Split 7 cards into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. Both must beat dealer.
Pai Gow Poker is a 7-card poker variant where you split your hand into a 5-card "high" hand and a 2-card "low" hand. Both your hands have to beat the dealer's corresponding hands. If both win, you win. If one wins and one loses, push (no money changes). If both lose, you lose.
The 2-card hand can never be higher than the 5-card hand (this is the "house way" rule that prevents abuse). The dealer follows a fixed "house way" for splitting too — most casinos let you ask the dealer to set your hand the same way for free, called "playing the house way."
It's slow, push-heavy (~41% of hands push), and the 5% commission on banker wins means the house edge is around 2.7%. Pai Gow is the choice of players who want to extend their bankroll for hours — you bleed slowly, not all at once.
| Win both hands (banker wins) | 1:1 minus 5% commission |
| Win one hand, lose one | Push (no money changes) |
| Win one hand, tie one (in dealer's favor) | You lose |
| Lose both hands | Lose your bet |
| Total push frequency | ~41% of hands |
Play the house way — it's mathematically near-optimal and 5x faster than working out splits yourself. The Fortune side bet (which pays on premium 7-card hands) has 8-15% house edge — skip it.
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Pai Gow Poker uses a 53-card deck (52 + one Joker, called a "Bug"). You receive seven cards and split them into a 5-card "high hand" and a 2-card "low hand"; both must beat the dealer's correspondingly-split hands for you to win. The split decision is where skill enters — proper split strategy can save 1-2% of edge versus naive play.
Place one bet. Receive seven cards. Split them into a 5-card poker hand (the "behind" or "high") and a 2-card hand (the "in front" or "low"). The 5-card hand must outrank the 2-card hand (so a pair in front requires at least two pair in back). The dealer plays the same way following a fixed "house way" split rule. Compare hands: if both your hands beat both dealer hands, you win 1:1 minus a 5% commission. If one wins and one loses, push. If both lose, you lose. The Joker plays as an Ace, or completes a Straight/Flush in the 5-card hand.
The dominant strategy: split so that your back hand is as strong as the rules allow without sacrificing too much from your front. A pair of Aces: usually keep it in back. Two pair: split unless very low (split is profitable for most two-pair holdings; an exception is two small pairs with a high singleton — house way splits, you should usually match it). Three pair: always split (top pair in front, other two pairs make Two Pair in back). Trips: keep together unless they're Aces (split: AA in back, AX in front). Full House: split (pair in front, three of a kind in back). Straight or Flush: usually keep together unless splitting gives a strong two-card front. The house way charts are widely published; deviating from them in profitable spots (the few there are) saves about 0.3-0.5% over the casino's posted edge.
The 2.73% house edge (with 5% commission) is moderate. Without commission, the game would be roughly fair — the commission is the casino's primary skim. Variance is unusually low because pushes are common (~41% of hands), which makes Pai Gow Poker the slowest bankroll-burn game on the floor in dollars-per-hour terms. Combined with about 30 hands per hour vs 60-100 in blackjack, you can sit for 4-5 hours on a modest bankroll.
Pai Gow Poker was invented in 1985 by Sam Torosian of the Bell Card Club in California, derived from the Chinese tile game Pai Gow. Torosian famously did not patent it, costing himself an estimated $50+ million in licensing revenue.
| Bet | Payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Both hands win | 0.95:1 | 5% commission deducted |
| Split (one win, one lose) | Push | No win, no loss — ~41% of hands |
| Both hands lose | −1x bet | You lose the bet |
| Tie (copy hand) | Dealer wins ties | Built into edge |
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