Of all the dozens of versions of poker that you can play at the casino or online, Pai Gow is one of the most unique and interesting.
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck of cards, but with one crucial addition: a joker is inserted into the deck to add a little spice to the action – more on how that can be used later.
You can find Pai Gow in many casinos around the world – a number of Vegas game-houses offer this poker variant, alongside those in Asia where the game originates, while it has enjoyed increasing popularity online too.
So it’s not difficult to find a seat at a Pai Gow table, but how do you actually play the game?
Introduction to Pai Gow Poker
As with any different version of poker, the object for each player is to beat the banker – whether the banker is the dealer or another player at the table. The difference with Pai Gow is that there’s two hands with which you can do it.
All players are dealt seven cards each, from which they must make a five-card ‘high’ hand – i.e. the best poker hand available, plus a two-card ‘low’ hand that acts as a back-up.
To win at Pai Gow, you must beat the banker’s two hands with your own. If you lose both hands, you lose your stake. If you win one hand but lose the other, your stake is returned as a push – depending on which operator you play Pai Gow with, you may have to pay a commission when the wins are split.
One way in which the house has an edge in Pai Gow is that all tied hands are judged as a win for the banker. So, if your low hand is K-Q and the banker has the same, they are handed the win.
Rules of Pai Gow Poker
The hand rankings in Pai Gow are the same as any other form of poker, with a royal flush trumping all other straights, flushes, full houses and the like.
Of course, when it comes to compiling your low two-card hand, there’s only two possible combinations that you can use: a pair and a high card. Remember, your high hand must outrank your low – you can’t just have a pair of aces in your two-card hand and then absolutely nothing in your five-card combo.
We’ve mentioned the presence of the joker card already. You won’t be surprised to learn that this acts as a ‘wild’ card which you can use to complete straights or flushes in your high hand. Otherwise, the joker can only be used as an ace.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to make the minimum requirement of a pair for your high hand – in this case, your hand is called ‘pai gow’ and your cards are scratched.
Some versions of Pai Gow allow you to place side bets, which revolve around your hand being of a sufficient quality – three-of-a-kind, full house etc. Some variants even allow you to place a side bet on your hand being pai gow or a ‘non hand’. Although these side bets aren’t always a value proposition, the possibility of landing an 8,000/1 payout for a royal flush will appeal to many players.
The payouts for the standard hands are simple enough to follow: if you win both the high and low hands, you will be paid out at odds of 1/1 on your stake – albeit, some casinos will take a 5% commission from your winnings when you prevail.
Pai Gow Poker Strategy
One of the interesting things about Pai Gow is that you can set your two hands exactly as you want to – remembering that both of your hands have to beat the banker’s in order for you to take the pot.
There’s no betting rounds as such – you simply place your stake on the table prior to the cards being dealt, and then you either win, lose or tie as explained above.
So how do you set your hands in Pai Gow? The first thing to remember is that you need strength in both your high and low hand. Ideally, your low hand will be a pair – that’s a excellent way to beat the banker – but you mustn’t compromise your high hand in the process.
Of course, if you have a set of cards where you can play a strong high hand but a rubbish low hand OR two medium-strength hands, you have to decide whether you want to go all-out for the win, or play a strong high hand and simply take the push and get your stake back.
For example, imagine you have a four-of-a-kind. Do you place all four cards in your high hand or split them across both hands? The temptation would be to play them all in your high hand, but splitting high value cards into a pair for each of your hands could increase your chances of winning the pot. Full houses can be played as a three-of-a-kind (high) and a pair (low) too.
Similarly, you’d play a three-of-a-kind in full in your high hand unless it’s triple aces or kings, in which case you might play a pair in your high hand and hold the other back as your high card in your kicker hand.
Remember, playing your two hands in a way that maximises the value of both is key to Pai Gow poker.
If you are unsure of the best way to play your cards, you can select the ‘house way’ option – this basically shows you the percentage play of how to build your hands. It doesn’t guarantee you will win, but it will optimise your hands accordingly.
Interestingly, the banker’s hand is also played to the ‘house way’, which means that they must play their cards in a pre-determined fashion – they can’t switch things up to counter against your two hands.