Pai Gow Poker online
Pai Gow Poker blends the Chinese domino game Pai Gow with American poker. It is slow, social and unusually gentle on your bankroll, because so many hands end level.
Seven cards, two hands
You play with a 52-card deck plus one joker and receive seven cards, which you split into:
- a high hand of five cards, ranked like normal poker;
- a low hand of two cards, which must rank below the high hand.
Beat the dealer with both hands and you win, minus a 5% commission. Win one and lose one and it is a push. Lose both and the bet is lost. If one of your hands exactly ties the dealer's, the dealer takes that hand.
The joker
The joker is only partly wild. It can complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush. Anywhere else it counts as an ace.
Splitting your cards
Every online table has a House Way button that splits your hand by the casino's own rules, which is close to optimal and a sensible default. A few principles behind it:
- With no pair, keep the highest card in the high hand and the next two highest in the low hand.
- With one pair, the pair goes in the high hand.
- With two pairs, they are usually split, the higher pair in the high hand, unless both are small and you hold an ace to put in the low hand.
- With a strong high hand such as a straight or flush, keep it together only if the low hand you are left with is still reasonable.
House edge and pace
Against the house, the edge is roughly 2.5% to 3% depending on the rules and how well you split. Because about four hands in ten push, far fewer bets are actually settled per hour than at blackjack, which keeps the hourly cost low.
Pai Gow Poker: frequently asked questions
What does banking mean in Pai Gow Poker?+
At some tables you can act as the banker for a round. The banker wins ties, which is worth a lot, in exchange for covering the other bets. Online games often simplify or drop this option.
Is it hard to learn?+
Splitting seven cards into a five-card and a two-card hand takes a minute to grasp. The skill is in splitting well, and online games offer a House Way button that splits your cards the way the casino would.
Why are there so many pushes?+
You must win both hands to get paid and lose both to lose, so split results are common: roughly four hands in ten end in a push. That keeps swings small and makes a bankroll last.