Pai Gow Moments

With the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a lot of poker rooms and online casinos have halted their dealings with American players.  Whether this is a welcome turn of events for them or not (I am sure it is more of the former), there are still some poker rooms which allow players from the U.S. to play.

This Act has made it even harder for people who like pai gow poker to find a place online to play for real money.  Here is a list that I hope will help for those who are looking for such online rooms.

1 Golden Casino       $550 (Max Bonus)         100% (Bonus Match)
SCORE: Max Bonus:80%, Graphics:81%, Games:77%, Deposit Methods:94%

2 Casino King       $300                 100%
SCORE: Max Bonus:72%, Graphics:80%, Games:70%, Deposit Methods:75%

3 Golden Palace Casino       $300             300%
SCORE: Max Bonus:77%, Graphics:68%, Games:80%, Deposit Methods:92%

4 Spin Palace Casino   $1000             0%
SCORE: Max Bonus:82%, Graphics:90%, Games:80%, Deposit Methods:80%

5 Swiss Casino   $400             100%
SCORE: Max Bonus:77%, Graphics:82%, Games:88%, Deposit Methods:82%

6 Casino Las Vegas   $400         100%
SCORE: Max Bonus:84%, Graphics:88%, Games:85%, Deposit Methods:74%

7 Casino On Net   $200         100%
SCORE: Max Bonus:79%, Graphics:72%, Games:76%, Deposit Methods:85%

8 Casino Tropez   $350         200%
SCORE: Max Bonus:85%, Graphics:80%, Games:91%, Deposit Methods:80%

This list is lifted off Gambling-Win.com.  In the next posts, let’s take a look at each of the online casinos in detail.

As I promised in the last post, I will pick up exactly where I left off in the House Way description of Dicedealer.com:

Make the low hand as high as possible. This includes playing the high domino in the low hand when given the choice. Exceptions:
 
If the low hand does not have a value of at least long 3 (a total of 3 with the long domino or higher) and a 7 or higher is possible in the high hand then make the high hand as high as possible. This includes playing the high domino in the high hand when given the choice.

If the two hands total 8-9 or more then play the high domino in the high hand.
2, 5, 6, 12: play 7, high 8.
High 8, low 8, high 4, any 7: play 2, high 5.
High 10, low 10, high 6, any 7: play 6, high 7.
High 10, low 10, high 6, low 8: play 6, high 8.
High 10, low 10, high 6, any 9: play 6, high 9.
High 10, high 8, 11, low 7: play 7, high 9.
High 4, low 4, gee (mixed 6), 5: play high 7, 9.
2 or 12, any 6, 5, gee: play 7, 9.
High 6, low 6, 11, gee: play 7, high 9.
High 8, low 8, any 7, 9: play high 5, 7.

At first glance, these combinations may seem to be too many and too complicated for one to understand and remember.  Through practice and use, it is not impossible.

In one of our posts, we talked about the House Way.  This is the means by which the house is expected to play.  The problem is, some casinos have different House Ways.  Here is one common way casinos follow this rule.  It would do you good to know about it.  I have lifted this version of the House Way from Dicedealer.com, where you can actually play pai gow tiles online.

Always keep pairs together except:
Split supreme pair with 6-4, 6-5, or 6-6.
Split 2s or 12s to make 6-8 or better. Also split with 9&11.
Split 9s with any two of 2,10,12.
Split 8s with any two of 2,10,11,12. Also split with 9&11.
Split 7s with any two of 2,10,11,12.
 
Play 2 or 12 with a 7,8, or 9. With both a 2 and 12 play the 12 in the high hand. Play high 9 over wong and gong and gong over wong except:
 
Play wong over gong when fourth tile is 11.
Play wong over high 9 when fourth tile is 11.
Play gong over high 9 when fourth tile is any 4 or when third and fourth tiles are low (mixed) 8 and 5.

Due to space constraints, I would have to spread this topic into two posts.  Don’t worry, I will make sure that the next post will pick up exactly where this one has left off.  In the meantime, do go over these rules and tips again and again until you think that you know them by heart.  Then you can move on to the next half.

For every game there is more than one way to win.  The same thing goes for pai gow poker.  Many players have come up with their own strategy – both experts and budding players alike.  In order to be good at pai gow poker, you either have to adopt one existing strategy or if you’re that good, come up with your own winning one.  Here is one strategy presented by Fortune Palace for its players.  They call it the optimal pai gow strategy.

Basic Strategy

The temptation for players of Pai Gow poker is to see hands in straight poker terms. The secret to winning Pai Gow poker is in remembering that you have to win both hands in order to win the bet. The player’s basic strategy in Pai Gow poker is therefore to set the two-card hand (front) as high as possible, whilst still leaving a higher five-card hand (back).

If this isn’t possible, and would leave you with two weak hands, set a ’stopper’ or ‘blocker’ by setting the back hand as high as possible and leave a weak front hand. This won’t win, but will hopefully stop the bank winning, giving you a chance to bet again.

If your hand is just single cards (ie nothing - no pairs, straights, flushes) all you can do is set your 2nd and 3rd highest cards as the front.

If you have a single pair, put the highest two single cards as your two-card hand eg if your hand is K,10,10,9,5,3,2, split them into K,9 and 10,10,5,3,2.

These rules cover the majority of hands you’ll be dealt.

(to be continued)

Over the years, as pai gow tiles continued to become popular in the East, some of the concepts leaked to the rest of world.  The result was two-fold.  One was that pai gow tiles were taken up by a number of enthusiasts.  That is what we have been talking about in the past months.  The other result is that the tile game evolved into something similar yet different as well.  This is what we know now as pai gow poker.

So how did pai gow poker come into existence?  Historians have traced the first games of pai gow poker back to the 1800s when the Chinese immigrants brought the tile game over.  However, perhaps due to the lack in equipment, cards were used instead of tiles.  Though pai gow poker has been around since that time, it wasn’t till the 1980s that it was offered in the casinos.

The objective of pai gow poker is to complete two winning hands that would beat the banker’s two hands.  In pai gow poker, each player is dealt 7 cards.  He has to make a hand out of 5 cards – this is called the high hand.  The remaining two cards also form a hand called the low hand.  The rankings of the hands are then played just like you would in customary poker.

How does one win?  If both the low and high hands are better than the banker’s hands, the player wins.  If the banker’s hands are better than both the player’s high and low hands then the banker wins.

In the next few posts let’s look at this game in some more detail.

Who hasn’t heard of the name Trump?  Probably a statistically insignificant percentage of Americans.  Yet did you know that the Trump Plaza Atlantic City Hotel and Casino is one of the several places in the continental US where you can play the “exotic” game of pai gow tiles?

Since you are reading this blog, I am assuming that you are interested in pai gow tiles and you have a basic working knowledge of the game so we are not going to dwell on the rules and features of the game itself.  Instead, what can you find at the Trump Plaza?

Aside from the usual array of slot machines and table games, this casino offers some games they dub exotic, pai gow being one of them.  As a matter of fact, they also offer the other type of pai gow which is quite popular today, pai gow poker.  If you are new to the games, they offer extensive information regarding the rules of the games on the web site.  You only have to browse the different pages to get a basic grasp of the games.

The Trump Plaza prides itself in having new machines on their casino floor.  They aim to give the best gambling experience to their customers.  On top of that, they boast excellent customer service, which they claim is unparalleled.  Of course, that remains to be seen by you yourself.  So if you are in the area, I suggest that you go pay this casino a visit.  While you are at it, why not give their pai gow tiles tables a try?  Online pai gow tiles is very similar to playing for real, with slight differences of course.  Yet I am sure that you will enjoy the atmosphere that the casino has when playing “for real.”

Pai Gow, a tile-game similar to the card game Black Jack, is a betting game. What makes Pai Gow different from other gambling games is that you place a bet before you receive your tiles and, after you have seen your cards and created possible pairs or hands, you are not allowed to change, neither increase nor decrease your bet. In simplest terms, you place a bet, you are given four tiles, you play these tiles and, depending on how you arranged your pieces, you either win or lose the amount you have bet.

Everyone involved in Pai Gow, from the player to the dealer or bank, can win or lose money, and this is done two ways: through bets, and commissions.

Making money through bets is fairly simple. You place a bet and after all the tiles are received, you can win or lose your bet. If both your pairs beat the hands held by the dealer, you win back your bet, and also get the amount the bank / dealer has wagered. If both your pairs lose to the pairs of the dealer, it goes without saying that the money you wagered. In case only one of your pairs beat the tiles of the dealer, both of you are in a situation called “Push”. In this instance, the money does not remain on the table and added to the succeeding pot, but goes directly to the dealer.

Commissions of a players winnings, is another way money can be made by playing Pai Gow. Commissions, however, are only applied to games played in Casinos. The standard commission charged by casinos in the United States is 5% of your winnings. For example, you bet a hundred, and won, you do not receive double your hundred (200) but your bet and 95% from the house (195). The commission is only taken from winnings. For draws (push situations) and loses, the house / dealer will not take any additional 5% from you. If you’re playing at home with friends, there is no need to give 5% of the money you won from the bank as commission, not unless it is something everyone has agreed upon.

You also do not need to be a player to make money on Pai Gow. As a spectator, you and your friend can place bets on the tiles held by another player or on the dealer. However, instead of the money going to the player or the bank, the money just changes hands between you and your companion.