3/29/2022»»Tuesday

Poker Pai

3/29/2022
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Pai Gow poker was invented and patented in the United States in the 1980s by Fred Wolf. This format is one of the many varieties of poker. Pai Gow rules are very different from the classic poker version. Pai Gow Poker online is played with a full deck of cards along with an extra joker. So, a total of 53 cards are used to play the game. Up to 6 players are allowed for one session and then there is the dealer.

Charles Marsh

Poker Pai Gow

Table Of Contents

  • Pai Gow Poker is a variant of Poker based on Chinese Pai Gow domino game
  • It’s one of the easiest Poker games to learn and play
  • Learn how to play Pai Gow Poker online and play for free here

Pai Gow Poker might sound Chinese in origin, and it is. But it’s a version of Poker that was developed in the United States.

Pai Gow, the ancient Chinese game of skill and craft, is played with dominoes and is still immensely popular to this day.

Pai Gow Poker, on the other hand, takes place at a Poker table, with a deck of cards.

Developed as a twist in Poker for those who want a bit of variation to their playing style, Pai Gow Poker is a great
card game to play - and you can play it online for free.

Let’s take a look at the reasons why you will love Pai Gow Poker free online Casino game. And a few basic strategy tips that will help you to hit the table and instantly do well.

Pai Gow Poker: the Basics

The game of Pai Gow Poker actually isn’t that old - it was developed by Sam Torosian for the Bell Card Club in 1985.

One of the reasons it became so popular is the social factor.

Pai Gow Poker requires both of a player’s two hands to beat those held by the banker in order for the player to win.

The game can last quite long, with many pushes, and you’re likely to spend a lot of time with your fellow players.

This is good for anyone who plays Poker to enjoy themselves, and to have a nice time with like-minded people.

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Surely, this is why we all play Casino games.

Yes, you might like to play for the money, but ultimately you need anything you play to be enjoyable, otherwise you’re wasting your time playing it.

The house edge of Pai Gow Poker, on average, is rated as between 2.5 and 2.7 percent.

So, whether you are an experienced Poker player or someone looking for a game for a bit of recreational fun, your chances of winning are very reasonable.

Another reason why people like Pai Gow Poker is because, in most versions of the game, all six players are playing against the banker.

This leads to a situation where you and your fellow players are all united by a common goal, and against a common enemy.

When the banker wins, everybody else loses. As a group, you’ll win and lose together on the balance of occasions.

Thanks to this, it’s a lot more social than a conventional game of Poker.

Pai Gow Poker Online Rules

You can end up playing Pai Gow Poker with up to six players and a dealer. Online, it’s just you and the dealer.

In a real-life version of Pai Gow Poker, any player and the dealer can be the banker, but in the online version, it is the dealer who takes this role.

It’s often called a two-hand Poker because that’s exactly what you have when you play.

The banker uses a 53-card deck for a Pai Gow Poker. It consists of the classic 52-card deck, plus a Joker.

The Joker acts as a wild card like in other card games.

Unlike other Poker variants, in Pai Gow Poker, you’re dealt seven cards.

The aim is to use these cards to form two high hands out of it, both beating the dealer's hands.

The usual Poker hand ranking applies - you can win with a high-card hand, Royal Flush-hand, Straight-hand, etc. - you know the drill.

One of these hands should be a five-card hand and the other one a two-card hand.

The five-card hand has to be higher than the two-card hand. Yet, both still have to be the winning hands when they confront the dealer’s hands.

If you get it right, you win.

There are three outcomes of the game:

  • you win when both of your hands beat the banker’s
  • it’s a push when only one of your hands is higher hand than banker’s
  • you lose when neither of your hands is higher than banker’s

The payout for the win is 1 to 1. If the game results in a push, you get your wager back but don’t win anything extra.

Pai Gow Strategy: How to Win at Pai Gow Poker Online

Pai Gow Poker is a great game. Especially, if you follow a strategy that works.

While you can ultimately develop one yourself, there are a few principles you can follow to make your playing experience as profitable as possible.

Here are some Pai Gow Poker strategy tips.

Make a Sensible Bet

At the start of a Pai Gow Poker online game, you’ll have to make a bet.

This is the only bet you need to make, so make sure it’s a good one yet friendly to your bankroll.

On all Casino and Poker games, I always advise you to only bet a small proportion of what you can afford, and this is sensible advice here too.

Remember -

When you’re starting out with Pai Gow Poker, even if the house edge is smaller comparing to some other games, you’ll still find yourself at a competitive disadvantage because of your inexperience.

Balance risk with reward and go for a bet that you can back up in future games too.

Play for Free at First

At some online Casinos, you can practice Pai Gow Poker by playing for free.

This is an ideal thing to do if you haven’t played the game before.

It gives you a chance to get to know how it works and what kinds of hands win. Thus, playing Pai Gow Poker online, free is a really good idea.

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Make the Strongest Possible Hand Across Both Hands

Pai Gow Poker is different in that it gives you two hands to play with. That adds to the variables for you as a player.

Your two-card hand must never outrank your five-card hand.

If it does, that’s a foul and a silly way to lose your money.

However, you can’t win money if only one of your hands is better than the dealer’s.

It’s necessary to balance your hands so that both are reasonably strong. Yet, keeping your five-card hand slightly stronger, as I’ve mentioned before.

Also, make sure to read this article on CasinoSmash to develop an optimal Pai Gow Poker strategy.

Do this and it won’t be long before you start winning.

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Many of you have played Pai Gow Poker at the best online casinos, but are you playing with a proper strategy? Despite the claim that Pai Gow Poker is a game of luck, there are strategies that you can use to improve your odds of winning.

Today, we will look at the basic strategy for playing your hands in Pai Gow Poker. Note that this strategy is based on you playing your hands as the player. It does not account for live Pai Gow games where you can play as the banker.

Playing Uncordinated Hands

There are going to be many times where you will receive a hand that’s completely uncoordinated. With these hands, you don’t have as much as a pair for either hand. When this happens, you have to play two high card hands and hope that the dealer has a bad low hand.

Poker Pair Vs Pair

First, you will take your highest card and add your four lowest cards together. This is your high hand. You’ll take your second and third highest cards to make your low hand. For example, if you have A-K-J-9-7-5-2, you’d play A-9-7-5-2 for high and K-J for low.

Pai Poker Clue

One Pair Hands

Another common hand is where you only have a single pair and nothing else in your hand. In this case, the pair will be your high hand. Take your two highest kickers and play them as your low hand. For example, if you have A-Q-10-8-8-6-2, you’d play A-Q for low and 8-8-10-6-2 for high.

One pair hands are scoop capable when you have a medium pair and at least one card of queen or higher in your low hand.

Two Pair Hands

The hands that will be the trickiest to play in Pai Gow Poker are hands with two pair. That’s because you’re often going to split your pair. Splitting pairs is where most people get tripped up in this game.

First, let’s look at the three types of pairs. Low pairs are deuces through sixes. Medium pairs are sevens through tens. High pairs are jacks or better.

Here are the times where you will be splitting two pair, regardless of what your other cards are:

  • Anytime one of your two pairs is aces.
  • When you have two high pair.
  • When you have one medium and one high pair.

In the following scenarios, you will also split two pair provided you do not have an ace in your hand:

  • One low pair and one high pair.
  • One Low pair and one medium pair.
  • Two low pairs.
  • Two medium pairs.

In all other cases where you have two pair and an ace in your hand, you will play your ace and the second-highest non-pairing card as your low hand and the two pair for high.

Playing Trips in Pai Gow Poker

Playing trips, aka three of a kind, is easy in this game. In most cases, you will play trips for your high hand and your two highest kickers for the low hand. The only exception is when you have trip aces. In this case, you will split the trips and play one ace as part of your low hand.

Flushes and Straights

Hands with a straight or flush are usually going to play themselves. In the majority of cases, you’ll play the straight or flush as the high hand. For the times where you have a seven-card straight or a seven-card flush, you will play the two highest cards as your low hand.

The one exception for playing a flush is when you have a flush along with two pair. When this happens, you’re going to break the flush and split the pair according to the rules for splitting pairs.

Quads

You might be tempted to automatically play quads (four of a kind) as a high hand, but that’s not the case. When you have quad jacks or better, you’re splitting the hand into two pair. The same applies to medium quads, provided that you don’t have an ace in your hand. If you do, you will play the quads. For low quads, you will play them together.

Five Aces

As counterintuitive as it sounds, you’re almost never going to play five aces together. Instead, one ace and the joker will become your low hand and you’ll play trip aces for high.

Poker Pai Gow

The exception to this rule is when you have a pair of kings and five aces. Then, you’ll play the kings for low and five aces for high.

This Strategy Helps, But Not By Much

Poker Pair

The above strategy is a great strategy to use to help improve your odds at winning in games where the dealer is always the banker. This applies to most Pai Gow Poker games at real money online casinos. However, the edge you gain with this strategy isn’t massive. It only improves your odds by about 0.21%. The general house edge when using this strategy is around 2.5%

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Where this strategy helps is in games where the player is the banker. In those games, the house edge is reduced down to less than a half of a percent. However, you will find few online Pai Gow games offering player banking. However, it is still great to know when you play in live Pai Gow Poker games.