Sunday, 1 January 2012

Pai Gow Poker Games


Pai Gow Poker

Welcome to Pai Gow Poker Online. Can You Tame The Dragon?Welcome to Pai Gow Poker Online! We focus on the popular casino game Pai Gow. We are one of the most comprehensive websites covering the subject Pai Gow and it’s popular searches like Pai Gow Poker and today, Pai Gow Poker online. We are enthusiasts of the game and this site is devoted show you how to play Pai Gow Poker like a pro!
We cover all sorts of Pai Gow topics including strategy, tips, advice, history, etiquitte and more including a detailed explanation on how to split two pair, about being the banker, a list of common pai gow mistakes to watch out for and details about playing pai gow poker online. You can also play a Pai Gow Poker game without downloading any software or installing any programs to your computer. We also mention the top online casinos to play pai gow for free or for real money, the choice is yours! Welcome to the site and enjoy the content!
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Welcome to our Pai Gow Poker site!

Pai Gow Poker is based on an older Asian game called Pai Gow. The original game was invented centuries ago and used tiles (they looked like dominos). In order to make the rules easier to understand for a Western audience, the tiles were abandoned for playing cards.
Today, Pai Gow Poker is played with one standard deck of playing cards combined with a single joker, and the game is one of the most popular at the online casinos. Hands are ranked according to conventional poker hands, which makes determining the winner intuitive for most U.S. gamblers.
On this site, we’ll provide a detailed overview of the rules, Pai Gow Poker strategy that will maximize your chances of winning while reducing the house edge as much as possible, and a whole lot more. Most novices who observe the game without knowing the rules become confused. However, you’ll discover that Pai Gow Poker is not only relatively simple, but fun to play.

How To Play Pai Gow Poker

In land-based casinos, Pai Gow Poker is played between the dealer and up to six players. When you play the game at online casinos, you are the only player. Each hand begins after you choose the amount of your bet (according to the table limits). Seven cards are dealt to you face up and seven cards are dealt to the dealer face down. We have a more comprehensive guide on how to play Pai Gow if you want to go through the finer details.
To play, you must choose two of your seven cards and place them in a separate 2 card hand. The dealer does the same with his 7 cards. At this point, your hands are turned face up and compared against the dealers. You compare your five cards to the dealer’s 5-card hand and the the two cards you isolated will be compared to the dealer’s 2-card hand. Your bet is riding on the outcome of both hands.The goal in Pai Gow is to win both hands. You can learn your chances of getting different hands by looking through the odds of Pai Gow and of course reading our tips and strategy articles.
If the dealer’s 5-card hand and 2-card hand beat your hands (respectively), you’ll lose your bet. If both of your hands individually outrank the dealer’s hands, your bet is paid out even money (i.e. 1:1), less a 5% commission.
If one of your hands outranks the dealer’s corresponding hand (for example, your 5-card hand beats the dealer’s 5-card hand), but your other hand loses, your bet is pushed back to you. If one of your hands wins, but the other hand ties the dealer’s hand, you’ll lose your bet. If it sounds confusing, it isn’t really. Read our pai gow tips for advice on how to play your hands to maximize your odds of winning and how to split up your hands.
There are two more important rules of Pai Gow Poker…
First, your 2-card hand cannot outrank your 5-card hand. If you’re playing the game at an online casino, the software will prevent you from proceeding until you fix the problem. If you’re at a land-based casino, you’ll typically lose your bet based on your committing a “foul.” Be wary.
Second, you’ll recall that the game is played with a single joker. The joker can be used to make straights or flushes (and of course, straight flushes). Otherwise, it represents an Ace.

Pai Gow Poker Strategy

Optimal strategy for playing Pai Gow Poker is complex for two reasons. First, some land-based casinos allow you to assume the role of “banker.” However, not only is this becoming less popular in the largest casinos, but few top-tier online casinos allow it. So, we’ll ignore the “banker” component when discussing playing Pai Gow poker online.
Second, the largest influence on reducing the house edge is the manner in which you split your cards. And therein, lies the complexity. Because there are so many possible hand combinations, you would need an enormous pai gow hand chart to play the “house way.” Even if you had the chart in front of you while playing, the game would proceed at a snail’s pace.
To keep things relatively simple, we’ll provide a few rules of thumb. If you adhere to them, you’ll come very close to achieving the minimal 2.66% house edge on Pai Gow Poker.
Here they are:
  • If you’re holding one pair, keep it within your 5-card hand and isolate your two next highest cards.
  • If you’re holding two pairs, keep the highest ranking pair in your 5-card hand and isolate the other one.
  • If you’re holding three pairs, isolate the highest ranking one.
  • Don’t split a three of a kind.
  • If you’re holding a full house, isolate the pair.
  • Don’t split straights and flushes unless you’re holding two pairs.
  • With a four of a kind, look at the card ranking. If you’re holding twos through fives, don’t split them. If you’re holding sixes through nines, split them unless you have a King or an Ace. If you have a King or Ace, keep the four of a kind intact. If your four of a kind is made up from tens or face cards, split them unless you have an Ace.
If you can remember the above rules, you’ll shave the house edge on Pai Gow Poker as closely to 2.66% as possible. You can also take a look through the odds playing pai gow or even test them out yourself playing a pai gow poker game.

Best Online Casino To Play Online Pai Gow Poker

We recommend that you visit Bodog Casino to play Pai Gow Poker. They offer fantastic gambling software, but also allow you to play the game directly within your browser. Their customer support is top-notch and available by email or phone 24 hours a day. You’ll also be impressed by their bonus structure. When you join Bodog Casino and make your first deposit, they’ll give you a 10% bonus match instantly up front. While that’s a lower match than many online casinos offer, you’ll receive your bonus within 30 minutes of making your deposit and you don’t have the huge slew of terms and conditions that can instantly void your bonus at many casinos. Plus, they let you meet the 15x wagering requirement with most of their games and they constantly offer the best odds of any online casino.
Take a moment to visit Bodog Casino and play Pai Gow Poker. You’ll understand why they are one of the most popular gambling sites online.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Online Pai Gow Poker


Pai Gow poker is a Western spin on the ancient Chinese game Pai Gow, which used special dominos and dice. Pai Gow is a complicated, slow-paced game that was social in nature and rarely seen outside of Asia.
Pai Gow poker combines this ancient Chinese game and classic Western poker. It first appeared in Vegas casinos in 1986, so it's still a relatively new game when compared to other casino games. Its popularity has dramatically increased over the past ten years, particularly where online play is concerned, and this surge in online popularity is largely due to improvements in technology that allow a graphically pleasing and accurate online representation.
Pai Gow poker is played with a regular 53-card deck that includes the Joker. The ranking of hands mimics that seen in traditional poker, with the exception that the joker plus four aces rank the highest. The object is to use seven dealt cards to create two hands that will beat the dealer's two hands.
A unique component of Pai Gow Poker is that any participant can request to be the banker. When this occurs, players compare their hands to the player-banker rather than the house dealer. The player-banker wins all ties, collects losing wagers, and pays winners from their own pocket. When there is a player-banker, the house collects a five percent commission on any winning hands. In Pai Gow, the house advantage is 2.5 percent, although this becomes almost even when a player becomes the banker.
There aren't many differences between online Pai Gow poker and the in-casino version. The most obvious difference that does exist, however, is that an online player is alone with the dealer. Traditionally, five or six players will be at a Pai Gow table at once. Although this may take some of the excitement out of playing, it gives the online player more control over his or her playing environment. An online player may choose to play without a lot of noise and other distractions. Cocktail waitresses, other conversations, or other casino-related sites and sounds do not interrupt the player. When playing Pai Gow online, players therefore find themselves in a better environment for maintaining focus and thinking through each decision. Further, there are no time constraints placed upon these decisions.
When playing Pai Gow poker online, players are dealt seven cards face up and the goal is simply to beat the hands of the dealer. Once dealt the seven cards, players will split them into two hands of two cards and five cards, and the rank of the latter must be greater than that of the former. Whether the player wins, looses, or ties depends on how the dealer splits its hand.
Pai Gow poker is now available in most Online Casinos. It's an interesting spin on a classic, and might offer a nice change of pace for those needing a little variety in their poker play.
Tom Shannahan has been playing poker since he was 16. He grew up watching his father play with friends once a week. He currently writes part time for Pokerlistings.com where you can find more great information about Poker Tournaments and Online Poker Rooms.

Pai Gow Poker Strategies


If you have just started out in online poker, this article will help you with tips on how you can play Pai Gow Poker. Fortune Pai Gow is actually a kind of poker game that has originated in China.
Each player is dealt 7 cards, with which he makes the best possible 5- card hand and 2- card hand. The former should be stronger than the latter. The player will win if both his hands beat the dealer's respective hands.
First of all, you have to find a Fortune poker able whose range suits you.
Now you have to sit down and place your bets. The dealer will now deal you the cards.
You will now have to make two hands from the seven cards dealt to you. Your 5- card hand has to be stronger than the 2- card hand.
The two hands of cards will now have to be placed on the table in the area which has been designated. The dealer will tell you how, if you ask.
You will now have to wait to see the dealer separate his cards. To win, you will have to beat both the dealer's hands. If you win only one hand, the result will be a tie. This is what usually happens.
If you want to play Fortune poker with money, practicing at a site that offers playing for free is a good idea.
Since most games end in a tie, you can usually play for a long time without any gain or loss.
Most major online poker sites will have a game of Fortune Pai Gow being played.
In case you are not sure of what is to be done, asking the dealer is the best idea.