Pai Gow Poker Online

Online Pai Gow Rules Explained 

Initially, Pai Gow Poker requires a standard deck of 52 playing cards plus a joker. Six players can play at a time along with the dealer. The main goal is to create two hands of seven cards aiming to defeat the banker, which can be one of the players at the table, the dealer, or a team consisting of a player and the dealer.

The guide with the certain rules will demonstrate the way of playing Pai Gow Poker online:

• At the beginning of the game, you will receive seven cards.
• You must create two poker combinations with your seven cards – a high five-card combination and a low two-card combination.
• Place bets on the hands you just created.
• Your high hand should be stronger than your low hand.
• After you have created your hands, the dealer opens the banker’s hands.
• The game can have one of three outcomes: you win both hands, the dealer wins both hands, you win one hand, and the dealer wins one hand.
• In the case of a tie, the dealer wins the bet.

How to Play Pai Gow Poker

Rather frequently there are questions about how to play Pai Gow Poker – an exotic and exciting combination of poker and Chinese dominoes. Fortunately, no one has any special difficulties in learning: it is enough to have an idea of classic poker and get acquainted with a few new rules. Our aim is to introduce you to the way to play this fascinating game with a detailed guide. 

Overview of the Basic Rules

Following certain simple steps, the process of familiarization will be quick and even entertaining, so let’s consider the main aspects:

1. Make sure you know the rules of traditional five-card poker. Pai Gow is a variation of regular poker, so the basics remain the same – combinations from high card to royal flush work in the same way. 
2. Your overall goal in the game is to make the 2 strongest combinations of the 7 cards you received at the beginning of the round. The first hand should contain 5 cards, and the second – 2, and the first is more important, because it has the ability to combine cards, while with 2 cards it is possible to collect only a couple. 
3. Do your best to beat both hands of the dealer to win. Another difference of Pai Gow is that you play against the dealer, not against other players. Thus, if two of your hands beat the dealer, you win the round and double your bet. If the dealer loses both of your hands, you lose your bet. If there is a tie, i.e. you have one stronger hand and the dealer has the other, then the round ends in a push and no player wins the round.
4. Pick a dealer in the round. When playing in an online casino, or occasionally in a land-based casino, players can take turns to be the dealer at the end of each round. This brings dynamism and spice to the flow of the game.
5. Decide on your bet before you get your hand. As a rule, there are minimum and maximum bets, and each player will need to make a choice according to the proposed amounts.
6. Expect the cards to be dealt. Each player at the table receives 7 cards to form 2 hands, including the dealer. After it, form your combinations. 
7. Compare your 2-card hand with the dealer first, and then the 5-card hand. In case of equality in strength of hands, the dealer wins this hand.
8. Win the round by beating both hands of the dealer at the same time. By collecting strong enough combinations that outperform the dealer’s hands, you will receive double the amount of your bet. Otherwise, the dealer will take your bet and put it in the pot.

As you have already seen, it is enough just to master the 8 main stages, and you will certainly learn to play Pai Gow poker. Afterwards, you just need to practice your skills and apply new strategies and tactics in the game. 

Card Values and Combinations in Pai Gow Poker

A prominent feature you ought to know is that you can replace any card in the deck using the joker which also can act as an ace. Once a player has a chance to collect one of the hands, such as a straight, flush, flush royale, or straight flush, he is allowed to use the joker to replace any card. Otherwise, the joker will act as an ace. All standard poker rules apply, except for the ace-2-3-4-5 sequence, which is the second oldest straight. The application of this rule varies from casino to casino.

Hands are arranged into high and low cards. A High Hand is a standard 5-card poker hand, while a Low Hand consists of 2 cards. A 2-card hand cannot be higher in rank than a 5-card hand, as this will lead to a foul. Due to there being only seven cards, the player can arrange the cards and divide them up as he likes.

Check out a table that in a very convenient way summarizes the card values and combinations in online Pai Gow poker:

Pai Gow Poker Bonus Payouts

When you have an enormous desire to win the prize, it’s useful to know about the opportunities to make a bonus bet. The payouts for bonus hands are as follows:

Understanding Pai Gow Main Features

Classical games like Casino Hold’em can be really boring sometimes, don’t you think so? In the case you uphold this opinion, you should try Pai Gow Poker, which can be found in nearly every online casino with the highest ratings in the field.

Playing Pai Gow Poker at an online casino involves the next steps to follow:

Place a bet. Do it before you get seven cards. Some variants of Pai Gow Poker allow you to make bonus bets on certain hands.

Deal. After all players have placed their bets, each player receives seven closed cards from a hand of 52 cards plus a joker. The dealer leaves the unused cards face down.

Create your hands. Place a five-card hand in the back and a two-card hand in the front.

Execute. Each player’s hands are then compared to the banker’s hands.

Payments. You win your bet if both of your hands are better than the banker’s. You lose your bet if both your hands are worse than the banker’s.

Pai Gow Poker Odds

Starting a gambling game, you always want to know what probabilities of winning you have – and for good reason, because this way you are aware of your position in digital indicators. An incredibly interesting and sophisticated game that combines elements of classic poker and Chinese dominoes, presents one of the top Pai Gow poker odds.

The House Advantage in Pai Gow Poker

In this type of poker, the casino maintains an advantage over players of 2.84%, and there are certain reasons for this:

• The institution deducts 5% commission from your winning hands;
• The dealer wins if the result of the round is a draw.

It is quite achievable to minimize the house advantage. A superb way to do this is to play the role of the dealer, because in this way you become the winner in case of a draw and play against all players at the table at the same time. The downside here is that you have to pay a 5% commission, but the house advantage is reduced to 1.46%. 

Basic Pai Gow Poker Odds

Eventually, let’s estimate how likely specific combinations in Pai Gow poker are to fall, given the fact that the player has 7 cards. 

Single pair: 1 to 1.40

Two pairs: 1 to 3.34

Straights: 1 to 12.72

3 squares: 1 to 19.63

Flush: 1 to 23.97

Full house: 1 to 35.80

4 of a kind: 1 to 500.25

Straight flush or royal flush: 1 to 729.46

5 aces: 1 to 142,856

If we calculate different scenarios for the end of the game, the chances are distributed as follows:

• Winning both hands is 28.61%. 
• Losing both hands has a probability of 29.91%.
• A draw or push game is characterized by a probability of 41.48%. 

Apart from that, it remains crucial not to forget about the main feature of Pai Gow poker – you need to beat 2 hands. All decisions should be focused on achieving this goal. Suppose that you have three kings out of 7 cards. By separating and placing two kings in a separate hand, you increase the probability of beating the dealer’s 2-card combination. On the contrary, by deciding to leave three kings in a 5-card hand, the chances of winning are reduced, because the opponent has many opportunities to make a higher hand.

Thus, being aware of the odds in Pai Gow poker is a powerful thing that should be used wisely. While playing, you need to be involved in the process to make the right decisions that can improve your position and lead you to the final, where your hand will be the fiercest. 

Tips To Help You To Save Money In Pai Gow Poker

Be Aware of Rules in Pai Gow Poker

Take the time to read the rules before you play Pai Gow Poker. All variations are based on the standard rules, but there are small adjustments that you should be familiar with.

Use Your Joker Wisely in Pai Gow Poker

The joker functions as a wild card which must be used mindfully. Try to create a flush or a straight using the joker, otherwise it invariably will become an ace.

Don’t Avoid Banking in Pai Gow Poker

Be prepared to be a banker whenever you can, as this is one way to reduce the casino’s advantage in the game.

Balance Your Hands in Pai Gow Poker

Figure out how to get your hands balanced so that your five-card hand is always stronger than your two-card hand.

Look For a Good Welcome Bonuses in Pai Gow Poker

Sign up with online casinos that offer great welcome bonuses, as this gives you free money to play Pai Gow Poker without risk.

Practice with free Pai Gow Poker 

Having learnt all the rules, you can start playing free Pai Gow online poker and to gain experience. Then, being aware of the rules and features, you can try betting with real money and try your luck.

What to Consider When Choosing a Pai Gow Poker Casino Site

Certainly, our clients know that our task is not only to create a list of all the casino sites that offer Pai Gow Poker. It doesn’t work for us. We do our best to provide you high-quality gambling sites with all the guarantees and licenses, the most exciting bonuses and the positive customers’ reviews.  

Device optimization

There’s a good chance you’ll want to use your mobile device to play Pai Gow Poker online. The best online casino sites should work just as well on smartphones or tablets as they do on a computer. We are looking for casinos with excellent device optimization when examining Pai Gow online poker sites.

Pai Gow Poker Basic Strategies

Pai Gow poker variation is distinguished by remarkable and atypical rules, according to which players should form two hands instead of one. This, by the way, opens up many new opportunities for the application of Pai Gow poker betting strategies. With their help, the player creates a clear system of progression during the game, which minimizes the risks of losing. 

If the topic of boosting your chances in Pai Gow poker with the help of strategies intrigues you, the following review will be worthwhile for you. 

Breakdown of Pai Gow Poker Strategies

Although the term “strategy” sounds like something serious and complicated, as a matter of fact, some of these approaches are quite basic and will be clear even to a beginner, if you just take some time to thoroughly grasp the essence. 

• If there is no pair, straight or flush, play the highest card with a 5-card hand and the next two highest cards with a 2-card hand.
• If you have two pairs, try to split them in the following cases: when you have two aces, when the best pair is kings, and the other pair is better than deuces.
• With three distinct pairs, play the strongest pair in your two-card hand.
• After collecting a full house, you should always make a split, playing the highest pair in the two-card combination.
• In a five-card hand, it is always better to play a straight or a flush.
• Things are a bit more complicated with quads: if they are 6 or lower, keep them in a five-card hand. With cards from 7 to 10 – split, unless you have an ace in your two-card hand. With face cards you should always split unless you have another pair for a two-card hand.
• When dealt with four aces, you need to split unless you have a pair of kings.

Side Bets in Pai Gow Poker

From time to time, in certain versions of Pai Gow poker, you may well come across a new feature – side bets or extra bets. 

These bets offer the possibility to get extra winnings on a hand with three identical or better cards. Note that these bets are often not related to the dealer’s win or loss at all.

Moreover, you should forget about side bets if you pursue the goal of optimizing your strategy in Pai Gow Poker, because it will lead to a significant increase in the house advantage. 

All actions are fully consistent with a certain situation, so it will be quite easy to remember them with the gaining experience of the game. 

Pai Gow Poker Game Variations

In fact, despite the fact that Pai Gow Poker is a new game in the online casino industry, developers have already created quite a few variations. Right here are some of the most common types of Pai Gow Poker games available on casino sites:

Pai Gow Fortune

Fortune is possibly the most widely played version of the game, adding  the thrill as well as betting possibilities. With this version, you also have the option to place an extra bet on the value of your seven cards. Another stunning addition is the envy bonus, which you get when other players have a square or better.

Pai Gow without the Push

This variation of the game changes the way you play against the dealer. Particularly, the online dealer will place two extra cards, one for himself and one for the player (you). If the round ends in a tie, the cards are flipped to decide who wins. The older card is the better card. This variation of Pai Gow means there is always a winner, and it also removes the 5% commission you pay on your winnings.

Progressive Pai Gow

Being a potentially lucrative version of Pai Gow Poker, it has spread greatly. This option has a nice twist: a side bet with a progressive jackpot. Players can pay into this side bet pot and potentially win part or all of the pot along with any winnings in the main game.

Pai Gow Mania

This is likely a variant of Pai Gow Poker that is most similar to the standard game. The main contrast of the Mania game is the two additional betting options along with the main game. One of the extra bets is based on the value of the first three cards drawn, and the other extra bet is on all seven cards.