Casino gaming has changed immeasurably in recent years. The arrival of online casinos and the relaxation of gambling laws in many US states and across the world have made casinos far more accessible. Digital gaming in general has, at the same time, become a pastime enjoyed by people of all ages and demographics.
These factors have also led to a significant expansion in the games and activities on offer in online casinos. Classics like slots, blackjack and roulette will never go out of fashion. But new casino games always attract attention. The latest craze to capture the imaginations of US casino goers is a game called pai gow. Let’s find out more about it.
Pai gow variations
The original pai gow is a dominoes-style game of Chinese origin. You occasionally see this version in casinos, but in general, if you are playing anywhere outside China, pai gow refers to pai gow poker, a card game that follows the same basic rules as the dominoes game.
The first step to playing pai gow is finding a suitable online casino or poker site. As mentioned earlier, the game is quite a hot craze this year, and so most good US casino sites offer it. Take some time to read independent casino reviews to choose a reliable provider – again, there are plenty of US casino reviews online and you can click to read more reviews at the Best US Casinos page.
Pai gow basics
Pai gow is played with a 53-card deck. This includes a joker, which serves as a wild card. Like 3-card poker or Caribbean stud, you play against the dealer. Each is dealt seven cards, and from these, you must form the best 5-card and 2-card poker hands you can. These are called the high hand and low hand. Your high hand must be better than your low hand, which can mean sacrificing a great 2-card hand to make the 5-card hand.
To win, both your hands must be better than the corresponding dealer’s hands. In this case, you win even money. If only one is better, the hand is a push and bets are returned. Lose both hands and the dealer wins. The dealer wins all ties, which is where the house gets its very modest 1.3 percent edge. Note that some casinos charge a five percent commission on wins, which pushes the house edge up to 2.8 percent – still not bad compared with other casino games.
Developing a winning strategy
The best way to learn pai gow is by experience. It’s a good idea to play just for fun on one of the many poker apps that are available before you start laying down real money. These apps also provide useful guidance and feedback on when you make mistakes or play sub-optimal hands.
As with most such games, pai gow offers side bets, offering higher returns for high value hands. These are best ignored as they incur a significantly higher house edge, so keep it simple and focus on the main game.
