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Pai Gow Poker

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Playing Pai Gow like a Pro
- You can bet as little as $5 per hand when playing for real money—much less than the $25 often required in Vegas
- You never have to wait for a table—there’s always an open seat and no other players cramping your style
- You can play for free if you want to practice your game before making a deposit
Getting to Know the Game
Pai Gow Poker for real money uses a 53-card deck. It includes 52 cards, plus a joker that can act as a wild card in certain situations. Unlike video poker games where Jokers are fully wild, in Pai Gow Poker the Joker can be used as an Ace or it can help you finish a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush.To get started, place your bet. The amount of money you can bet depends on which online casino site you’re playing at, but typically you can bet as little as $5. When you’re happy with your bet, click Deal to receive your cards.You’ll be dealt a total of seven cards. At this point you need to make two hands—a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. But here’s the deal. The 5-card hand has to be better than the 2-card hand.The 5-card hand is ranked using the same poker hand ranking system you’re probably used to. After you’ve created your hands, you can ask to see the dealer’s cards. He’ll play his cards in the same manner, using what’s known as the House Way. This determines exactly how the dealer is forced to split up his cards. Every real cash Pai Gow Poker casino you choose to play out will let you know exactly what the House Way is, so you know what you’re getting into before you sit down.Now that you both have two hands, the software will compare your two hands and pay you out for your bet. If you’ve tied, you’ll push.Now in land-based casinos, you have the opportunity to bet on or against other players seated at the Pai Gow Poker or the dealer. This isn’t usually offered at online casinos because there are no other players at the table. Remember, in the real world, most people usually decline to bank, so it doesn’t really make a difference.Learn Pai Gow in 5 Steps
- Place your bet (remember it’s you against the dealer).
- You and the dealer both receive seven cards.- Yours face up and the dealer’s face down.
- The goal is to split your seven cards into one hand of five and one hand of two.- Your five card hand must be higher ranking than your two card hand.
- After you decide on how to split your cards, the dealer will show his/her cards and compare your hand to theirs’.
- If both of your hands are better, you win minus a commission of 5%. If the dealers’ two hands are better, you lose. If one is high and one is low, the hand is a push. You will receive your bet back. All tied hands are a win for the dealer.
The Best Online Pai Gow Sites
Payout Percentage: The Higher the Better
This is the amount of winnings that a casino will pay out on the amount of money bet. If a casino boasts a 98% payout rate then it will pay out $98 on every $100 wagered. $2 goes to the casino as profit.It's important to note that individual bets you make will not see the same payout percentage. This is because the casino's figure is averaged out across the whole site, taking into account several months of play and thousands of players. It's always best to pick the highest payout rate you can find, though, as it gives you the best chance of winning more at your casino games.Not sure where to play?
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Online Pai Gow Strategy
Understanding the best hand
In an ordinary poker game, you would think twice about playing your four Aces (You can learn how to play poker here). And if you were playing a draw poker game, you wouldn’t dare give those up. But in Pai Gow Poker, you need to create two hands, one of which only has two cards.Sometimes creating the best two hands involves splitting up a seemingly amazing hand. For example, if you’re dealt quad Aces along with a 2, 3, and 4, you might be inclined to play those four Aces in one hand. But with only a 2, 3, and 4 to work with, you’re pretty much guaranteed to lose the 2-card hand to the dealer.That’s why you need to strategize before you drop your cards just anywhere. In this case, you’re better of playing with three Aces in your 5-card hand and throwing an Ace and a 4 in the other hand. Chances are you’ll win the small hand because there aren’t any other Aces on the board, so only a pair could crush you.Maximizing Every Opportunity
We showed you how splitting up a great hand sometimes makes the most sense. But that scenario really only applies to Aces. What about other big hands? Just use our advanced Pai Gow Poker strategy tips to make the right move. By doing so you can learn to separate your cards the right way.Hand Dealt | Your Move |
---|---|
No pair, straight, or flush | Put the highest card you’re dealt in your 5-card hand and place your 2nd and 3rd highest cards in the 2-card hand |
2 pair including two Aces | Split them up |
2 pair including Kings | Split them up, except if the other pair is twos |
2 pair, including sixes and anything below | Split them up unless you’ve been dealt an Ace (if that’s the case, play them with the ace and place the next highest card in the 2-card hand) |
2 pair, sevens through 10s | Again, split them up unless you’ve been dealt an Ace (if that’s the case, play them with the Ace and place the next highest card in the 2-card hand) |
2 pair, Jacks through Aces | Split them up and place the highest pair in the high hand |
3 Pair | Move the highest pair to the 2-card hand |
3 of a kind | Never split them up, with the exception of Aces |
Full House | Split them up, moving the pair to the 2-card hand (if you’ve got a second pair, move the highest of the two pairs to the 2-card hand) |
Straights and Flushes | Make sure the straight or flush stays in your 5-card hand (however, if you have 2 pair, split them up) |
4 of a kind | Keep sixes or lower together, split seven through 10 unless you’ve got an Ace, and always split Aces, Kings, Queens or Jacks unless you’ve got another pair |
Five Aces | Split them up unless you’ve been dealt a pair of Kings, in which case move the Kings to the 2-card hand |
Pai Gow Poker Rules
- High Card
- One Pair
- Two Pairs
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Full House
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Royal Flush
Quick Pai Gow Poker Tips
Know what to do with a two pair
If you’re dealt two pair, make sure you slot the highest ranked pair into the bigger hand
Not dealt a pair?
Put the highest ranked card in your big hand and drop the 2nd and 3rd ranked card into your 2-card hand
Take advantage of bonuses
Before you sit down to play, look out for the bonuses on offer for the game and secure a bigger bankroll for yourself
Bank as much as possible
You get to play your money against everyone at the table, and make more when people make mistakes
A Quick History of Pai Gow
1000 A.D. (+/-)
When the original game of Pai Gow was invented is unknown. Historians have been able to trace back the Chinese tiled game of Pai Gow to at least one thousand years where it was popular with soldiers and citizens. This is reflected in the two suits: civilian and military. In the original game, players were dealt seven tiles which had to be arranged in the best two combinations. The tiles had a special pattern on each one with a total of 21 patterns and 32 tiles. Bets were placed on who could create the best tile combos.1985-86
How Pai Gow moved from China to the U.S. is not fully understood, but somehow it made its way across the Great Pacific Ocean and into the mind of California Bell Casino owner Sam Torosian. In 1985 the Los Angeles resident had an idea to combine certain features of Chinese Pai Gow with elements of poker. He named the game Pai Gow Poker and by 1986 most large casinos offered the game on their floor. Before long Pai Gow Poker could be found in every major casino around the world.1990s-2000s
Following Pai Gow’s success, Sam Torosian continued to create popular gambling games along with his partner Fred Wolf. With the onset of online casinos, Pai Gow Poker continued to gain a loyal virtual following. A bonus bet was added to many variations, which now lets players win massive jackpots. Today Pai Gow is available to play on every kind of device. We’re sure players will soon be able to play a live dealer version of Pai Gow in the very near future.
Pai Gow Glossary
Banker
Bug
Copies
Commission
Dragon Hand
Hand Behind
Hand in Front
High Card
High Hand
House Way
Joker
Low Hand
Push
Random Number Generator
Wild Card
FAQs
The original Chinese game of Pai Gow is played with a set of tiles or dominoes in a complicated series of layouts. However, the online casino version of Pai Gow is a poker game loosely based on the ancient Chinese game. In short, the modern version is much easier and combines the ancient game with traditional poker.
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Semi professional athlete turned online casino enthusiast, Hannah Cutajar is no newcomer to the gaming industry. With over 5 years of experience, she now leads our team of casino experts at Casino.org and is considered the go-to gaming specialist across several markets including the USA, Canada and New Zealand. Her number one goal is to ensure players get the best experience online through world class content.

Ian grew up in Malta, Europe's online gaming hub and home of top casino regulators and auditors such as eCOGRA and the Malta Gaming Authority. After completing his Master's degree in Glasgow, he returned to Malta and started writing about casinos. He's worked on hundreds of casinos across the US, New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland, and is a go-to authority for Casino.org's team.