Pai Gow Poker

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Pai Gow Poker

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Due to a rather slow pace and a lot of ties, Pai Gow Poker is less intense than most casino games and a modest buy in can usually last a long time.

Don't ask me what Pai Gow means, I don't have a clue. Pai Gow poker is played with a 53 card deck, including a joker. The game is one on one, the player(s) against the banker, each competing to make the best possible hands. This page will discuss the rules and strategy for pai gow and some helpful hints to learn how to deal this game.

As with any new game you want to learn how to deal, I suggest you consider the following:

	Read the basic rules of play
	Play a free online version of Pai Gow Poker and learn how to play the game on your computer. NO DOWNLOAD

	Watch the game being dealt at work on one or two of your breaks.
	Go to another casino on your night off and actually play the live game.
	Come back and read the Pai Gow Poker dealing advice
	Read up on your policy manual that the casino gave to you when you were hired if
	Ask the Pit Manager if you can break into dealing the game slowly either on one of your breaks or stay a few minutes after your shift and have current dealer "shadow'" you for a while. This is typically accomplished in most casinos when business is slow and shouldn't take a craps dealer but a few hours of practice to feel comfortable dealing this game.
	Make sure you butter up the pit manager and floor people a little with that "eager to learn charm show" of yours about a week or so before hitting them up for training.
	Where there is a 'will' to learn, there will always be a 'way.' Unless "they" don't want "white boys" working over there.

RULES OF PLAY

Play begins by making a wager. Next everyone receives seven cards. A roll of the dice or a randomly generated number determines which player gets the first set of cards. The players then each arrange their seven cards into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand is ranked as in poker, with the exception that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is the second highest straight. The two-card hand will either be a pair or two individual cards. The highest two-card hand is a pair of aces and the lowest is a 2-3.

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After all the players have arranged their hands the banker arranges theirs according to a set of fixed rules known as the "house way." Then the player's five-card hand is compared to the dealer's five-card hand. Likewise the player's two-card hand is compared to the dealer's two-card hand. The highest hand wins. In the event of an exact match between hands, called a copy, the tie goes to the banker. If the player beats the dealer with both hands the player wins even money, less a 5% commission. If the player wins one and loses one the bet is a push. If the player loses both the player loses the entire wager.

	When setting the hands the two-card hand may not be higher then the five-card hand. If it is then both hands are deemed "foul" and both lose. The joker can only be used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, otherwise it is treated as an ace. At some places if there is an empty seat the dealer will also deal a "dragon" hand. Another player may assume the dragon hand if they wish, essentially playing two positions rather than one. The player may have to use the "house way." in setting the dragon hand.
	In pai gow poker any player may elect to be the banker in turn. If a player banks the 5% commission is charged on the net win. When a player is the banker the dealer will still play, betting an amount equal to the last bet the player made when the dealer was banking. It is strongly to the advantage of the player to be the banker as much as possible because the dealer wins on copies and the 5% commission is charged after losses are set against winnings.
	The opportunity to bank usually rotates from person to person, including the house, but sometimes will zig-zag between the players and the dealer. If the player wants to bank they must have enough money on the table to pay off all winning bets of the other players and dealer. The player must also have played a previous hand against the house banker to bank. Some casinos will allow the player to co-bank with the house. If this option is elected the casino will assume half the financial responsibility of the outcome. The player must set their hand according to the house way if co-banking.

Strategy

The most important factor in improving your odds in pai gow is the ratio of how much is bet when you are the banker to as a player. The greater the ratio the better your odds are. The second most important factor is how well you arrange your cards.

House Edge

The house advantage in pai gow poker depends on partially on your skill setting hands but more on how much of the action you bank. An entire book could be written on this topic. For the sake of simplicity I shall only address the head to head game against the dealer.

Possible Outcomes in Pai Gow Poker
Outcome	Probability
Player wins both	28.55%
Tie	41.47%
Banker wins both	29.98%

Based on this table the following table shows the house edge for playing as the banker, player, and combined. This table assumes a one on one game.

House Edge in Pai Gow Poker
Status	House Edge
Player	2.85%
Banker	0.08%
Combined	1.46%

The followings tables show the probability that a given hand will beat the house way. This table can be used to determine the best way to play a hand by adding the sum of the probability of the five card hand and the two card hand winning. Whichever play has the greatest sum is the optimal one. To be even more precise call p₅ the probability of the five-card hand winning and p₂ the probability of the two-card hand winning. Considering the 5% commission you should maximize 1.9*p₅*p₂-2*(1-p₅)*(1-p₂).

Courtesy of Wizard of odds

Pai Gow Poker Index Values
5-Card Hand	5-Card Index	2-Card Hand	2-Card Index
9 high	0.0002	3-2	0.0007
10 high	0.0018	4-2	0.0021
Jack high	0.0081	4-3	0.0034
Q-5	0.0086	5-2	0.0046
Q-6	0.0108	5-3	0.0057
Q-7	0.0154	5-4	0.0068
Q-8	0.0209	6-2	0.0079
Q-9	0.0247	6-3	0.0089
Q-10	0.0257	6-4	0.0099
Q-J	0.0257	6-5	0.0108
K-5	0.0265	7-2	0.0118
K-6	0.0299	7-3	0.0128
K-7	0.0374	7-4	0.0138
K-8	0.0479	7-5	0.0149
K-9	0.0586	7-6	0.0164
K-10	0.0654	8-2	0.0178
K-J	0.0671	8-3	0.0187
K-Q	0.0671	8-4	0.0196
A-6	0.071	8-5	0.0206
A-7	0.0829	8-6	0.0222
A-8	0.1019	8-7	0.0259
A-9	0.1245	9-2	0.0292
A-10	0.1453	9-3	0.0301
A-J	0.1575	9-4	0.0309
A-Q	0.1608	9-5	0.0319
A-K	0.1608	9-6	0.0335
pair of 2's	0.1729	9-7	0.0376
pair of 3's	0.2048	9-8	0.0472
pair of 4's	0.2377	10-2	0.0543
pair of 5's	0.2716	10-3	0.0553
pair of 6's	0.3067	10-4	0.0563
pair of 7's	0.3432	10-5	0.0574
pair of 8's	0.3842	10-6	0.0591
pair of 9's	0.4274	10-7	0.0632
pair of 10's	0.4691	10-8	0.073
pair of jacks	0.5125	10-9	0.0921
pair of queens	0.564	J-2	0.105
pair of kings	0.6184	J-3	0.1062
pair of aces	0.6852	J-4	0.1073
two pair 3's high	0.7503	J-5	0.1085
two pair 4's high	0.7543	J-6	0.1102
two pair 5's high	0.7601	J-7	0.1142
two pair 6's high	0.7676	J-8	0.1232
two pair 7's high	0.7767	J-9	0.1414
two pair 8's high	0.7867	J-10	0.1729
two pair 9's high	0.7969	Q-2	0.1931
two pair 10's high	0.8074	Q-3	0.1945
two pair jacks high	0.8146	Q-4	0.1957
two pair queens high	0.8203	Q-5	0.197
two pair kings high	0.8257	Q-6	0.1989
two pair aces high	0.8261	Q-7	0.2027
three 2's	0.8286	Q-8	0.2109
three 3's	0.834	Q-9	0.2269
three 4's	0.8393	Q-10	0.2551
three 5's	0.8446	Q-J	0.2994
three 6's	0.8499	K-2	0.3268
three 7's	0.8552	K-3	0.3285
three 8's	0.8609	K-4	0.3302
three 9's	0.8665	K-5	0.3323
three 10's	0.8718	K-6	0.335
three jacks	0.8771	K-7	0.3398
three queens	0.8823	K-8	0.3487
three kings	0.8876	K-9	0.3641
three aces	0.8909	K-10	0.3895
straight 2-6	0.903	K-J	0.4291
straight 3-7	0.9105	K-Q	0.4858
straight 4-8	0.9176	A-2	0.5196
straight 5-9	0.9211	A-3	0.5217
straight 6-10	0.9246	A-4	0.5242
straight 7-jack	0.9316	A-5	0.5272
straight 8-queen	0.9385	A-6	0.5312
straight 9-king	0.9453	A-7	0.5378
straight ace-5	0.9522	A-8	0.5483
straight 10-ace	0.9623	A-9	0.5647
flush 6 high	0.9658	A-10	0.5892
flush 7 high	0.9659	A-J	0.6248
flush 8 high	0.9662	A-Q	0.6744
flush 9 high	0.9668	A-K	0.7409
flush 10 high	0.9682	pair of 2's	0.7899
flush jack high	0.9705	pair of 3's	0.8116
flush queen high	0.9744	pair of 4's	0.832
flush king high	0.9804	pair of 5's	0.8512
flush ace high	0.9974	pair of 6's	0.8693
full house	0.9984	pair of 7's	0.8884
four of a kind	0.9995	pair of 8's	0.9083
straight flush	1	pair of 9's	0.9268
five aces	1	pair of 10's	0.9439
		pair of jacks	0.9593
		pair of queens	0.9726
		pair of kings	0.9839
		pair of aces	0.9945

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