Online Pai Gow
Pai Gow Poker Online
Online Pai Gow Poker is a type of video poker that replaces traditional Chinese dominoes with playing cards. Today, online casinos offer both live and play-money Pai Gow Poker. You can also try no-deposit free versions of the game before you join. Due to the frequent ties and slower pace, Pai Gow Poker online is a great option for players looking to enjoy themselves.
We have a perfect online guide for how to play Pai Gow Poker. From the basics of the game and gameplay mechanics to the strategy required to become a winning player. To improve your chances of winning, learn the vocabulary and betting options used in the game. Find and play at a reputable Pai Gow Poker online casino that offers this particular game to all players. Get the latest Pai Gow Poker strategy, gain an advantage, and start playing like a pro.
Pai Gow Poker is an exciting game to play.
How to Play Pai Gow Poker Online
Even if you’ve never played Pai Gow before, it’s actually quite simple to learn how to play.
The cards dealt to you and the Ante bet
The dealer begins by distributing seven cards, face up, to you and then seven cards, face down, to themselves. To start a game, you have to place an ante, here we will use a $5 bet. Pai Gow Poker is played with a single joker card, in addition to the standard 52-card deck.
The Joker hand
The joker card can be considered “wild”. It can substitute for any card in the deck, but only used to create certain hands including straights, flushes, straight flushes, and royal flushes. It can also be used to form a pair, three of a kind, and similar hands. It can’t be used for any other hands.
The players hand
Once you’ve looked at your seven cards, it’s time to have some fun. Pai Gow Poker plays by arranging your cards in two different ways, a 5 card set and a 2 card set. A difference between Pai Gow Poker and other poker games is that your five-card hand must be better than your two card hand. For example, you have a pair of aces and a pair of kings the aces need to be played in your five card hand.
Two card hands and five card hands
Standard hand rankings apply, except for one special rule. The second-best straight is A 2 3 4 5, which is only beaten by Broadway, or A K Q J 10. All the other hands rank the same as regular poker hands so there are few other rules to learn when playing the game.
With the two card hand, the suit of the cards does not matter. You want to have a pair if possible, and a pair of Aces is the best two card hand just like regular poker.
How to beat the dealer
The goal here is to figure out how to set your five-card and two-card hands in such a way that they beat the dealers cards. Your dealer will try and set his cards up to try and beat your cards. Pai Gow Poker is a simple game to learn, but it can be difficult to make winning decisions when arranging your cards. Strategy is required to balance the strength of your two hands, in order to beat the dealer.
How to play a hand.
Let’s have a look at an example hand of online Pai Gow Poker.
Think about all the cards you hold.
Unlike Texas Hold’em, Pai Gow Poker has no betting rounds so you need to make all your decisions at the same time. As an example, if you are dealt K, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 9, you have the option of setting your hand like this,
- K, 9 / K, Q, J, 10, 9 (average top hand, strong bottom hand)
- Q, J / K, K, 9, 9, 10 (average top hand, strong bottom hand)
- 9, 9 / K, K, Q, J, 10 (strong top hand, pretty strong bottom hand)
As you can see, the same cards can be used to make different hands with different strength.
Aim for the strongest hand to beat the dealer.
You should always consider how to make two of the strongest hands, or at least one really good hand so you can beat one of the dealer’s hands.
Playing Pai Gow Poker online can involve a lot of strategy and skill, as well as the luck derived from the deck of cards.
Online Pai Gow Poker has three outcomes for each game
After cards are dealt, there is one ante bet as you begin to play your hand. The three possible results of each hand are as follows:
- The player wins both hands and wins their bet.
- The dealer wins both hands and the player loses their bet.
- The player wins one hand and the dealer wins the other, which is considered “a push” and no money exchanges hands.
When your cards are identical to a dealer’s, the tie always goes to the dealer. This usually happens with your two card hand. Even though there are a lot of different ways you can set your hand at Pai Gow, the dealer has to follow “the house way”, which just means that the dealer must follow a predetermined set of rules while setting their hands. House way is similar to blackjack rules about when you can split, hit or stand during your hand.
Top online casinos to play Pai Gow poker
The following is a list of some of the most popular online Pai Gow Poker sites that accept US players. If you are having doubts about the casino, just read our unbiased reviews about the casino on our site. Sign up with a trusted online poker site, deposit some money and start playing Pai Gow Poker.
Commission fees when winning a hand
If you win both hands, your payout will be even money minus the 5% commission charged by the house. If you bet $5, and your hand beats the dealer, you’ll get paid $5 minus $0.25 commission, so $4.75 in total.
When a casino commissions a game at 5%, it means that for every $20 bet, the casino keeps $1. This is why people often bet $20 per hand when playing Pai Gow. The casino simply rounds off the commission and losses at the end of each hand. This works the same way as a land based casino, except that the land based casinos will allow you to bet $21 simply as a way to pre-pay the commission if you win the hand.
Don’t forget that it is possible to play online casinos where you can wager against one another by acting as the dealer, although these are not as popular as inside the casino in your local town.
Online Pai Gow Poker game variations
Online Pai Gow Poker is now so popular that there are several variations of the card game that players can choose from:
(include thumbnails of some versions here) (asia poker, Asian stud, ez pai gow, high low pai gow)
Pai Gow Poker software providers
There are various software providers that integrate online Pai Gow poker within their platforms. (microgaming, cryptologic, betsoft, RealTime gaming, gamesys)
Strategy to win at online Pai Gow Poker
After you play your first few hands of online Pai Gow Poker, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. Before you learn how to play, you can try playing a version of the game for free at most casinos. Experimenting with various ways to set your hands can help you learn the game faster. By tracking your results, you’ll be more confident in your ability to win and lose as you go. All it takes is practice, practice, and more practice to become an absolute master.
Many seven-card hands have straight or flush possibilities, but they also have many other options to play. If cards are next to each other it’s always good to try for a straight or even a straight flush.
There are many decisions to make in Pai Gow Poker, but if you’re dealt two pairs in the game it’s best to decide which hand to put them in first. Should you keep your low pair together in a full five-card hand, or split it up into two separate hands? This takes a little time to learn the best way to play your cards.
The history of Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow poker and its’ recent variants come from the ancient Chinese times and have evolved into more game options over the years.
Traditional Pai-Gow is based on arranging your set of tiles to form both a “front” and a “back-hand”. The goal was still to beat the dealers’ tiles. Pai Gow is one of the most complex games among all casino games – and that’s why it is so popular with new and old players alike.
USA Casino Sites Recommends
USA Casino Sites News
- Aristocrat Launches NFL Superbowl Jackpots Casino GameOctober 12, 2023
Latest Blog Posts
- Regulated versus Offshore Casinos &…June 4, 2023
- Regulated vs. Offshore Online Casin…May 31, 2023
USA Deposit Options
How to Play Casino Games
Live Dealer Games
Get Exclusive Bonus offers
Enter your email below to get the latest bonus offers.
*Protecting your privacy is extremely important to us. Read our Privacy Policy.