Basic Pai Gow Poker Strategy

Your objective is to set your 5-card high hand so that it is higher in poker rank then your 2-card low hand. You also want to try to have the highest poker rank possible for bothHenry Tamburin is the editor and publisher of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter and author of the best-selling Blackjack: Take the Money & Run. He is also the lead Instructor for the Golden Touch Blackjack course, a feature writer for Casino Player magazine (and 6 other publications); an owner of a casino gambling publishing company (www.rsucasinobooks.com) and the host of www.smartgaming.com. For a free three month subscription to the Henry's Blackjack Insider Newsletter with full membership privileges go to www.bjinsider.com/free. Henry's website is www.smartgaming.com hands so that hopefully both of your hands will beat both of the banker hands.

The Table below contains a basic playing strategy for pai gow poker to improve your chances of winning. The first column lists the type of 7-card hand. The second and third columns summarize how the 7-card hand should be set to form the 5-card and 2-card high hands respectively (note: A = ace).

Banking

Since the banker has the natural advantage it is advantageous to be the banker as much as possible. However, when you are the banker you must have a sufficient bankroll to bank all the bets made by your fellow players.

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Normally, the casino dealer will open the game as the banker. In subsequent hands, players can request to be the banker. A small plastic marker (called a chung)is placed in front of the banker’s betting area to designate that this player is the banker.

The casino banking rules vary greatly. Some casinos allow the same player to be the banker on every other hand or a maximum of 2 consecutive hands. Others will allow a player to bank only once out of every 8 or the extreme 14th hand.

Because the rules for banking differ it’s important that you shop around. Your goal is to bank as many hands as the casino will allow because that is the only way you can get the edge.

Just because you bank and have the edge doesn’t mean you won’t take your lumps. A few losses to players can put a severe dent in your bankroll. Therefore, it’s important you have enough bankroll to withstand a couple of losing hands.

Bottom Line

When the casino dealer is the banker, the casino edge in pai gow poker is about 2.8%. By skillfully setting your hands you can reduce the casino’s edge to about 2.5%. By being the banker as much as possible and betting as small as possible when you are the player, it is possible to have a slight monetary edge playing pai gow poker (about 0.2%). A smart player, therefore, should bank as much as possible and learn how to correctly set the hands. That’s the secret to winning at pai gow poker.

7-Card Hand Dealt

2-Card Low Hand

5-Card High Hand

No pairs
highest ranked card
two highest ranked cards
Two Pair *
high ranked pair
highest ranked pair
Three-of-a-kind**
three-of-a-kind
2 remaining cards
in low hand
Full House
3-of-a-kind
2 highest ranked cards
Four 7’s through A’s ***
one pair
pair of aces
* If you have a single ace, keep the ace in the low hand and the two pair in the high hand.

** If you have three aces, keep one ace in the low hand and the other two aces in the high hand.

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*** If you have a single ace and four 7 through 10’s, keep the ace in the low hand and the four-of-a-kind in the high hand.

In China, pai gow is a popular gambling game played with Chinese dominoes. In 1985, Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club, created a poker game inspired by pai gow—he called it “pai gow poker.” It’s become a popular game in casinos throughout the United States.

Like blackjack, pai gow poker is a game of skill, where your decisions matter. It’s also a slow-paced game, and the probability of getting into a “push” situation (a tie) is relatively high. For someone with a small bankroll, pai gow poker can be one of the best deals in the casino.

But pai gow poker is also more complicated to play than many other casino card games. Playing well is another magnitude of difficulty. This post aims to provide everything you need to know to get started playing pai gow poker without making a fool of yourself.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

Pai gow poker is played with a standard 53-card deck of cards. (“53” is not a typo—it’s a 52-card deck with the addition of a joker.)

In most card games, jokers are “wild cards”—they can stand in for any card you need them to.

But in pai gow poker, jokers are only wild for certain situations. Here’s how you can use a joker in pai gow poker:

  • You can use it as an ace.
  • You can use it to complete a straight.
  • You can use it to complete a flush.
  • You can use it to complete a straight flush.

The game starts with the players making bets. Then the dealer and the players each get 7 cards.

As with most poker games, even house-banked games, the standard ranking of poker hands is used, with one exception:

In pai gow poker, an A2345 straight is the 2nd best straight you can have.

After you get your 7 cards, you must “set your hand.” This means you divided your hand into 2 hands—a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. You have a lot of freedom for setting the hand, but you must follow one restriction:

The 5-card hand must have a better poker hand ranking than the 2-card hand.

Of course, the 5-card hand is treated like a 5-card poker hand. The 2-card hand can only qualify for 2 poker hand rankings, though—a pair, or not a pair.

The dealer also sets his hand, but he must follow specific rules set by the casino. This is called “the house way.” It’s comparable to how a blackjack dealer must play his hand in a prescribed manner.

When you compare hands, you have the following possibilities:

  1. Both of the player’s hands beat both of the dealer’s hands.
  2. One of the player’s hands beats the dealer’s hand, but one of the dealer’s hands beats the player’s hand.
  3. Both of the dealer’s hands beat both of the player’s hands.

If both of the player’s hands beat the dealer’s hand, he wins even money less a 5% commission on his bet.

If both of the dealer’s hands beat the player’s hand, the player loses his bet.

But if one hand is a winner and the other is a loser, the bet is considered a “push.” This means the player gets to keep his bet, but he doesn’t get any winnings in addition to that.

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Also, ties go to the banker.

40% of the time, the outcome is a push, which is huge. At most pai gow poker tables, you’ll see 30 hands per hour. If 12 of them are ties, you’re only looking at 18 hands per hour with a win or loss.

Gow

This kind of thing matters a lot when you’re trying to track how much money per hour it costs to play a specific casino game. In blackjack, for example, you’re liable to see 100 hands per hour, but most of them won’t result in a push.

I like leisurely games where I don’t lose a lot of money at once. Pai gow poker fits the bill nicely.

Banking in Pai Gow Poker

In most casino games, the betting is pretty straightforward. You’re the player, and you bet against the dealer. In pai gow poker, though, you have the option to bet against the dealer and the other players. Only one player gets to be the banker on each hand, though—the opportunity rotates.

Here’s the thing about being the banker in pai gow poker, though—it requires (as you might expect) a large bankroll. Most people just decline the opportunity to be the banker.

If you do choose to play as the banker, you can set your hand any way you like. You’re not required to follow the house way.

Pai

Being able to play as the banker enables players to get a small edge, especially if you’re playing with other players who are beginners and aren’t good at the game. The strategy in pai gow poker stems from how you’re able to set your hands.

The House Edge in Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker Rules Strategy

The house edge is the long-term expected win for the casino expressed as a percentage. It’s a forecast and an estimate, but it only applies in the long run—over the course of thousands of hands. Still, it’s good information to have about a casino game.

Generally, the lower the house edge, the better the game is for the player. For example, the house edge in blackjack is usually around 1%, but that assumes the use of perfect basic strategy. This means that every time you place a $100 bet, the casino expects to win an average of $1.

The house edge in pai gow poker varies based on a couple of things. One of these is how good you are at setting your hand. The other is how often you can afford to play as the banker.

Generally, the house edge in pai gow poker is 2.7%, although it’s much lower when playing as the banker. This estimate assumes you’re just following the house way strategy. If you can play more optimally than that, you can whittle the house edge down by another 0.2%.

And if you’re playing as the banker and using optimal strategy, the house edge is even lower—around 0.3%. If you can find a table where the other players aren’t very good at setting hands, you might even be able to get a long-term advantage. This is an example of an advantage gambling technique.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy for Setting Your Hand

For most recreational gamblers, a strategy similar to the house way is sufficient. Getting any more optimal than that is more trouble than it’s worth for the tiny gain in expectation. Below I’ve outlined one common house way of setting hands.

To understand this guide to pai gow poker strategy, you should know which hand is your “front” hand and which hand is your “back” hand. Luckily, this isn’t complicated.

The front hand is your 2-card hand.

The back hand is your 5-card hand.

Here’s how to play with close to correct pai gow poker strategy:

First, if you have no pairs at all in your 7 cards, put the highest card in your front hand. Put the next 2 highest cards in your back hand.

If you have one pair, always put it in your back hand. Then put your 2 other highest cards in your back hand.

If you have 2 pairs, you’ll put one pair in your back hand and the other in your front hand. The higher ranked pair goes in your back hand, and the lower ranked pair goes in your front hand. But sometimes, you’ll want to keep both pairs in your back hand.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy Trainer

You’ll do this if you have a pair of 7s and no ace. You’ll also do this if you have a pair of jacks or better AND a pair of 6s or better along with an ace. And finally, you’ll do this if you have a pair of aces and any other pair.

If you get 3 pairs, put the highest-ranked pair in your front hand. The other 2, of course, go in your back hand.

If you have 3 of a kind, put all 3 of those cards in your back hand UNLESS you have 3 aces. In that case, you put an ace in your front hand and 2 aces in your back hand.

If you have a 3 of a kind AND a 2nd 3 of a kind, put the lower-ranked 3 of a kind in your back hand. Then split up the 2nd 3 of a kind so that you’ll have a pair in your front hand.

If you get a full house, split it up so that you have a pair in your front hand and 3 of a kind in your back hand.

Pai Gow Strategy Printable

If you get a straight, flush, or a straight flush, you should always keep those 5 cards together in your back hand.

If you have a 4 of a kind, how you play it depends on the ranks of the cards. If they’re 6 or lower, you’ll keep the 4 of a kind together in your back hand. If they’re 7, 8, 9, or 10, you should split them unless you have an ace, in which case you keep them together and put the ace in your front hand.

If you have a 4 of a kind consisting of face cards, split them unless you also have a pair of 10s or higher. And if you have 4 aces, split them unless you have a pair of 7s or higher.

If you get 5 aces, you should split them unless you have a pair of kings to put in your front hand.

That’s as close to an optimal strategy for pai gow poker as most players will ever need.

Besides that, you should always play as the banker if you can afford to, because of the much lower house edge. This isn’t an option when playing in an online casino, but it’s an option at most traditional brick and mortar casinos.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for affordable entertainment in the form of casino gambling, you’ll have a hard time finding a better game than pai gow poker. A house edge of 2.7% sounds high, but it’s really not bad at all when you consider that 40% of the hands you’ll play will be a push.

Optimal strategy for pai gow poker is more complicated than the house way, but if you just play by the house way, you’ll be doing better than most other players at the table. Consider using the house way strategy provided in this post next time you play.

Pai Gow Poker Basic Strategy

Finally, one of the biggest distinctions between pai gow poker and other casino games is the ability to play as the banker. You should take advantage of this as much as possible, but you’ll probably only be able to if you’re a high roller with a huge bankroll.

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