What is Pai Gow Poker?
Pai gow is a prominent form of gambling in China using Chinese dominoes. Around 1985, Sam Torosian, the Bell Card Club’s owner, designed a poker game influenced by pai gow.
The Pai Gow poker over the years has become a popular casino game in the U.S.
As with blackjack, pai gow poker is a skill game where decisions are relevant.
It is a 53-card game that allows the players to break seven cards between the best five and the two-card hands, the ideal way to stretch out your bankroll. A perfect deal for those with a limited bankroll.
About 41% or more of the hands would end up in a push or tie without risking so much. However, such probabilities mean you can sit down for hours without a chip stack.
This post is intended to have everything you need to learn to start playing pai gow poker.
Pai Gow Poker Winning Tips
1. Know the game rules
Learning the rules is the most important aspect of playing pai gow poker. It has been the ultimate strategy for the game as well as all other gambling games.
You certainly can’t win the game as you don’t know the rules. Allow enough time to study the Pai Gow rules.
2. Understand the Ratings of Different Poker Hands
You must learn the ratings of various poker hands and understand them. This is crucial in developing the winning poker hands.
You have to learn the art of splitting the cards into two hands effectively, increasing your chances of beating the house.
A smart way of improving your skills is to play free game practice rounds before you play for real money.
3. Taking the Banker’s Role
While playing in brick-and-mortar casinos and you have enough bankroll, try playing the banker’s role. For example, the banker wins if the top hands are both the same, then once the losses are set against the winnings, the 5 percent fee is then charged.
This gives the player an advantage over those at the table and lessens the edge of the house.
Although this is very commonly seen in land-based casinos, this is not feasible for in online Pai Gow poker. The house by default is the banker. And so you don’t get the option to run the Pai Gow poker game online.
4. Be careful when splitting 2 pairs
You must divide the 2 pairs in your hand to maximize your likelihood of having a better return. There are a variety of ways to do this based on what else you have in your hand, test the technique many times and play it for free if you don’t feel confident yet.
5. Using Jokers to Your Benefit
Most of the Pai Gow Poker’s variations involve Jokers as a semi-wild card. A joker is instantly counted as being an Ace. But, if it is used to complete a flush, pair, etc, it can still stand for whatever card you need to build the hand.
And if you have a Joker in your hand, count yourself fortunate.
6. Embrace the bonus
A bonus circle is provided by so many pai gow tables and all premium hands must be paid for. Such bonuses begin at 2:1 for a straight and escalate from there, up to 8,000:1 for a natural straight flush for seven cards.
Even while using Joker as a wild card, there will be many times that you can’t have a single bonus. But, once the bonus arrives, it pays off very well.
7. Know when to leave the table
Each casino table game may get streaky, the Pai Gow poker is no different. As the push rate is too high, at the rate of 41%, leaving the table if you lose 3 hands in a row is a reasonable precaution.
Bathroom breaks can be a good breather when the odds are not doing well.
You could also learn how to play and gamble the house way, recognize the complicated hands and understand how dealers organize the cards.
With these seven best tips, you can certainly expect to win Pai Gow Poker the next time around.
