Pai Gow Poker- Two Hands are better than one

   How to Win at Pai Gow Poker

1) Learn the Basic Strategy

The first thing to learn about Pai Gow Poker is how to set your hands.  You must split your 7 cards into a 5 card hand and a 2 card hand.  Here are some key points to remember:

• The 5 card hand must rank higher than the 2 card hand. 
•  If you  "2 Card" a higher hand that is called a FOUL HAND and you automatically lose!
• If you are not sure how to arrange your cards you can ask the dealer; the dealer is allowed to help players arrange their hands.
• Most people make the mistake of trying to get a strong 5-card hand and forget about the 2-card hand, this is incorrect.  Actually one could say the key to Pai Gow Poker is to try to get as strong a 2-card hand as possible.

To see  Pai Pow Poker Basic Strategy chart Click Here.

2) Be the Banker as often as Possible/ Bet as Little as Possible

  The second key to winning at Pai Gow Poker is to bet as little as possible when you are the player and have the other players bet more money when you are the banker.

Stanford Wong in his excellent book "Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker" states that in order for the player to gain a mathematical edge on the casino, he will need to bank six to fourteen times as many dollars as he bets when he is  the player. In other words, for every $5 you bet as a player, you need to have other players bet a total of between $30 and $70 when you are the banker in order to overcome the house edge in this game.  This means you should try to be the banker at least 50% of the time if the casino will allow it.  Some casinos have limits as to how often any one player can be the banker so check with the dealer or the casino host before you begin play.  Below is a chart explaining how much you need other players to bet when you assume the roll of banker if you want to gain an advantage on the casino:

Warning: Assuming the role of Banker means you must have enough chips on hand to cover all bets made by the players.  You should know that when you are the banker you have a mathematical edge on the other players HOWEVER, it is theoretically possible (but not likely) that all the players at the table could beat you, meaning you could lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in one hand.  Know What You Are Getting Into Before Assuming the Role of Banker.

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3) Get a Professional Guidebook

Pai Gow Poker strategy cannot fully be explained in the context of one chart or a short web page.  Complete Guidebooks can be over 150 pages in length.  You should assume that at least one other player at the table has read a Guidebook written by an expert...Don't show up to the table under prepared!  The following books are highly recommended:

	Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker Considered THE Pai Gow Poker Guide.  A must read for any serious player.	A guide to Win Pai Gow Poker Another book of interest to Pai Gow Poker players.
	Guerrilla Gambling Covers many games but has a good chapter on Pai Gow Poker.  A good book for beginners.

More books are available in the casino bookstore

4) Practice, Practice, Practice. Use Training Software

Pai Gow Poker is very different from other forms of poker. Before spending any money in the casino, practice at home and become familiar with this game.  The following programs are highly recommended:

	Hoyle Casino 2003 Very good all around software that will let you practice Pai Gow Poker and other casino games as well.	Free Software from Omni Casino lets you practice for free or play online for real money.
	Free Software from Diamond Club Casino.  Lets you play for real money or practice for free.

 5) Comps can put you over the top. 

Casinos offer comps to their players much the same way airlines offer frequent flyer miles to reward their customers.  Casino comps are usually  given out in the form of room, food, or beverage discounts or even free show tickets.  As a general rule of thumb, casinos will give about 1% of the value of your total play back in the form of comps (each casino has its own policies but this number will give you an idea what you are dealing with).  For more details on Comps click here.