Pai Gow Poker Guide

Want to play pai gow poker online but you’re not sure where to start? You’ll find our favorite casinos below. We ranked these sites using our B.E.S.T rating system. This ensures that all our recommendations are safe and trustworthy, and that they have a variety of pai gow poker games, deposit methods, and welcome bonuses.

Have you ever played pai gow poker before? It is a fun game to play if you enjoy poker. It is also a good option if you’re tired of the same old table games, like blackjack or baccarat, but want to stick to a table or card game.

If you don’t know how to play pai gow poker but want to give it a shot, you’ll learn everything you need to know in this guide. Here is everything we cover.

A common mistake we see people make is using the names pai gow and pai gow poker interchangeably. This is a mistake because these are two different games.

Here is an overview explaining some of the critical differences between pai gow and pai gow poker:

Pai gow and pai gow poker do have some similarities. Both games involve creating two hands and comparing them. Beyond that, the games are different.

We’re covering how to play the pai gow poker card game in this guide, not the pai gow tile game.

You can learn how to play pai gow poker in a matter of minutes.

Here is what you need to know.

Setting the hands is where strategy comes into play in pai gow poker. You get to decide which cards you want to include in each hand.

The two-card hand goes on top or in front. Your only options are a pair or a high card. Your five-card hand must be better than the two-card hand.

Jokers are semi-wild or a bug card. It is typically an ace, but you can also use it to create a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush.

Once everyone has set their hands, the dealer reveals their cards. They have specific rules that they use to determine which cards can be used in each hand. These pai gow poker dealer rules are referred to as the house way.

Your hands will get compared to the dealer’s hands, and the winning hands will get paid out. That will signal the end of the round.

That’s all there is to know how to play pai gow poker games. You can start playing pai gow poker right now with just this information.

But if you’re not ready yet, you can keep reading. In the next section, we’ll talk about setting your pai gow poker hands the house way.

In pai gow poker, there are specific rules about how the dealer has to set their hands. If you are co-banking the hand with the casino, you will also have to follow these rules.

Pai gow poker dealer rules are known as the house way. Many players choose to follow the house way when setting their hands because it gives them the best odds.

However, the house way varies from one casino to the next. That’s because casinos modify the house way to adjust the house edge based on the side bets and other rule variations they offer.

You want to find out what the house way is BEFORE you start playing. That way, you can modify your pai gow poker strategy accordingly.

When you are playing pai gow poker online, the computer will suggest hand settings based on the house way.

But you shouldn’t expect the casino to tell you how to set your hands when you play pai gow poker live. You’re going to need to know how to set your own hands.

Some pai gow poker house way rules are easier to remember than others. We’ll start with the easy rules first, then look at the more complicated ones after.

Here are the easiest house way rules to remember:

Now let’s look at some of the more complicated house way rules for pai gow poker. We’ll use the house way rules from the Trump Plaza Casino that was demolished in February 2021.

Here is how we will refer to different strength pairs.

Also, remember that your back (5-card) hand must be stronger than your front hand when using the information from these tables.

Many of these house way rules should be easy to remember because they make the most sense based on the poker hands available and the basic pai gow poker rules.

However, some specific instances can be challenging to remember. For example, it may feel counter-intuitive to break up a full house to make a better pair for your front hand. But that is the house way.

The more you practice the game, the more you will remember. It won’t be long before you don’t need our instructions for pai gow poker or setting your hands the house way.

And you certainly won’t need them if you play online pai gow poker since the AI tells you how to set your hands.

In fact, if you play pai gow poker online, you won’t need to read the next section about banking, either.

When you play pai gow poker games in a land-based casino, you may have the option to bank or co-bank the games.

If you choose to bank the game, you will act as the dealer. This means you’re competing against all the other players at the table. You’ll get to keep all the losing stakes, but you must pay out the winnings, too.

It probably goes without saying, but you must have enough money on the table to payout all of the other players’ bets if you want to be the banker in a pai gow poker game.

However, some casinos will allow you to co-bank. This means you split the cost with the casino.

If you are co-banking, you will have to follow the house way to determine how you set your hands.

The house edge is lower when you’re the banker because you pay a smaller commission to the casino. The commission is based on the net winnings for the entire hand rather than individual bets.

When you are the sole banker, you can cut the house edge in half if you know what you are doing. The only time you should pass on the opportunity to bank is if you don’t have a large enough bankroll.

Unfortunately, banking and co-banking are not available when you play pai gow poker online since it’s a digital game that does not include other players.

Now that you understand the basic rules for playing pai gow poker, you are ready to learn about the different variants and side bets that are available.

These are the most common variants of pai gow poker.

Those are the three main pai gow poker variations that you can enjoy. Be sure to modify your strategy if you choose to play one of these variants. We’ll discuss some strategies for playing pai gow poker in a moment.

This table shows some of the most common side bets you’ll see playing pai gow poker online or in land-based casinos.

* The house edge decreases as the jackpot amount increases.

In most cases, playing the house way is considered the best strategy for pai gow poker.

However, it can be challenging to remember the house way in every situation.

The house way varies from one casino to the next. It’s hard to keep up with it all.

But there are a couple of things you can do to get better at setting your pai gow poker hand the house way.

In fact, why not combine both of these strategies? That’s what we would do.

Study the house way rules for pai gow poker using our tables above. Memorize them the best you can. Then play a hand of pai gow poker online.

Once you’re done with the hand, check the calculator to see if it recommended the same move you made.

You’re going to make mistakes at first. But the more hands you play, the better you’ll get at setting your hands the house way, which is the only set of strategies for pai gow poker you need to know.

It won’t be long before you’re ready to play pai gow poker for real money.

You can play Pai Gow online for real money by following a few simple steps. Let’s take a look at how to get started.

We recommend playing real money online Pai Gow Poker at the following top casinos:

These are the best online casinos for real money Pai Gow right now. To find out more about how we select our recommendations, take a look at the page on our ranking process.

You will need to provide some information to your chosen casino start playing real money Pai Gow games. The website will need your payment information and other contact details.

You might have to confirm your identity with the site with ID documents, although exact requirements vary at different online gambling sites.

All real money gambling sites accept various payment methods.

You can add cash to your account by using a credit or debit card or a transfer from an online wallet service. Some sites also accept cryptocurrency payments.

Most gambling sites online these days offer bonuses to new players. You can enjoy a bonus where the site will match whatever you deposit and give you “free” money for use on games.

Note the terms for a bonus can vary surrounding how much you have to deposit, what games you can use the bonus money on, and the playthrough rules. Not all bonuses let you play real money Pai Gow games, so take note of the terms before you start playing.

Some of the top real money Pai Gow sites offer mobile games. This means you can play online Pai Gow for real cash using your smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device.

Typically, you simply load up a Pai Gow casino website on your mobile browser. Many of the best online Pai Gow casinos offer mobile versions of their sites that work on tablets and smartphones.

Some sites also let you download an app on your device. You’d have to visit the Pai Gow casino website to find a link for downloading this. You should get information on how to install the app from there.

You can then use the mobile interface to select your wagers and how you will play with your cards. The interface is essentially the same as what you’d find on desktop Pai Gow sites, just a bit smaller.

You will usually have a plenty of options to consider when playing games at the best real money Pai Gow casino sites. Most of them offer a wide variety of different games, and these include a few games that are similar to Pai Gow.

Caribbean Stud is played with a five-card hand. You will get five cards and then bet on whether your hand is better than what the dealer will produce.

The game gives out higher payouts when you have a less common hand, but it only works if the dealer has good enough of a hand to compete.

Another game that entails comparing five-card hands, you and the dealer will get two cards each. You’ll then review three community cards. You will raise your bet or fold, depending on what you feel could happen before the fourth and fifth community cards appear.

The winner is the one with the best possible hand. You will only collect the reward if the dealer has a good enough hand to qualify.

You can also play a smaller version of poker that deals three cards for each person. You can bet on whether your three-card hand has a higher value than whatever the dealer will receive.

This game is also known as three card poker, and it’s become a popular game at real money casinos in recent years.

You will get five cards, but only three will appear face up at the start. You can choose to raise your bet or use the same value as each card is revealed.

The idea here is to raise the bet if you feel you’re going to get a hand that will pay at the end.