Pai Gow Poker

Win at Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Screenshot from Golden Casino

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Based on the ancient Chinese domino game sharing the same name, Pai Gow poker is a challenging, yet initially complex poker variant enjoyed at casinos worldwide and through most online casinos. The object of the game is to construct two hands, one five card hand and one two card hand both with the intention of beating the dealer’s hands. If you beat both the dealers’ hands you win even money minus a commission. If one of your hands wins and one loses, the result is a push. Pai Gow is a fairly reasonable game to play at the casino because the house edge is pretty small. It can range from two to three percent with good play, keep in mind though, it takes a lot of practice and knowledge of the game to play at an optimal level. While there is no way to discuss all the strategy considerations for Pai Gow Poker in one article, we will give you some pointers to make things easier when you first start playing.

Making your hands

After you are dealt seven cards, it is time to construct your two hands. There is a front hand and a back hand. The back hand is your five card hand and it must be more powerful than your front, two card hand. If your back hand is not more powerful than your front hand then you foul and forfeit your bet. Listed below we have a chart that provides a good strategy for beginning players. On the left it shows what you have been dealt in your seven card hand, and then it shows you what to do for both your two and five card hand to have the best chances of winning:

You have been dealt	Make your five card hand	Make your two card hand
High card	Your highest card	Your second and third highest card
One pair	Your pair	Your next two highest cards
Two pair^	One of your pairs	The other pair
Three pair	Your second and third highest pair	Your highest pair
Three of a kind*	Your three of a kind	Your second and third highest cards
Straight (5, 6 or 7 cards)	Your lowest cards needed to make the straight	Your remaining highest cards

* If you hold three aces, put a pair of aces in your five card hand and one ace in your two card hand

^ If you hold a pair of aces, put the aces in your five card hand

As you can see the amount of combinations and possibilities in Pai Gow poker are quite complex and it will certainly take some time and practice to learn to see the patterns that develop and just how each hand should be distributed.

Hands like flushes and four of a kind get a tad more complex in Pai Gow poker. Note that a full house is rather simple to play. Put your pair in the two card hand and your three of a kind in the five card hand. As for four of a kind, the general strategy is to split them between the two hands if they are jacks or higher and to keep them together if they are sixes or below. With sevens through tens you want to keep them in your five card hand if you can put an ace or a king in the two card hand. If you can’t, it is best to split them.