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Pai Gow Poker Tips
Pai
Gow Poker is a card game that actually involves some
thinking and strategy, unlike most other
casino
games. The majority of Pai Gow Poker strategy is
simply deciding how to split up your hand into the five
card hand and the two card hand. Also, there is another
way to decrease the house edge that we will discuss in
this article.
Read on for all of our in depth Pai Gow Poker strategies, tips, advice, and hints...
Be the Banker
The most important thing you can do to decrease the house edge is to be the banker as much as possible. As long as you have enough money on the table to cover everyone's bets, as well as potential winnings from those bets, you can elect to be the banker.
If you bank, you pay the 5% commission on the net win. Overall, the house edge is reduced to roughly 0.12% instead of the 2.66% house edge imposed on the player if he/she isn't banking. This is a major difference, so we recommend banking every time it is your turn.
How to Arrange Your Pai Gow Hand
The second way you can reduce the house edge is to properly arrange your Pai Gow hand every single game. If you don't follow the rules below, you will give up money every hand:
To use the info below, find your hand and follow the advice listed. Big hand refers to the five card hand, small hand refers to the two card hand.
- No Pair: Put highest card in small hand, and the next two highest cards in big hand.
- One Pair: Put the pair in small hand.
- Two Pair: Use the following terms in the info below - pair of twos-sixes is a small pair, pair of sevens-tens is a medium pair, and pair of Jacks-Kings is a big pair:
- Two small pairs - Split unless you have a king or higher - if so, put both pairs in big hand.
- Small pair and medium pair - Split unless you have a king or higher - if so, put both pairs in big hand.
- Small pair and big pair - Split unless you have an ace - if so put both pairs in big hand.
- Two medium pairs - Split unless you have an ace - if so put both pairs in big hand.
- Medium pair and high pair - Split.
- Two high pairs - Split.
- *Pair of Aces with any other pair - Split.
- Three Pair: Put highest pair in big hand.
- Three of a Kind: Put three of a kind in big hand unless they are aces - if so, put two aces in big hand and one ace in small hand.
- Three of a Kind (twice): Put high pair in small hand, low three of a kind in big hand.
- Straights, Flushes, Straight Flushes, and Royal Flush: follow rules below:
- No pair - If you are choosing whether to play a straight, flush, or straight flush, play whatever allows you to put the highest two cards in the small hand.
- With additional 6th or 7th card(s) - Play the lower straight/flush in the big hand so you can put the highest cards in the small hand.
- With one pair - Play pair in the small hand only if you still can play the straight, flush, or royal flush can still be played in the big hand.
- With two pair - Follow the advice for two pair, listed above.
- With three pair - Follow the advice for three pair, listed above.
- With three of a kind - Play the pair in the small hand.
- With full house - Follow the advice for full houses, listed below.
- Full House: Split, unless the pair is twos and you also have an ace and a king to put in your small hand.
- Full House with an Additional Pair: Put the highest pair in your small hand.
- Full House with an Additional Three of a Kind: Put highest pair in your small hand.
- Four of a Kind: Follow the rules below:
- Twos-Sixes - Play four of a kind in big hand.
- Sevens-Tens - Split unless you have a King or Ace to put in the small hand.
- Jacks-Kings - Split unless you have an Ace to put in the small hand.
- Aces - Split.
- Four of a Kind and Pair: Put pair in small hand.
- Four of a Kind and Three of a Kind: Put pair from three of a kind in the small hand.
- Five Aces: Put three aces in the big hand and two aces in the small hand, unless you have a pair of kings - then play five aces in the big hand and the pair of kings in the small hand.
The rules above are about as close as you can get to perfect Pai Gow Poker strategy.
If you would like to practice your Pai Gow Poker strategy online, make sure to check out our list of the best online Pai Gow casinos. Also, for more information on the game, read our full Pai Gow Poker rules page.
