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Try Pai Gow Poker

27 July 2021

I am an aficionado of Pai Gow Poker, the seven-card game that unfortunately has not swept the nation. Luckily there are enough players to keep Pai Gow Poker tables available in most medium to large casinos. This game has replaced craps as my favorite game.

I don’t know why the game hasn’t caught on like gangbusters. The game is leisurely, maybe 40 decisions an hour and unlike blackjack there are rarely (very rarely) players who attempt to tell you how to play your hands (if they can even see your hands).

It is a game where your decisions matter too. While the cards are shuffled after each round, how you play your hands has a meaning. If you are the least bit nervous about how to do what you need to do the dealer will tell you the correct way to play based on the “house way.” The “house way” is an excellent way to play too.

The game is simple. The dealer gives each player a stack of seven cards. When all the players have their stack, they are allowed to set their hands.

There are two hands to set, a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand must be stronger than the two-card hand. For example, if you have a pair of aces and a pair of kings, you put the aces in the five-card hand and the kings in the two-card hand. However, there are many permeations to how you play each hand.

[Please note: Let me recommend the book “Everything Casino Poker” which has excellent chapters on Pai Gow Poker.]

The casino edge is about 2.6 percent but the relaxing nature of the game means you are not playing so many hands that the edge is devastating as the edge at a game such as mini-baccarat, which has a much lower house-edge on two of its three possible bets, but can be brutal with 150 hands being played per hour.

Pai Gow Poker has many pushes which also help keep the number of hands low.

Now there is a new option for Pai Gow Poker called Face-Up Pai Gow Poker. Usually when casinos add new types of games or options to traditional games those games are not as good as the originals. Face-Up Pai Gow Poker is even better than the traditional game.

Instead of the player making his or her hands first and then waiting for the dealer to set his hands, in Face-Up the dealer makes his hands first (which means face up) and then the players can make their hands already knowing what they need to beat the dealer. This option will change the nature of the game in many ways. And you can still ask the dealer what the optimum set is to beat him or her.

The house edge on Face-Up is approximately 1.8 percent. If you can find this game then play it!

One last thing: If the Pai Gow Poker game has all sorts of additional added “bonus” bets avoid them. These have been added to get more money for the casino and the house edges on those “bonus” bets are rather large.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books and at bookstores.
Frank Scoblete

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete Websites:

www.goldentouchcraps.com
www.goldentouchblackjack.com

Books by Frank Scoblete:

Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!

> More Books By Frank Scoblete

Frank Scoblete
Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete Websites:

www.goldentouchcraps.com
www.goldentouchblackjack.com

Books by Frank Scoblete:

> More Books By Frank Scoblete