Pai Gow Poker is a popular table game in Las Vegas. It is spread at 60 casinos. Many have multiple tables.
Pai Gow Poker, an Americanized, card-game version of Pai Gow, is becoming increasingly popular with Asian players, too. It’s a good game to play in a casino regardless of your ethnicity, because it’s relatively slow-paced and features lots of pushes. That results in a low volatility game where you don’t lose a lot of money per hour. Pai Gow poker is played with a standard English deck of 52 cards plus the joker, or bug. The joker can only be used as an ace or a card that completes a straight or flush. Players and the dealer receive seven cards they place into two hands: five cards and two cards. The five-card hand must be of a higher total rank than the two-card hand.
One draw of Pai Gow Poker is its slow pace and number of pushes. This helps players stay in the game longer and rack up free drinks. The low minimum bet is also another draw. Some casinos spread it for as little as $5 at locals’ joints.
Las Vegas Pai Gow Minimum Bets
$5 Pai Gow Poker |
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$10 Pai Gow Poker |
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$15 Pai Gow Poker |
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$25 Pai Gow Poker |
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$50 Pai Gow Poker |
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How to Play Pai Gow Poker
#4: Compare Hands with Dealer – Once the player’s hands are set, the dealer shows its cards. The dealer sets the hand based on the house way. This varies from one casino to another in terms of how aggressive it wants to play. Pai Gow Poker is unlike any other game as the operator can determine how the house sets its hand as long as it publishes the method for all players to see.The dealer’s hand is then compared to each player’s hand.
- If both player hands beat both dealer hands, the player wins.
- If both dealer’s hands beat both of the player’s hands, the house wins.
- If the dealer ties one of the player’s hands and wins the other, the house wins.
- If the player wins one hand and ties the other, the hand is a push.
- A tie between a dealer’s hand and the player’s hand is known as a copy in Pai Gow Poker.
Pai Gow Commission
Some casinos require the player to pay 5% of any win as commission. In general, these houses will permit players to bank the game. Otherwise, a commission-less game is spread where the house has a push hand. These push hands may be a queen-high dealer pai gow, or if the house is forced to play a nine in the low hand.
Even if you are not in Las Vegas, you can play Pai Gow Poker online.
Complete Las Vegas Pai Gow Poker Survey 2018
Practice Pai Gow Poker
Casino | Game | Min Bet | Max Bet | # of Tables | Video |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Queens | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 500 | 1 | No |
Aliante Casino | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 3 | No |
Aria | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 4 | No |
Arizona Charlie’s Boulder | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 1 | No |
Arizona Charlie’s Decatur | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 500 | 1 | No |
Bally’s | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 1 | No |
Bally’s | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 5000 | 2 | No |
Bellagio | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 6 | No |
Bellagio | Pai Gow Poker | 50 | 10000 | 1 | No |
Binion’s | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 1 | No |
Boulder Station | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 2000 | 2 | No |
Caesars Palace | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 5000 | 2 | No |
Caesars Palace | Pai Gow Poker | 50 | 5000 | 2 | No |
Caesars Palace | Pai Gow Poker | 100 | 5000 | 1 | No |
California | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 500 | 2 | No |
Cannery | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 3 | No |
Club Fortune | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 200 | 1 | No |
Cosmopolitan | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 5000 | 2 | No |
Cosmopolitan | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 2 | No |
Cromwell | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 3000 | 3 | No |
Downtown Grand | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 1 | No |
Eastside Cannery | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 2 | No |
Encore | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 1 | No |
Excalibur | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 1 | No |
Fiesta Rancho | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 500 | 1 | No |
Fiesta Henderson | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 3 | No |
Flamingo | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 3000 | 2 | No |
Flamingo | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 3000 | 2 | No |
Fremont | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 500 | 1 | No |
Gold Coast | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 4 | No |
Golden Nugget | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 1 | No |
Green Valley Ranch | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 5 | No |
Hard Rock | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 2 | No |
Harrah’s | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 5000 | 5 | No |
Linq | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 3000 | 2 | No |
Luxor | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 3000 | 1 | No |
M Resort | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 4 | No |
Main Street Station | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 500 | 1 | No |
MGM Grand | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 1 | No |
Mirage | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 2 | No |
Monte Carlo | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 3 | No |
NYNY | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 2 | No |
Orleans | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 4 | No |
Palace Station | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 4 | No |
Palazzo | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 20000 | 1 | No |
Palazzo | Pai Gow Poker | 50 | 2000 | 3 | No |
Palms | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 2 | No |
Paris | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 3 | No |
Paris | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 5000 | 3 | No |
Paris | Pai Gow Poker | 100 | 5000 | 1 | No |
Paris | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 3 | No |
Planet Hollywood | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 4 | No |
Planet Hollywood | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 5000 | 1 | No |
Plaza | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 1 | No |
Rampart | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 2 | No |
Red Rock | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 4 | No |
Rio | Pai Gow Poker | 15 | 5000 | 4 | No |
Sam’s Town | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 2 | No |
Santa Fe Station | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 1000 | 4 | No |
Silverton | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 2 | No |
Sahara Las Vegas | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 10000 | 2 | No |
South Point | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 2000 | 7 | No |
Stratosphere | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 1000 | 2 | No |
Suncoast | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 2000 | 3 | No |
Texas Station | Pai Gow Poker | 5 | 500 | 2 | No |
The D | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2500 | 1 | No |
Treasure Island | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 5000 | 2 | No |
Tropicana | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 1 | No |
Venetian | Pai Gow Poker | 50 | 20000 | 1 | No |
Westgate | Pai Gow Poker | 10 | 2000 | 1 | No |
Wynn | Pai Gow Poker | 25 | 10000 | 4 | No |
Pai Gow Poker
How To Play Pai Gow Card Game
The game is simple and quick to learn, although it is described as slow-paced casino format with low risk. Pai Gow Poker is a game of skill, but it also relies on strategy that is quite obvious in most cases.
How to Play
The game is played with a 53 card deck - don’t be alarmed, it is a regular 52-card deck plus one Joker. Here, the Joker has some qualities of a Wild, but not in every situation. That’s why it is referred to as the semi Wild. The Joker can act as Ace, or a card that completes a Straight, Flush, or Straight Flush, or Royal Flush. The player needs to put up a stake before each round starts and then he or she will receive 7 cards. The objective is to make two poker hands - one 5-card hand and one 2-card hand. Both the hands need to beat the software in order to win. However, of only one of the two is a winning hand, then that’s called a push. It’s the player’s decision to arrange the cards into two hands in whatever way he/she feels most appropriate. The small hand is only allowed to have two high cards or a pair. The big hand needs to be higher in rank, so make sure you don’t ‘foul your hand’ because that’s one of the ways to lose in Pai Gow Poker. The main, five-card hand is ranked according to conventional poker rules.
In the event of either hand being a tie with the virtual dealer, the dealer wins. The way the game was conceived makes it impossible for the player to lose money if just one of the hands is better than the dealer’s. Because of that, players usually split the hands in a way which gives them the strongest possible two-card hand, one that doesn’t outrank the five-card hand.
How To Play Pai Gow Card Game
What More is There to Know About Pai Gow Poker?
Pai Gow Card Game Rules
Some of the advices more experienced players give to novices are: always split five Aces including Joker, unless you also have a pair of Kings; always keep Four of a Kind of 6s or lower together; always play Straights and Flushes in your five-card hand unless you also have two pair and there’s more in strategy charts.
How To Play Pai Gow
The house edge in Pau Gow Poker is rather low to begin with. It can be reduced even more (about 2.8%) if you master the skill of managing your hands optimally. Wins pay 1:1 odds. According to statistics, which consider all seven cards and don’t enter the parameter of player’s handling, the probability of forming a Royal Flush in Pai Gow Poker is 0.00136862, while the probability of forming a single pair is 0.41663862.