- Pai Gow Practice
- Pai Gow Poker House Edge Casino
- Pai Gow Poker House Edge
- Pai Gow Poker House Edge
- Pai Gow Poker House Edge Definition
Generally speaking, pai gow poker has a combined house edge of 1.46 per cent. But, the house edge of the game may vary depending on the type of bet placed by a player. If a casino visitor decides to act as a player in pai gow poker, then the house edge will be 2.73 per cent. The house edge in your game depends on how much you bet. It is lowest for a $100 bet, at 1%. I'm ignoring the rule about everybody pushing, that will lower the edge even more. Much like the card rooms of in the Los Angeles area I think there is potential to beat the house edge if you bank enough of a percentage of the action. Slot machines Pai Gow Poker Bonus House Edge are popular worldwide for their record-breaking jackpots and exciting themes. With few rules and strategies to consider, slot games are perfect for new casino players. Try some free slot games now or discover online slots to play for real money.
Bring up the game of poker in any casino, and you'll inevitably hear people talk about Texas Hold'em and televised tournaments like the WSOP. Every so often, a table game enthusiast might mention Three-Card Poker or Caribbean Stud Poker, but you'll seldom hear Pai Gow Poker enter the conversation.
Despite the popularity of traditional poker, and its offshoots spread in the table game pit, Pai Gow Poker became the 'black sheep' of the family. And that's a shame, because this complex seven-card poker affair is actually better than most table games, even if most gamblers ignore it anyway.
Brief History and Introduction to Pai Gow Poker
The year was 1985, and California casino owner Sam Torosian found himself in a bind. With card clubs sprouting up like weeds throughout Los Angeles County, the newly minted casino operator needed a hook to bring customers through the doors.
After asking around and picking the brains of players, most of whom hailed from local Asian-American communities, Torosian stumbled on a novel concept. A Filipino regular explained the rules of 'pusoy,' a card game popular throughout China and nearby regions.
To play pusoy, four players attempt to arrange their random 13-card deal into three distinct poker hands. Two of these hands used the traditional five-card poker hierarchy, while the third used a modified three-card version.
Realizing that the four-way player vs. player format wasn't exactly a great fit for casino table gaming, Torosian tinkered with the concept. By using just seven cards per player, and two poker hands—a five-card 'high' hand and a two-card 'low' hand—Torosian hoped to turn pusoy into something more palatable for casino gamblers.
He borrowed elements from another Chinese gambling game known as 'pai gow.' While playing pai gow, participants use dominoes and try to set front and back 'hands' that outrank their opponent's front and back holdings. And just like that, the exciting game of Pai Gow Poker was born…
How to Play Pai Gow Poker
To play the game, you'll place an ante bet to kick off the action. Pai Gow Poker is played against the dealer, rather than other players, so everyone at the table receives a random deal of seven cards from a 53-card deck.
Pai Gow Poker utilizes a lone 'joker' card which is considered to be semi-wild, as it can substitute as an ace, or as part of a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush.
With your seven cards in hand—as an example, imagine you're holding the A-A-K-K-9-7-2 with no flush on board—the task is relatively simple. You want to find a five-card 'high' hand that has a good chance of outranking the dealer's own five-card selection. From there, the other two cards will form your two-card 'low' hand. The only caveat is, your five-card high hand must outrank your two-card low hand.
Using our example hand, you have a few possibilities to consider. With the A-A-K-K in play, you could form the strongest possible two pair by putting A-A-K-K-2 up front as your high hand. But by doing so, you'll only have 9-7 as your low hand, and this isn't likely to beat many dealer low hands.
A better play, one that gives you a prime chance to beat both dealer hands, would use the following hand-setting strategy:
Using this balanced approach, you're now playing a strong high hand with top pair of aces, while your low hand is essentially the second-best possible with one pair of kings.
When the dealer shows something like Q-Q-J-5-4 for a high hand and 6-6 for a low hand, you've just beaten them on both ends of the equation.
Conversely, should the dealer showdown a two-pair hand like Q-Q-J-J-5 for the high and 6-6 for the low, you would 'chop' or 'push' with the dealer, meaning your bet is returned in a tie.
Now that you know how to play Pai Gow Poker, let's take a look at why the game is actually better than most table game options out there.
Pai Gow Poker Offers One of the Lowest House Edge Rates
As a table game player, your job is to hunt for the lowest possible house edge rates working against you.
House edge is simply a metric used to determine the casino's inherent advantage on every game or hand. And the higher it is, the worse odds you'll face over the long run.
With that in mind, the 'Holy Grail' for house edge aficionados is blackjack, which affords a rate of just 0.50% to players who know basic strategy. In other words, For every $100 wagered, blackjack players using basic strategy only stand to lose $0.50 in the long run.
On the other end of the spectrum is American style 'double-zero' roulette with its 5.26% house edge. But as you can see down below, Pai Gow Poker sits snugly next to blackjack and other games boasting favorable house edge rates.
House Edge of Popular Table Games
Pai Gow Poker offers a very low house edge compared to most table games. It has an edge at 1.46%, which is better than blackjack with no strategy, single zero roulette at 2.7%, and American Roulette, which comes in at 5.26%.
You Can Stretch a Short Bankroll Over Long Sessions Thanks to the Push
Because every Pai Gow Poker hand really involves a two vs. two scenario against the dealer, you'll wind up seeing your fair share of pushes in the end.
In fact, as the probabilities below make clear, you'll actually wind up in a push more often than any other result:
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
| Win | 29.11% |
| Push | 40.49% |
| Loss | 30.38% |
This 'push factor' makes the game perfect for folks who enjoy a leisurely, less volatile table game experience. You can sit down with $50, place a few bets to score some drinks, and usually walk away with the same $50 you started with.
Why Most Gamblers Ignore Pai Gow Poker
Let's start with the name… Pai Gow Poker obviously owes its name to Asian roots, which tends to box out American players who aren't familiar with the rules.
Another reason recreational players skip over Pai Gow Poker is the aforementioned push factor. When you come to the casino hellbent on winning, or losing your stack of chips trying, playing a game that winds up with a null result 40% of the time might not be up your alley.
Finally, the admittedly complex optimal strategy used to play the game perfectly has a lot of variables to consider. With this in mind, casual players who just want to have fun typically head to the games of chance like roulette, craps, and baccarat, where strategic thinking isn't required.
Conclusion
Pai Gow Poker may seem confusing and overly complex at first glance, but the same can be said for any gambling game you're new to. Once you sit down and give the game a try, however, the basic binary nature of setting high/low hands will become second nature.
Don't be put off by the exotic name or the intricate rules, just pull out a few chips and take a shot at learning something new. When you do, you won't regret it, as Pai Gow Poker has evolved from a curiosity into a card game staple spread in every casino nationwide.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Although I did not attempt to Bank at that time in that casino, mainly due to my limited bankroll not being able to cover the larger bets, I did try it at The Orleans playing Pai Gow Poker. A friend of mine set directly to my left and we were both banking with his turn preceding my own. When it was my friends turn to bank, I bet the table minimum, $10, for the reason mentioned above. The Orleans would not allow me to revert to my higher bet of $25, which is what I bet the hand before my friend banked i.e. when the House was the banker. I guess my question is what determines the amount that you are allowed to bet as the banker: the last amount wagered, the last amount wagered against the house, or something else? I will note that The Orleans banking sequence was just as the hands were ordered or you were offered to bank once every eight hands.
Later in the week, I was playing PGP at Excalibur and when the table emptied and it was just me and the dealer I asked the Pit Boss and he let me bank every other hand, alternating with the dealer. That was nice even though there were no copies to which I would have won. I got extra enjoyment knowing that I was playing at the lowest house advantage possible.
Casinos get sensitive at the Pai Gow table when players play together and sometimes will treat the bankroll as one unit instead of two. For that reason, when you are backing down to $10 while your friend banks, they are treating your bet as the smaller one. But I don't really understand the logic as they have the advantage both when you are banking and you are not. If you are betting $25 and the house has the bank, you should be able to bet $25 when it is your turn to bank. The solution to this issue is to simply play $25 when your friend banks and have him repay your loss, or to take your business elsewhere.
Do you notice that when the bank is circulating that the dealer places the chips the next banker bets in the tray to let them know how much you are allowed to bank when it is your turn?
Administrator
In pai gow tiles the rules are very firm that the turn to bank rotates around the table counterclockwise. When it is your turn to bank the dealer will bet against you up to 110% of what you bet against the dealer the last time the dealer banked. You may request the dealer bet less. Most of the time players request the dealer bet exactly what they bet against the dealer. If a lot of other players are also betting against me, I'll sometimes ask the dealer to decrease his/her bet, to limit my downside.
In pai gow poker there is much less consistency. I think players invoke the right to bank in that game so seldom that the dealers, and sometimes the floor, don't know what to do. Often the turn to bank won't rotate, but zig-zag between the dealer and the players. I've also seen it that if there is an empty seat, the turn reverts to the dealer. When I was reviewing the South Point I was surprised that when I asked to bank in pai gow poker, the dealer bet against me what I bet against the player to my left (JB) the previous turn. I made a small bet against him, because he is a low roller. So the next turn the dealer bet $10 against me, when I bet $100 against the dealer two turns ago. It made no sense.
In pai gow poker there is much less consistency. I think players invoke the right to bank in that game so seldom that the dealers, and sometimes the floor, don't know what to do.
That reminds me of the time I lost a hand and still made money.
I was once at Barbary Coast playing PG Poker and it was just the dealer and me, so I was banking every other turn. I had reached a point where I decided I was either going to double up or go broke and leave to find my friends, who were at another casino. So, I increased my bet by putting all I had out there, making it about 3 times my normal bet size. The hand was a push.
Coincidentally, at that point my friends arrived from the other casino, and I told them 'one more hand' as it was now my turn to Bank. However, I had come to my senses and decided to abandon my double-up or go broke strategy, so I asked the dealer to take the house bet back down to my 'normal' bet size, or one-third my last bet.
The dealer refused to do so. He said the house bet amount was required to be the amount of my last bet. I tried to explain to him it was to my detriment to play for less, as the house edge was lower when I was Banking, but the dealer didn't want to hear it. (And in his defense, I'm sure he has to deal with plenty of player know-it-alls who want to tell him he's doing his job wrong when he's doing it right.) We then debated back and forth, both of us stubborn that our opinion was correct. He got moderately upset over it. I got mildly upset over it. I eventually gave up and told him okay, I'll play for the larger amount, but asked him to call the floor over for an 'official' ruling so I'd know the next time I tried to bank for less.
He agreed and called the floor over, but was still so flustered about our disagreement that at the time he picked up the non-played hands at the empty seats, he realized he had mis-dealt. Even though the cards came out of the Shufflemaster machine, he had distributed the hands as if the house was the bank, not me. Plus, the dice and my seat position were such that I had the house hand and, of course, the house had the banker hand. At this point, the floor came over in response to his earlier request. Of course by now we had done away with the banking-for-less argument and were onto what to do about the dealing error.
The floor, probably anticipating an argument if we just switched hands to correct the problem, told the dealer to switch the hands, but if I lost, count it as a push. I agreed because since the cards are random I honestly would have been fine with just giving everybody the right hand and playing it as the fates intended. The hands were switched to make them correct. The floor stayed and watched how the hand turned out. I had a so-so hand, the specifics of which I can't remember. When the dealer turned over his cards, there might as well have been 7 Aces. It was a monster. I had lost, but per our agreement should've got a push. The floor stared at the dealer's hand and just shook his head for about 5 seconds, before uttering 'go ahead and pay him anyway.' The dealer didn't even question the floor; he promptly paid as if I had won.
I paid the commission, found my friends, and forever left the Barbary Coast. I say forever because even though I've been back to the building several times on trips since, it's obviously now Bill's Gamblin' Hall. But the Barbary Coast will always be the casino where I lost a hand and still won.
I think I understand it, but I'm not sure. So let's try this example:
I chose to bank and everyone, dealer included, bets $10. First question, do I also palce a bet? If I do, then I assume the dealer (acting as the house) pays it off if I win, takes it if I lose.
Next, let's say there are a total of five bets on the table, excluding mine. If I lose to everyone I have to pay each player $10 minus the 5% comision, have I got that right? If I win over everyone, I take everyone's bets, no comission, right? So I stand to gain $50 but I stand to lose $47.50 plus my own bet in either case? And of course any number of in bewteen cases where I win some and lose others. Naturally I must have enough cash on hand, in the form of chips, to cover every bet.
And in the case of a tie (copy), I win the hand. But not in the case of a push. Right?
Yeah, I find the player banking thing confusing.
Other than that I'm developing a taste for Pai Gow Poker (sorry), but I find Tiles inscrutable thus far.
Mind if I clear up some doubts about banking?
I think I understand it, but I'm not sure. So let's try this example:
I chose to bank and everyone, dealer included, bets $10. First question, do I also palce a bet? If I do, then I assume the dealer (acting as the house) pays it off if I win, takes it if I lose.
When you ask to bank, tell the dealer how much you wish the house to bet against you. 'I'd like to bank for $10, please.' The dealer will place the banker tile in your betting circle, and will place $10 in front of him/herself to cover you're bet. If the dealer knows I'm banking regularly, I'll indicate my intention by placing $10 next to my banking circle instead of in it. If you lose, the dealer will request the $10 from you, as well as any other player bets you may have lost.
Next, let's say there are a total of five bets on the table, excluding mine. If I lose to everyone I have to pay each player $10 minus the 5% comision, have I got that right? If I win over everyone, I take everyone's bets, no comission, right? So I stand to gain $50 but I stand to lose $47.50 plus my own bet in either case? And of course any number of in bewteen cases where I win some and lose others. Naturally I must have enough cash on hand, in the form of chips, to cover every bet.
No, only winners pay commission. If you lose to everyone, the dealer will request $50 from you, pay $10 to each player, and receive $0.50 commission back from each winner. If you win, the dealer will give you $50, and ask for $2.50 in commissions on your win. As the banker, you pay commission on the net win. So if you win 4 $10 bets, including your own, and lose 2 $10 bets, you win a net of $20 and pay a $1 commission.
And in the case of a tie (copy), I win the hand. But not in the case of a push. Right?
Yes. Banker wins all copy hands. But pushes are still pushes.
Yeah, I find the player banking thing confusing.
Other than that I'm developing a taste for Pai Gow Poker (sorry), but I find Tiles inscrutable thus far.
Brief History and Introduction to Pai Gow Poker
The year was 1985, and California casino owner Sam Torosian found himself in a bind. With card clubs sprouting up like weeds throughout Los Angeles County, the newly minted casino operator needed a hook to bring customers through the doors.
After asking around and picking the brains of players, most of whom hailed from local Asian-American communities, Torosian stumbled on a novel concept. A Filipino regular explained the rules of 'pusoy,' a card game popular throughout China and nearby regions.
To play pusoy, four players attempt to arrange their random 13-card deal into three distinct poker hands. Two of these hands used the traditional five-card poker hierarchy, while the third used a modified three-card version.
Realizing that the four-way player vs. player format wasn't exactly a great fit for casino table gaming, Torosian tinkered with the concept. By using just seven cards per player, and two poker hands—a five-card 'high' hand and a two-card 'low' hand—Torosian hoped to turn pusoy into something more palatable for casino gamblers.
He borrowed elements from another Chinese gambling game known as 'pai gow.' While playing pai gow, participants use dominoes and try to set front and back 'hands' that outrank their opponent's front and back holdings. And just like that, the exciting game of Pai Gow Poker was born…
How to Play Pai Gow Poker
To play the game, you'll place an ante bet to kick off the action. Pai Gow Poker is played against the dealer, rather than other players, so everyone at the table receives a random deal of seven cards from a 53-card deck.
Pai Gow Poker utilizes a lone 'joker' card which is considered to be semi-wild, as it can substitute as an ace, or as part of a straight, flush, straight flush, or royal flush.
With your seven cards in hand—as an example, imagine you're holding the A-A-K-K-9-7-2 with no flush on board—the task is relatively simple. You want to find a five-card 'high' hand that has a good chance of outranking the dealer's own five-card selection. From there, the other two cards will form your two-card 'low' hand. The only caveat is, your five-card high hand must outrank your two-card low hand.
Using our example hand, you have a few possibilities to consider. With the A-A-K-K in play, you could form the strongest possible two pair by putting A-A-K-K-2 up front as your high hand. But by doing so, you'll only have 9-7 as your low hand, and this isn't likely to beat many dealer low hands.
A better play, one that gives you a prime chance to beat both dealer hands, would use the following hand-setting strategy:
Using this balanced approach, you're now playing a strong high hand with top pair of aces, while your low hand is essentially the second-best possible with one pair of kings.
When the dealer shows something like Q-Q-J-5-4 for a high hand and 6-6 for a low hand, you've just beaten them on both ends of the equation.
Conversely, should the dealer showdown a two-pair hand like Q-Q-J-J-5 for the high and 6-6 for the low, you would 'chop' or 'push' with the dealer, meaning your bet is returned in a tie.
Now that you know how to play Pai Gow Poker, let's take a look at why the game is actually better than most table game options out there.
Pai Gow Poker Offers One of the Lowest House Edge Rates
As a table game player, your job is to hunt for the lowest possible house edge rates working against you.
House edge is simply a metric used to determine the casino's inherent advantage on every game or hand. And the higher it is, the worse odds you'll face over the long run.
With that in mind, the 'Holy Grail' for house edge aficionados is blackjack, which affords a rate of just 0.50% to players who know basic strategy. In other words, For every $100 wagered, blackjack players using basic strategy only stand to lose $0.50 in the long run.
On the other end of the spectrum is American style 'double-zero' roulette with its 5.26% house edge. But as you can see down below, Pai Gow Poker sits snugly next to blackjack and other games boasting favorable house edge rates.
House Edge of Popular Table Games
Pai Gow Poker offers a very low house edge compared to most table games. It has an edge at 1.46%, which is better than blackjack with no strategy, single zero roulette at 2.7%, and American Roulette, which comes in at 5.26%.
You Can Stretch a Short Bankroll Over Long Sessions Thanks to the Push
Because every Pai Gow Poker hand really involves a two vs. two scenario against the dealer, you'll wind up seeing your fair share of pushes in the end.
In fact, as the probabilities below make clear, you'll actually wind up in a push more often than any other result:
| Result | Probability |
|---|---|
| Win | 29.11% |
| Push | 40.49% |
| Loss | 30.38% |
This 'push factor' makes the game perfect for folks who enjoy a leisurely, less volatile table game experience. You can sit down with $50, place a few bets to score some drinks, and usually walk away with the same $50 you started with.
Why Most Gamblers Ignore Pai Gow Poker
Let's start with the name… Pai Gow Poker obviously owes its name to Asian roots, which tends to box out American players who aren't familiar with the rules.
Another reason recreational players skip over Pai Gow Poker is the aforementioned push factor. When you come to the casino hellbent on winning, or losing your stack of chips trying, playing a game that winds up with a null result 40% of the time might not be up your alley.
Finally, the admittedly complex optimal strategy used to play the game perfectly has a lot of variables to consider. With this in mind, casual players who just want to have fun typically head to the games of chance like roulette, craps, and baccarat, where strategic thinking isn't required.
Conclusion
Pai Gow Poker may seem confusing and overly complex at first glance, but the same can be said for any gambling game you're new to. Once you sit down and give the game a try, however, the basic binary nature of setting high/low hands will become second nature.
Don't be put off by the exotic name or the intricate rules, just pull out a few chips and take a shot at learning something new. When you do, you won't regret it, as Pai Gow Poker has evolved from a curiosity into a card game staple spread in every casino nationwide.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Although I did not attempt to Bank at that time in that casino, mainly due to my limited bankroll not being able to cover the larger bets, I did try it at The Orleans playing Pai Gow Poker. A friend of mine set directly to my left and we were both banking with his turn preceding my own. When it was my friends turn to bank, I bet the table minimum, $10, for the reason mentioned above. The Orleans would not allow me to revert to my higher bet of $25, which is what I bet the hand before my friend banked i.e. when the House was the banker. I guess my question is what determines the amount that you are allowed to bet as the banker: the last amount wagered, the last amount wagered against the house, or something else? I will note that The Orleans banking sequence was just as the hands were ordered or you were offered to bank once every eight hands.
Later in the week, I was playing PGP at Excalibur and when the table emptied and it was just me and the dealer I asked the Pit Boss and he let me bank every other hand, alternating with the dealer. That was nice even though there were no copies to which I would have won. I got extra enjoyment knowing that I was playing at the lowest house advantage possible.
Casinos get sensitive at the Pai Gow table when players play together and sometimes will treat the bankroll as one unit instead of two. For that reason, when you are backing down to $10 while your friend banks, they are treating your bet as the smaller one. But I don't really understand the logic as they have the advantage both when you are banking and you are not. If you are betting $25 and the house has the bank, you should be able to bet $25 when it is your turn to bank. The solution to this issue is to simply play $25 when your friend banks and have him repay your loss, or to take your business elsewhere.
Do you notice that when the bank is circulating that the dealer places the chips the next banker bets in the tray to let them know how much you are allowed to bank when it is your turn?
Administrator
In pai gow tiles the rules are very firm that the turn to bank rotates around the table counterclockwise. When it is your turn to bank the dealer will bet against you up to 110% of what you bet against the dealer the last time the dealer banked. You may request the dealer bet less. Most of the time players request the dealer bet exactly what they bet against the dealer. If a lot of other players are also betting against me, I'll sometimes ask the dealer to decrease his/her bet, to limit my downside.
In pai gow poker there is much less consistency. I think players invoke the right to bank in that game so seldom that the dealers, and sometimes the floor, don't know what to do. Often the turn to bank won't rotate, but zig-zag between the dealer and the players. I've also seen it that if there is an empty seat, the turn reverts to the dealer. When I was reviewing the South Point I was surprised that when I asked to bank in pai gow poker, the dealer bet against me what I bet against the player to my left (JB) the previous turn. I made a small bet against him, because he is a low roller. So the next turn the dealer bet $10 against me, when I bet $100 against the dealer two turns ago. It made no sense.
In pai gow poker there is much less consistency. I think players invoke the right to bank in that game so seldom that the dealers, and sometimes the floor, don't know what to do.
That reminds me of the time I lost a hand and still made money.
I was once at Barbary Coast playing PG Poker and it was just the dealer and me, so I was banking every other turn. I had reached a point where I decided I was either going to double up or go broke and leave to find my friends, who were at another casino. So, I increased my bet by putting all I had out there, making it about 3 times my normal bet size. The hand was a push.
Coincidentally, at that point my friends arrived from the other casino, and I told them 'one more hand' as it was now my turn to Bank. However, I had come to my senses and decided to abandon my double-up or go broke strategy, so I asked the dealer to take the house bet back down to my 'normal' bet size, or one-third my last bet.
The dealer refused to do so. He said the house bet amount was required to be the amount of my last bet. I tried to explain to him it was to my detriment to play for less, as the house edge was lower when I was Banking, but the dealer didn't want to hear it. (And in his defense, I'm sure he has to deal with plenty of player know-it-alls who want to tell him he's doing his job wrong when he's doing it right.) We then debated back and forth, both of us stubborn that our opinion was correct. He got moderately upset over it. I got mildly upset over it. I eventually gave up and told him okay, I'll play for the larger amount, but asked him to call the floor over for an 'official' ruling so I'd know the next time I tried to bank for less.
He agreed and called the floor over, but was still so flustered about our disagreement that at the time he picked up the non-played hands at the empty seats, he realized he had mis-dealt. Even though the cards came out of the Shufflemaster machine, he had distributed the hands as if the house was the bank, not me. Plus, the dice and my seat position were such that I had the house hand and, of course, the house had the banker hand. At this point, the floor came over in response to his earlier request. Of course by now we had done away with the banking-for-less argument and were onto what to do about the dealing error.
The floor, probably anticipating an argument if we just switched hands to correct the problem, told the dealer to switch the hands, but if I lost, count it as a push. I agreed because since the cards are random I honestly would have been fine with just giving everybody the right hand and playing it as the fates intended. The hands were switched to make them correct. The floor stayed and watched how the hand turned out. I had a so-so hand, the specifics of which I can't remember. When the dealer turned over his cards, there might as well have been 7 Aces. It was a monster. I had lost, but per our agreement should've got a push. The floor stared at the dealer's hand and just shook his head for about 5 seconds, before uttering 'go ahead and pay him anyway.' The dealer didn't even question the floor; he promptly paid as if I had won.
I paid the commission, found my friends, and forever left the Barbary Coast. I say forever because even though I've been back to the building several times on trips since, it's obviously now Bill's Gamblin' Hall. But the Barbary Coast will always be the casino where I lost a hand and still won.
I think I understand it, but I'm not sure. So let's try this example:
I chose to bank and everyone, dealer included, bets $10. First question, do I also palce a bet? If I do, then I assume the dealer (acting as the house) pays it off if I win, takes it if I lose.
Next, let's say there are a total of five bets on the table, excluding mine. If I lose to everyone I have to pay each player $10 minus the 5% comision, have I got that right? If I win over everyone, I take everyone's bets, no comission, right? So I stand to gain $50 but I stand to lose $47.50 plus my own bet in either case? And of course any number of in bewteen cases where I win some and lose others. Naturally I must have enough cash on hand, in the form of chips, to cover every bet.
And in the case of a tie (copy), I win the hand. But not in the case of a push. Right?
Yeah, I find the player banking thing confusing.
Other than that I'm developing a taste for Pai Gow Poker (sorry), but I find Tiles inscrutable thus far.
Mind if I clear up some doubts about banking?
I think I understand it, but I'm not sure. So let's try this example:
I chose to bank and everyone, dealer included, bets $10. First question, do I also palce a bet? If I do, then I assume the dealer (acting as the house) pays it off if I win, takes it if I lose.
When you ask to bank, tell the dealer how much you wish the house to bet against you. 'I'd like to bank for $10, please.' The dealer will place the banker tile in your betting circle, and will place $10 in front of him/herself to cover you're bet. If the dealer knows I'm banking regularly, I'll indicate my intention by placing $10 next to my banking circle instead of in it. If you lose, the dealer will request the $10 from you, as well as any other player bets you may have lost.
Next, let's say there are a total of five bets on the table, excluding mine. If I lose to everyone I have to pay each player $10 minus the 5% comision, have I got that right? If I win over everyone, I take everyone's bets, no comission, right? So I stand to gain $50 but I stand to lose $47.50 plus my own bet in either case? And of course any number of in bewteen cases where I win some and lose others. Naturally I must have enough cash on hand, in the form of chips, to cover every bet.
No, only winners pay commission. If you lose to everyone, the dealer will request $50 from you, pay $10 to each player, and receive $0.50 commission back from each winner. If you win, the dealer will give you $50, and ask for $2.50 in commissions on your win. As the banker, you pay commission on the net win. So if you win 4 $10 bets, including your own, and lose 2 $10 bets, you win a net of $20 and pay a $1 commission.
And in the case of a tie (copy), I win the hand. But not in the case of a push. Right?
Yes. Banker wins all copy hands. But pushes are still pushes.
Yeah, I find the player banking thing confusing.
Other than that I'm developing a taste for Pai Gow Poker (sorry), but I find Tiles inscrutable thus far.
You do NOT place a bet when you bank. You're the banker. Much like when the dealer is the banker and the rack has to be sufficient to cover the player's bets, your stack has to cover the player's bets, as well as the dealer's bet. As has been discussed, the dealer will bet the same amount you bet the last time the dealer banked.
I stand to gain $50 but I stand to lose $47.50
I'm 99% sure you got that backwards.I.E. If you lose, you pay the bets at even money. The players then pay the 5% to the house. If you win, you collect the bet but then pay the house 5%.
Pai Gow Practice
And in the case of a tie (copy), I win the hand. But not in the case of a push. Right?
Right. And that's the only advantage of banking, when you're the only player.A push is still a push.
Pai Gow Poker House Edge Casino
I probably wouldn't bank at Pai Gow Poker with other players, no bankroll for it either, but I'd bank against the dealer now.
As with most other games, I suppose the path to full understanding is play itself, but it heps to know the rules beforehand.
I probably wouldn't bank at Pai Gow Poker with other players, no bankroll for it either,
I'm definitely a low roller; playing the table minimums almost exclusively. But, I have not feared banking against a couple other players as long as they are playing the minimum also. Just remember how often pushes happen. Even if you have to put up $30 to cover yourself and two others; you very seldom payout the entire amount. I have no statistical data to support this, but I would venture to guess that even though collecting the entire $30 (minus the $1.50 commission) happens very seldom also, it probably happens more often than losing the entire $30.
but I'd bank against the dealer now
Absolutely! If you can get to an empty table and go head to head against the dealer go for it. See if you can get the pit boss to let you bank every other hand like I did at Excalibur.
It hasn't been brought up in this thread, but for anyone who is completely new to banking in PGP, I should mention if you are worried about covering that possible monster bonus side bet (sucker bet) don't. The house covers that because the house collects it if the player loses.
The dealer refused to do so. He said the house bet amount was required to be the amount of my last bet. I tried to explain to him it was to my detriment to play for less, as the house edge was lower when I was Banking, but the dealer didn't want to hear it.
I'm new to pai gow, but this statement makes me think I'm missing something about the odds when banking or exactly how it works. Isn't is actually still to your detriment to play for more (even when banking) because it's still an negative EV game whether or not you're banking?
Pai Gow Poker House Edge
This could just be something I'm misunderstanding about EV, does your overall EV increase when you bet more when your EV is 'less negative' and bet less when it's 'more negative'?Pai Gow Poker House Edge
-C
Pai Gow Poker House Edge Definition
- Page 1 of 4
