PAI GOW HISTORY
This variation of poker, called pai gow poker, has its roots in the ancient Chinese game, Pai Gow. However, it has merged with American Poker to evolve into the modern game of pai gow poker. Variations of pai gow poker started appearing around the mid 1800's, but started getting popular in 1986 in the card rooms of California. By 1987, pai gow poker was in the casinos of Las Vegas. In the following years, Atlantic City also accepted pai gow poker into it's casinos. Although it is a simple game, pai gow poker offers many strategic options. This gives you the option to play conservatively and maximize your playing time for little money, or go for the quick win.
The game pai gow poker is played with a 53-card deck consisting of a standard 52-card deck with 1 wild card. A blackjack-sized table is used in pai gow poker, with room for six players to play at once. The object of pai gow poker 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 original game of pai gow poker, which uses a unique set of dominos, is symbolic, enigmatic, and difficult to learn. While, pai gow poker, on the other hand, uses a regular deck of cards and is based on standard poker hands. It is comparatively easy to learn and play, our casinos wouldn't have it any other way.
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PAI GOW RULES
The game of pai gow poker is a variation of the Chinese domino game pai gow. A 53 card deck is used when playing pai gow poker, including a joker. pai gow poker is one on one, the player(s) against the banker, each competing to make the best possible hands. Due to a rather slow pace and a lot of ties pai gow poker is less intense than most casino games and a modest buy in can usually last a long time. This page will discuss the rules and strategy for pai gow poker as found in casinos as opposed to card clubs. The game of pai gow poker is legal in the card clubs of southern California but the rules are somewhat different, often in the direction of being to the pai gow poker player's advantage.
Play begins in pai gow poker by making a wager. Next everyone receives seven cards. A roll of the dice or a randomly generated number determines which player gets the first set of cards. The pai gow poker players then each arrange their seven cards into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand is ranked as in poker, with the exception that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight. The two-card hand will either be a pair or two individual cards. The highest two-card hand is a pair of aces and the lowest is a 2-3.
After all the pai gow poker players have arranged their hands the banker arranges theirs according to a set of fixed rules known as the pai gow poker "house way." Then the pai gow poker player's five-card hand is compared to the dealer's five-card hand. Likewise the pai gow poker player's two-card hand is compared to the dealer's two-card hand. The highest hand wins. In the event of an exact match between hands, called a copy, the tie goes to the banker. If the pai gow poker player beats the dealer with both hands the player wins even money, less a 5% commission. If the pai gow poker player wins one and loses one the bet is a push. If the pai gow poker player loses both the player loses the entire wager.
When setting the hands the two-card hand may not be higher then the five-card hand in pai gow poker. If it is then both hands are deemed "foul" and both lose. The joker can only be used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, otherwise it is treated as an ace. At some places if there is an empty seat the dealer will also deal a "dragon" hand in pai gow poker. Another player may assume the pai gow poker dragon hand if they wish, essentially playing two positions rather than one. The player may have to use the pai gow poker house way in setting the dragon hand.
In pai gow poker any player may elect to be the banker in turn. If a player banks the 5% commission is charged on the net win. When a player is the banker the dealer will still play, betting an amount equal to the last bet the player made when the dealer was banking. It is strongly to the advantage of the player to be the banker as much as possible in pai gow poker because the dealer wins on copies and the 5% commission is charged after losses are set against winnings.
The opportunity to bank in pai gow poker usually rotates from person to person, including the house, but sometimes will zigzag between the players and the dealer. If the player wants to bank they must have enough money on the table to pay off all winning bets of the other players and dealer. The player must also have played a previous hand against the pai gow poker house banker to bank. Some casinos will allow the player to co-bank with the house. If this option is elected the casino will assume half the financial responsibility of the outcome. The player must set their hand according to the pai gow poker house way if co-banking.
PAI GOW STRATEGY
The oddsWe could quote the straight probabilities of drawing different back and front hands, but that's not particularly meaningful. Since Pai Gow is a game of skill the odds are difficult to pin down. Suffice it to say that if you follow an optimal playing strategy you're going to win about 3-in-10 hands, lose about the same, and push about 4-in-10.
Assuming an optimum play strategy, the largest play advantage is to the dealer/banker because copies go to them. In fact, noted Pai Gow expert Stanford Wong has been quoted as saying that being dealer/banker as often as possible has the most significant impact on a winning strategy. The appeal of multi-player games is clear.
StrategyNow the complexity of Pai Gow really shows. For the sake of discussion, lets call any pair of 2's through 6's a "low pair", 7's through J's a "medium pair", and Q's through A's a "high pair". To avoid confusion we'll call the two-card hand the "front" hand and the five-card the "back" hand.
No Pair:- Back hand: the highest card; Front hand: the next two highest cards.
One pair:- Back: the pair; Front: next two highest cards.
Two Pair:- Pair of A's and any other Pair: Back: high pair; Front: other pair.
- Two High Pair: Back: best pair; Front: other pair.
- High Pair and Medium Pair: Back: high pair; Front: medium pair.
- High Pair and Low Pair with A or K: Back: both pair; Front: A or K.
- High Pair and Low pair without A or K: Back: highest pair; Front: low pair.
- Two Medium Pair with A or K: Back: both pair; Front: A or K.
- Two Medium Pair without A or K: Back: best pair; Front: other pair.
- Medium Pair and Low Pair with A or K: Back: both pair; Front: A or K.
- Medium Pair and Low Pair without A or K: Back: medium pair; Front: low pair.
- Two Low Pair with A or K: Back: both pair; Front: A or K.
- Two Low Pair without A or K: Back: best pair; Front other pair.
Three Pair:- Back: second and third highest pair; Front: highest pair.
Three of a Kind:- Three A's: Back: pair of A's; Front: A and next highest card.
- All others: Back: three of a kind; Front: two highest remaining cards.
Three of a Kind twice:- Back: lower three of a kind; Front: highest pair.
Full House:- With second Three of a kind: play the highest pair to Front hand.
- With second Pair: Back: full house with low pair; Front: highest pair.
- Pair is 2's with A or K: Back: full house; Front: A or K.
- All others: Back: three of a kind; Front: the pair.
Straights, Flushes, Straight Flushes and Royal Flush:- With no pair: Back: lowest full hand; Front: two highest cards.
- With one or two Pair: Back: lowest full hand; Front: two highest cards, pair or otherwise.
- With Three of a Kind: Back: full hand; Front: pair.
- With Full House: Back: three of a kind; Front: pair.
- With Three of a Kind twice: Back: lower three; Front: highest two.
Four of a Kind:- With Three of a Kind: Back: four of a kind; Front: pair from the tree of a kind.
- With a Pair: Back: four of a kind; Front: pair.
- Four A's: Back: pair of A's; Front: pair of A's.
- J's through K's with an A: Back: four of a kind; Front: the A.
- J's through K's without an A: Back: one pair from the four; Front: the other pair.
- 7's through 10's with A or K: Back: four of a kind; Front: A or K.
- 7's through 10's without A or K: Back: one pair from the four; front: the other pair.
- 2's through 6's: Back: four of a kind; front: highest remaining two.
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