Pai Gow Poker Strategy
Pai Gow Poker strategy is not as rich as, for example, poker strategy. Nevertheless, there are a few tips that will help you maximize your winnings, or at least your playing time.
Pai Gow Poker Tips
These are a few simple tips to improve your Pai Gow Poker:
- Try to be the dealer as often as possible. When you act as dealer, you play against much better odds. The house advantage is more or less neutralized.
- As a corollary of the previous tips; play at tables with few players. The fewer the better. In this way you can be the dealer more often.
- Play the 'house way', even if you're not the dealer. That is, play your hands the way the house dealer would have to play them. This is the best playing strategy.
Pai Gow Poker played the House Way
Below is a chart of the Pai Gow Poker 'house way', that is, the strategy that must be followed by the house dealer. It also happens to be the optimal strategy for your own game.
The Pai Gow Poker house way may vary between casinos, but the differences are very small, usually without any importance at all.
Pai Gow Poker Hand How To Play
| No pair | Play the highest card in the five-card hand and the next two highest cards in the two-card hand. |
| One pair | Play the pair in the five-card hand and the next two highest cards in the two-card hand. |
| Two pair | - Ace and any other pair - always split.
- Face card pair and pair 6:s or higher - always split.
- Two pair 6:s or below - never split.
- Any other 2 pair - split unless the hand contains an ace; then play the ace in the two-card hand.
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| Three pairs | Play the highest pair in the two-card hand. |
| Three of a kind | - Play the three of a kind in the five-card hand - except break up three aces.
- Two three of a kind - play the lowest three of a kind in the five-card hand and split the higher three of a kind to play a pair in the two-card hand.
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| Straight | - Play as five-card hand.
- Six-card straight - play the highest card in the two-card hand.
- Five or six-card straight with a pair - play the pair in the two-card hand.
- Straight with two pair - play the two pair rule.
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| Flush | - Play as five-card hand.
- Six-card flush - play the highest card in the two-card hand.
- Five or six-card flush with a pair - play the pair in the two-card hand.
- Flush with two pair - play the two pair rule.
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| Straight and a flush | A flush and a straight with no pair - play the combination that results in the highest two-card hand. |
| Full house | Split except with a pair of 2:s or if an ace-king can be played in two-card hand. |
| Four of a kind | Play according to its rank: - 2 through 6 - play in five-card hand.
- 7 through 10 - split unless a pair or an ace and a picture can be played in the two-card hand.
- Jack through king - split unless the hand also contains a pair of 10:s or higher.
- Aces - split unless a pair of 7:s or higher can be played in the two-card hand.
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| Straight flush | - Play in the five-card hand.
- Split if the hand contains two pair of 10:s or higher, or a pair of aces and any other pair.
- If the hand contains any other two pair and an ace - play the 2 pair in the five-card hand and the ace in the two-card hand.
- Play a straight or flush instead of the straight flush if it causes a picture card or higher to be played in the two-card hand.
|
| Royal flush | - Play in the five-card hand.
- Royal flush with a pair - play the pair in the two-card hand.
- Royal flush with two pair - play the two pair rule.
- Split the royal flush if an ace, king or a pair can be played in the two-card hand while retaining a straight or flush in the five-card hand.
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| Five Aces | Split unless a pair of kings can be played in the two-card hand. |