Pai Gow Poker in Online Casinos

With as many as 154,143,080 possible pai gow poker online combinations, there’s enough room for different strategies and tricks to utilize at your Pai Gow poker casino, but let’s first sum up how this game differs from classic poker:

• Pai gow poker is played with two hands, a high one and a low one.
• You can bet against the dealer and against other players, which is called ‘banking.’
• The game can end up in a tie.

Well, that’s it – the rest are the details, but, of course, there’s no other way to become a good pai gow player than by learning its rules through and through. Therefore, read on.

Pai Gow Poker History

The historical details are not that important, but we can’t help but treat you with an aperitif before the main course, especially given all the drama that fell upon the creator of this now popular game. As you already know, the historical roots of pai gow poker go back to the game of Pai Gow, a Chinese 7-tile, 2-suit game played by soldiers and the general public about a thousand years ago. But it was not until 1985 that the traditional Chinese games moved to the U.S. and were adjusted to the local ethos: a few alterations were made by Sam Torosian, who named a new game Pai Gow Poker and made it popular within the local casinos. Shortly after that – by the end of 1986, that is – pai gow poker spread to the rest of Los Angeles and, before long, the rest of the world.

And now to the drama part. Surprisingly enough, Sam Torosian didn’t patent his game because of a bad legal opinion claiming card games to be not patentable. He could have made millions out of his idea but earned nothing, allowing hundreds, if not thousands, of casinos worldwide to offer pai gow poker without paying royalties.

Pai Gow Poker Rules

The most common poker games at online casinos rarely include jokers, but pai gow poker always does. The game is played with a single 53-card deck equipped with a joker, which can either complete a flush/straight/straight flush/royal flush combo or – in all other cases – count as an Ace.

1. As the game starts, you make a bet, and the dealer issues you and himself seven cards. Once you’ve got your cards, you have to separate them into two hands, a low one of two cards and a high one of five cards. The low hand cannot be higher in value than the high hand; the rankings are the same as used in all poker games, except that some casinos might count the A2345 straight as the second-highest straight.
2. Once your cards are revealed, the skill part of the game starts. You have to separate your seven cards in the best possible way so that you can beat the dealer with both hands of yours. Once you’ve done that, the dealer does the same, and the hands are compared.
   • If you manage to win with both hands, you get a 2:1 payment.
   • If you win with one hand and lose with the other, it’s a push: you get your wager back.
   • If both hands are the same as the dealer’s – a tie, that is – the dealer/banker/house wins.

As an option, you can bet against other players, which is called ‘banking.’

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

So let’s first recap your free pai gow poker routine and then proceed to explain the peculiarities of the game that you might meet and therefore should be ready for:

1. Place your bet.
2. Receive seven cards face-up (meanwhile, the dealer’s cards are face-down).
3. Split your cards into a low and a high hand while respecting the rules.
4. After you’ve made a split, the dealer does the same.
5. The hands are compared, and whoever wins takes the bank, or it’s a push.

That’s it – playing at your Pai Gow casino is really simple. Nevertheless, there are nuances. First of all, try not to play at casinos that charge a fee for your winnings. A typical fee is 5%, which lowers your potential returns. Secondly, don’t expect your returns to be close to what is stated by the casino: an RTP of 95% does mean that you are supposed to win back 95% of the money wagered, but that only holds true for an infinitely long gaming session. Last but not least, be a banker as if that is possible: a house enjoys an extra edge of 1.27%.

How to Bet in Pai Gow Poker

While the betting routine itself is no different to other games – you just place the wager based on the betting limits at your table, your bankroll management, and your expectations of the game – there are two betting tricks that you can take advantage of to make money in an unusual way:

• Side bets. Side bets are wagers on certain events – for example, collecting a pair, three of a kind, and so on – that do not depend on the game’s main course. There are a lot of Pai Gow poker games (Pai Gow Manila, Emperor’s Challenge, Fortune Pai Gow, just to name a few) that allow you to make side bets. However, side bets are all about luck since you don’t make any manipulations with the cards.
• Banking. To ‘bank’ in Pai Gow Poker means to bet against other players, which makes just perfect sense if you feel like you’ve caught your lucky break. In this case, you will get a bigger payout than if betting against the dealer only.

Pai Gow Poker Strategies

Even if you’ve played a few casino card games like Pai Gow, you might get caught off guard by the inability to split your seven cards into two hands effectively. Indeed, that’s the most challenging part and a very peculiar experience with best pai gow poker online. But we do have some tips for you depending on what you’re dealt:

• No pair: move the highest card to the high hand (five-card hand) and move the second-highest and the third-highest cards in the low hand (two-card hand).
• One pair: move the pair to the high hand and move the two highest cards to the low hand.
• Two pairs: move the highest-rank pair to the high hand and the other pair to the low hand.
• Three-of-a-kind: move the three cards to the high hand and the two highest cards to the low hand.
• Two three-of-a-kind: move the highest three-of-a-kind to the high hand and split the other three-of-a-kind to move two cards to the low hand.
• Full house: move three-of-a-kind to the high hand and a pair to the low hand.
• Four-of-a-kind: keep 2 through 6 in the high hand; split 7 through 10 unless you have a joker or ace.

Chances-wise, most of the time you’re going to get one pair (41.6%), two pairs (23%), and no pairs (16%), so make sure to find your way to deal with those three combos in the first place. The combinations you are very unlikely to hit are Four of a Kind (0.19%), Straight and Royal Flush (0.13%), and Five Aces (only 0.0007%). Last but not least, don’t rush to split your bets. Take your time, and note that if you fail to split your cards according to the rules, your wager will be forfeited.