Pai Gow Poker: Learn How To Play In 5 Minutes; Bonus Tips Included

Pai Gow Poker is an awesome poker variation and is really fun to learn. Also, it is a game that is seen playing in a lot of casinos than online. In Pai Gow Poker, we aren’t trying to win against any other players. It is much more similar to a 3 card poker where you try to win against a dealer.

Pai Gow Poker also is known as the Double Hand Poker is a version of Pai Gow played with cards instead of Chinese dominoes, or Pai Gow. The objective of the game is to defeat the banker: The banker can be another player or usually a dealer. I’ll explain in detail how to win against the dealer and also some important tips to win in the long run. 

Things you need to play Pai Gow Poker

First, let us take a look at what things and how many people you need to play Pai Gow Poker.

1. You’ll need a deck of playing cards to play the game. Now, if you’re playing a lot of home poker games. then I would suggest you to use the premium cards to play poker.
2. You might need a Card shuffler to shuffle the cards. This might be optional if you’re good at shuffling cards or know how to shuffle the cards.
3. You’ll need poker chips to play the game. This acts as a game currency and to keep track of how much you have won from winning.
4. You will need a Poker Table to play Pai Gow Poker. Again this is up to you. You might play on any flat surface. But, it is preferred to play poker using a table. It feels more professional that way.
5. You’ll need a BANKER to play against. The banker might be another player or if you play in casinos, then the banker will be the dealer. You can play a maximum of six players at a time against the banker. All of them will be competing against the Banker. Not themselves.

These are some of the things you need to play Pai Gow Poker in-home or in office.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

As I mentioned earlier, Pai gow is played with the standard deck of poker. You play with the 52 cards along with one joker. Joker can be used to complete flush or a straight. If neither of the case applies then the joker acts as an Ace. The objective of the game is to defeat the banker. Here’s how you play Pai Gow Poker.

• The game can be played upto six player and a dealer.
• Each player and the dealer receives 7 cards face-down.
• The players have to make two sets of hands with these 7 cards. The two-sets of hands are as follows:
  • 2 Card Low Hand: The player has to form a hand with the 2 cards whose ranking is less than that of 5 card high-hand. For example, if the low hand consists of a pair of 5, then the high-hand must consist of a hand better than that of low hand. The hand rankings are of standard poker hand rules similar to Texas Hold’em Poker.
  • 5 Card High-Hand: The player has to form a hand using his remaining 5 cards whose hand rankings is greater than that of 2 card low hand.

Showdown Rules In Pai Gow Poker

Once you have made your 2 sets of hand, i.e, 2 card low-hand and 5 card high-hand, you have to reveal your cards to the dealer. It is important to note that you have to take care of hand rankings while making the 2 sets of hand. I.e, the low hand must always contain  cards that is ranked less than that of high-hand. If the hand rankings is not proper, then you end up losing the hand and the money you bet initially.

Once you set your hands, the dealer reveals them along with the banker’s hands. There are then 3 possible outcomes:

1. The player wins both hands and wins their bet. That is, they win the amount they initially bet along with the amount the dealer made.
2. The dealer wins both hands and the player loses their bet.
3. The player wins one hand and the dealer wins the other, in which case the hand is a push and no money exchanges hands (except the commission–more on this later). That is, the money you initially bet comes back to you and the dealer retains the amount he bet. So, in this case no one wins the amount.

There is one more possibility on showing off hands, i.e, if there is a tie of hands between you and the dealer, the dealer gets the amount you bet and you lose the round. For example, if one of your hand has a pair of Ace and the dealer has a pair of Ace’s too. Then in this case the dealer wins the round.

Betting and Side Betting Rules in Pai Gow Poker

Now you know how to play the game, lets get to the betting part. This is where you can make money if you win the round against dealer. In this section I’ll talk about the betting rules and the different side bets you can make.

• Before you receive the cards you have to bet a minimum amount which you can get back along with the dealers amount if you win the round.
• Along with these initial bet, you can make side bets which will add to the winnings of the player.
• These side bets neither add to nor detract from the bet for the hand itself. Instead, the player is betting extra on whether they get three-of-a-kind, a full house, four-of-a-kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. Of course, the higher the hand, the higher the bonus payout.
• The most popular side bets which we can make are as follows:
  1. Fortune Pai Gow—Allows players to make a side bet on trips or better
  2. Pai Gow Mania—Allows players to make two side bets
  3. Emperor’s Challenge—Allows players to make a side bet on a pai gow ( This is the hand where you don’t have any pairs or higher. That is, all 7 cards are random and winner is decided on the high card he has)
  4. Progressive Fortune Pai Gow—Allows players to place side bets with a combined seven-card straight flush winning the jackpot.

NOTE: Even though the side bet looks good, you have to take note that the odds of winning a side bet is very low. And most of time we end up losing money rather than winning. This is the reason it is best left as it is without betting. Side bet only if you’re feeling extremely lucky. 

Envy Betting In Pai Gow Poker

In some casinos you can Envy bet along with the side bets. Envy betting is wagering an amount that another player at the table will hit a premium hand. For example, betting on another player getting a flush. If the player end up with the flush hand, then the player who placed the bet on that player wins a bonus amount on the money he bet.

Again this is extremely risky and you end up losing the amount rather than winning.

Pai Gow Poker Side-Bet and Envy Bonus Takeouts

Hand	Pay-out	Envy Bonus
7 card Straight Flush	8,000: 1	$5000
Royal Flush	2,000: 1	$1000
7 card Straight Flush W/ Joker	1000: 1	$500
5 Aces (4 Aces and 1 joker)	400: 1	$250
Royal Flush W/Joker	150: 1	$50
Straight Flush	50: 1	$20
Four of a Kind	25: 1	$5
Full House	5: 1
Flush	4: 1
Three of a Kind	3: 1
Straight	2: 1

Pai Gow Poker strategy and tips

Now that you have learnt how to play pai gow poker, there are certain things that you must note inorder for you to win profits. First of all, you have to understand that pai gow is a very slow paced game where majority of the rounds gets drawn. That is, you don’t win anything for most of the time. But, this doesn’t mean the game itself is boring. You can win plenty if you are patient and play for long hours. Yes, thats right. You have to play this game for a long time inorder for you win profits.

Most of the players get frustrated easily and they end up quitting the game early. This won’t do any good. You need to be patient and play for long durations to make money. Along with playing for a long time, you need to follow certain rules, so that you don’t end up losing too much for the time you play. The rules are as follows:

• Avoid side bets at all cost. The payout for a side bet looks very good. But we end up loosing more than winning. So, it is important to avoid side bets. Also, along with the side bets the envy bets should be avoided to make sure you don’t lose too much of your money.
• Players are oftentimes faced with hands that can be set multiple ways which can have very different outcomes. For example, if dealt K, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 9, a player has the option of setting his/her hand like:
  • K, 9 / K, Q, J, 10 9 ,(mediocre low hand, very strong high hand)
  • Q, J / K, K, 9, 9, 10 (mediocre low hand, strong high hand)
  • 9, 9 / K, K, Q, J, 10 (strong low hand, fairly strong high hand)
• Thus, if a player wants to virtually guarantee a push, the top option would likely be the best; however, the most profitable play would be the bottom option as it gives the player a great chance to win.
• Most importantly have fun while playing. You are going to have to play for a long time and must not be stressed in the process. Have fun and make some cash while you’re at it.

Summary

Pai Gow poker is an overall fun game to play. A great time pass and if you’re lucky you end up winning money. Also, it can be a great game to play with your friends have a great time. The rules are also pretty simple and the game doesn’t involve any betting rounds like the Texas Hold’em Poker. So, it is pretty stright forward and simple. These make the game enjoyable and a relaxing game.

I hope you guys learnt someting new today. Make sure to check out other awesome blogs and please comment if you want to share anything. Peace out.