low hand and the pair of 2’s and three-of-a-kind (full house) in the high hand.
- Three-of-a-Kind and two pair: Play highest of the pairs in front hand.
- Three-of-a-Kind and Three-of-a-Kind: Play highest of Three-Of-A-Kind as a pair in front hand.
FOUR-OF-A-KIND
- 2’s thru 6’s: Never split, play in high hand.
- 7’s thru 10’s: Split unless an Ace can be played in the front hand, then keep four in high hand.
- Face Cards and Aces: Always split.
FOUR-OF-A-KIND WITH A PAIR (OR THREE-OF-A-KIND)
- Always play Four-of-a- Kind in the high hand. (The only exception will be four Aces which will always be split.)
- Four Aces and a pair: split four Aces, except if you have a pair of Kings and four Aces in back.
FIVE ACES: Always split and play two Aces in front hand. The only exception will be if you also have a pair of Kings in front and five Aces in back.
Points to note:
Pai Gow Poker House Way
- The bank cannot set an automatic loser!
- The “A-2-3-4-5” is the second highest straight.
- The Joker will be used as an Ace or may be used to fill a straight, flush, straight flush or a royal flush.
When the Joker is used to fill a Flush, the Joker will be used as the highest value card not already held in the hand. Example: Ace, Joker, King, 7, 5 will be played as Ace, King (Joker=”Queen”) 7, 5 in the flush.