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Pai Gow
History
Tracing its roots to ancient Chinese gaming, Pai Gow is literally translated as "make nine".Pai Gow is a Chinese game, believed to be thousands of years old, and played with Chinese domino tile sets. The beauty of Pai Gow has attracted the curiosity of gaming audiences in cities such as Nevada and California.
In ancient Chinese, the translation of p'ai is a term designated both for cards and dominoes. The reason for the use on both objects is that there is no main difference between dominoes and cards in China. During the early Chinese dynasties, dominoes are precisely used as cards. Dominoes are packed and treated the same way as cards.
Prior to the birth of Pai Gow, there were already two old Chinese gambling games that may have been the reason for the development of Pai Gow. They are yu-p'u and yeh-tza. Some players consider the two games as card games. There are others, however, who consider that the game of yu-p'u to be similar to a modern poker dice or something similar to it. Only the game of yeh-tza might be considered as a card game since it literally means leaves. Many authors believe that the possibility of using leaves as cards is very apparent.
The movement of time and the availability of new materials paved the way for the formation Ku P'ai, which curiously resembles a game using dominoes. It is further believed that yu-p'u, the ancient form of gambling considered as poker dice game, is the root of Chinese domino games. A domino, after all, is nothing but a pair of dice placed side by side. Chinese dominoes, which could be traced from the writings during Song Dynasty (1120 AD), have developed since then. They are used in several tile-based games, namely,Pai Gow , Tien Gow, Gwat Pai, Che Deng, Tiu U, Kap Tai Shap.
Pai Gow today is played very similar to many existing card games. The only main difference is that domino tiles are used instead of cards. The similarities to card games such as poker could make Pai Gow something to be enjoyed as a recreational card game. There is no doubt about it; those who begin to learn Pai Gow often end up becoming more than enthusiastic about the game. After all, it only takes a very short time to realize the beauty and ease in playing this popular Chinese game.
The popularity of Pai Gow has ushered into the development of Pai Gow Poker, an American version of the popular Chinese Pai Gow. It is a game played using cards, instead of the traditional dominoes, and is growing in popularity in various casinos as a source of amusement and fun.
Rules
Basic Gameplay
Pai Gow is played with a 53-card deck consisting of a standard 52-card deck with 1 wild card. The object of the game is to split your hand into a five-card hand and a two-card hand with both hands beating the dealer's two hands to win. The wild card is not a true wild card and has specific rules. The card only acts as an Ace or the fifth card in either a flush or a straight. It cannot be used to make a pair of 10's or Queens.
After you receive your seven cards you must split them into two hands, a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand must always rank higher than the two-card hand. To do this move the mouse pointer over the cards you want to make your two-card hand. Click on the two cards one at a time and they will split out of the deck. Notice that once you have chosen an eligible two-card hand (not better than your five-card hand) the split button becomes available. If you are happy with your choice click on this split button and you will have your two playing hands. If you are not satisfied with your choices click on the card or cards which you want to change and they will go back into your seven-card hand. Now choose the new cards you wish to play with. You may do this until you press the split button at which point your hands are locked-in. The dealer will then split his hand and the game will play itself out.
Scoring
Each five-card hand is ranked according to the standard poker hand hierarchy. Remember that because of the wild card, you have the potential to have five Aces, which beats a royal flush. Your two-card hand can either be a pair or no pair, therefore, your highest possible two-card hand would be a pair of Aces. The wild card can function in several ways. It can act as an Ace in any hand or the fifth card in a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or a royal flush.
Payoffs
The only way for the player to win is to win both hands outright. The house wins if the dealer wins both hands outright or wins one hand and the other hand is a draw. Any other combination results in a push. This will lead to many draws, so there will be a 5% commission on all player wins, which will be automatically deducted from the player's account. Apart from the commission, all winning wagers are paid out at even money (1 to 1).
Strategy
Basic Strategy
As the player has to make two hands from seven cards, this can be quite confusing for new players, especially as the 5-card hand has to rank higher than the two card hand. Here's a table to hint at the way certain combinations of cards should be played:
| Players Hand |
Play this way |
| No pairs, no straight, no flush |
2-card hand - use your second and third highest card
5-card hand - use your highest card |
| A pair, no pairs, no flush |
2-card hand - use your two highest single cards
5- use the pair |
| Two pair |
If you have a single ace, use the ace in the two-card hand and keep the pairs together in the five-card hand. Otherwise split the pairs as follows:
2-card hand - use the lower pair
5-card hand - use the higher pair |
| Three pair |
2-card hand - use the highest pair
5- use the second and third highest pairs |
| Straight and two pair |
Play as two pair, ignore the straight |
| Five-card straight |
2-card hand - use the two cards not in the straight
5-card hand - use the straight |
| Six-card straight |
-card hand - use the two highest cards that you can
5-card hand - use the remaining straight |
| Flush and two pair |
Play as two pair, ignore the flush |
| Other flush |
2-card hand play the highest cards in this hand
without breaking up the flush
5-card hand flush |
| Full house |
2-card hand - use the pair
5-card hand use the three of a kind |
If you are playing Pai Gow poker with a rotating banker then this is an advantage when you are banking because you win all copied hands, so unless you can't cover all the bets being placed on the table, don't pass up this golden opportunity to get an edge.
Probability
The following table shows the probability of forming any specified poker hand. These probabilities consider all seven cards and without regard to how the player may play the hand.
| Hand |
Combinations |
Probability |
| Five aces |
1128 |
0.00000732 |
| Straight/royal flush |
210964 |
0.00136862 |
| Four of a kind |
307472 |
0.00199472 |
| Full house |
4188528 |
0.02717299 |
| Flush |
6172088 |
0.04004129 |
| Straight |
11236028 |
0.07289350 |
| Three of a kind |
7470676 |
0.04846585 |
| Two pair |
35553816 |
0.23065464 |
| Pair |
64221960 |
0.41663862 |
| Nothing |
24780420 |
0.12076246 |
| Total |
154143080 |
1 |
Note: The number of ways for a royal flush is 26,132; 21620 wild and 4512 natural.
Tips
In Pai Gow Poker, the key to implementing a strong and successful strategy is in setting the hand. Unlike other in-depth strategies that are mathematically based, what is commonly called the short strategy is essentially a guideline on what cards are put in the two-card hand and which cards are set for the five-card hand.
The first rule to remember - which should always be the case - is to set the two-card hand as high as possible without taking away from the five-card hand's value. When doing so, remember that your five-card hand must be a higher rank than your two-card hand. If you set your hands the other way around, your bet will be forfeited. Also remember that your first priority is to beat both of the banker's hands. If only one of the hand's wins, the bet is pushed and no money is exchanged.
A good way to know whether your hand has good potential or not is to validate the break-even point. For the two-card hand, the break-even point is an Ace/8. For the five-card hand, it is Jack/Jack. If you are holding at least these two hands, your chances of winning both hands, and consequently the round, is greater than 50/50. Keeping this in mind, always set the the following potential hands in the corresponding manner:
1.Holding a High Card
If you are holding no better than a high-card, form the two-card hand into the 2nd and 3rd highest value cards.
2.Holding a One-Pair
If you are holding no better than a one-pair, form the two-card hand into the two highest value cards other than the pair.
3.Holding a Two-Pair
If you are holding a two-pair, you should always split the cards so that the higher of the pairs is in the five-card hand. If there is an Ace in the hand, split the pairs if they are Jack/Jack/7/7 or greater. Otherwise, keep the two-pair in the five-card hand and set the Ace with the next highest card for the two-card hand.
4.Holding a Three of a Kind
If you are holding a three-of-a-kind, always keep it in the five-card hand and set the two-card hand with the next two highest cards. The only exception is for an Ace/Ace/Ace, which should be split into a pair of aces for the five-card hand, and the Ace and next highest card for the small hand.
5.Holding a Straight
For Straights, always set the lowest series of cards in the five-card hand. For instance, a 4,6,7,8,9,10,Jack should be set as a 6,7,8,9,10 and a 4/Jack.
6.Holding a Flush
For Flushes, like Straights, always set the lowest series of flush cards in the five-card hand. The only time you should break up the Flush is if the two-card hand will not hit the break-even point as explained earlier.
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