Face Up Pai Gow

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  • Here is a question I never thought I would have to ask: Define Pai Gow Poker? Do you mean traditional Pai Gow Poker, where all the cards are dealt face down, or the new type of PGP where the cards are dealt face up and the rules are different?
  • There are four big differences in Face Up Pai Gow Poker according to the Wizard of Odds: Dealer cards dealt face up. No 5% commission. Dealer ace-high pai gow is an automatic push.
  • Face Up Pai Gow Played with a fully exposed dealer hand, Face Up Pai Gow poker in Las Vegas has no commission on winning hands (all main wagers push when the dealer has an ace high “pai-gow” hand)—and the player has the option of making a bonus side bet, which pays up to 30-to-1 when the dealer and the player’s hand both have an ace.
  • Pai Gow How to Play Poker Casino Games Software Baccarat Keno Craps Sic Bo See all Casino Game Guides. The card belonging to the dealer which is face up is known as the ‘upcard’.

Dealing the game. Pai Gow Poker has an interesting deal method. After the cards are shuffled, the dealer places them into seven face-down piles comprised of seven cards—one for each player and the dealer—with four unused extra cards that are placed in the discard pile, or muck.

  • Appendices
  • House Way Strategies
  • Miscellaneous

On This Page

Introduction

This section contains my analysis of the following pai gow poker side bets:

Dealer Bonus


Please see my page on the Dealer Bonus for information on that side bet.

Fortune Pai Gow Poker


Please see my page on the Fortune side bet for information on that side bet.

Jackpot Pai Gow Poker


'Jackpot' is a side bet I noticed at the Rio in November 2005. The game was closed at the time so the top prize was not evident, but according to the Shufflemaster web site it is alternatively $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000.

The following table shows the probability and return for each possible event. A $100,000 for the top win is assumed and a $5 bet, for a win of 20,000 to one. The table also assumes the player will always set his hand to maximize the value of the side bet, at the possible cost of his pai gow poker bet. The lower left cell shows a house edge of 2.21%, which for a side bet is pretty good.

Jackpot Pai Gow Poker Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural Royal plus Pair of Aces*20000120.000000080.001557
Five Aces plus Pair400720.000000470.000187
Royal Flush plus Pair20015600.000010120.002024
Five Aces20010560.000006850.00137
Royal Flush100245600.000159330.015933
Straight Flush plus Pair60117480.000076210.004573
Four of a Kind plus Pair40576480.000373990.01496
Straight Flush301730840.001122880.033686
Four of a Kind202498240.001620730.032415
Full House plus Pair121504800.000976240.011715
Flush plus Pair84892600.003174060.025393
Straight plus Pair611555360.007496520.044979
Full House640245600.026109250.156655
Flush456314200.036533720.146135
Straight3101453880.065817990.197454
Three of a kind274706760.048465850.096932
Nothing-11245561960.80805571-0.808056
Total1541430801-0.022088

* Both royal flush and pair of aces must be natural (no joker) for highest win.

If the top prize is less than $100,000, or the player bets more than $5 on the side bet, the return will be slightly less. The next table shows the house edge according to various other wins for a natural royal plus pair of aces according to the win on a to one basis.

Face up pai gow poker odds

House Edge by Highest Win

Natural Royal plus Aces PaysHouse Edge
200002.21%
100002.29%
50002.33%
40002.33%
30002.34%
20002.35%
10002.36%

Emperor's Challenge

Emperor's Challenge is a side bet I noticed at Hooter's Casino in Las Vegas in April, 2006. The following return table shows the probability and return of all possible outcomes. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.171%.

Emperor's Challenge Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural 7-card straight flush5000320.000000210.001038
Wild 7-card straight flush10001960.000001270.001272
Five aces50011280.000007320.003659
Royal Flush150260920.000169270.025391
Straight Flush501846440.001197870.059894
Four of a Kind253074720.001994720.049868
Full House541885280.027172990.135865
Flush461720880.040041290.160165
Three of a kind376725000.049775180.149326
Straight2110342040.071584170.143168
9 high pai gow40310800.000201630.008065
10 high pai gow52486400.001613050.008065
J high pai gow29634800.006250560.012501
Nonpaying hand-11233129960.79999048-0.79999
Total1541430801-0.041714

I hear that in Washington State the player must bet at least $5 to qualify for the pai gow hands.

Progressive Pai Gow Poker

The Falls View casino in Niagara Falls Ontario offers 'Progressive Pai Gow Poker'. This is basic pai gow poker with an added $5 side bet.

The following table shows the return table based on a breakeven meter of 20536.05 bet units, which for a $5 bet is $102,680.24. The house edge at all other times is 11.5428% less 1.1242% for every $10,000 in the meter.

Progressive Pai Gow Poker Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces + pair20536.053360.0000020.044764
Wild Royal Flush + pair20012600.0000080.001635
Straight Flush + pair50117480.0000760.003811
Four of a Kind + pair40576480.0003740.01496
Full House + pair121504800.0009760.011715
Flush + pair84892600.0031740.025393
Straight + pair411173880.0072490.028996
Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces2053.653040.0000340.070664
Wild Royal Flush100203600.0001320.013209
Straight Flush251730840.0011230.028072
Four of a Kind202498240.0016210.032415
Full House640304160.0261470.156883
Flush456637120.0367430.146973
Straight2100715160.0653390.130677
Three of a kind275445480.0489450.09789
Nothing-11245561960.808056-0.808056
Total15414308010

Pai Gow Insurance


Pai gow 'Insurance' is a side bet that I noticed at the Red Rock casino in August, 2008. It appeared along with the Emperor's Challenge side bet. A 'pai gow' in pai gow poker is a hand with seven singletons, where no straight or flush is possible. This side bet wins if the player had a pai gow, the lower the highest card, the more it pays. The following return table shows the details. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.35%.

Pai Gow Insurance

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
9 high pai gow100310800.0002020.020163
10 high pai gow252486400.0016130.040326
J high pai gow159634800.0062510.093758
Q high pai gow727195000.0176430.123499
K high pai gow563869400.0414350.207176
A high pai gow3144307800.0936190.280858
Loser-11293626600.839238-0.839238
Total1541430801-0.073457

Lucky 8's


Please see my page on the Lucky 8's for information on that side bet.

Pai Gow'd


Pai

Pai Gow'd is a side bet I noticed at the Four Queens on December 26, 2011. It is exactly like Pai Gow Insurance, explained above, but with a modified pay table. The lower right corner of the odds table below shows a house edge of 6.44%.

Pai Gow'd

Play Face Up Pai Gow

Poker
EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
9 high pai gow100310800.0002020.020163
10 high pai gow502486400.0016130.080652
J high pai gow109634800.0062510.062506
Q high pai gow727195000.0176430.123499
K high pai gow563869400.0414350.207176
A high pai gow3144307800.0936190.280858
Loser-11293626600.839238-0.839238
Total1541430801-0.064384

The Jokolor is a side bet mentioned on page 85 in the a document titled Rules of casino games in Great Britain (1124K). The side bet wins if the player has a joker and/or all cards of the same color. The following table shows the house edge is 3.90%.

Jokolor

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Six cards same color plus joker304604600.0029870.089617
Seven cards same color, without joker1013156000.0085350.085349
Any hand with joker5198980600.1290880.645441
Loser-11324689600.85939-0.85939
Total1541430801-0.038982

This side bet is paired with pai gow poker games, including EZ Pai Gow, offering the G3 electronic side bet wagering. As far as I can tell at the Rampart casino, it is just titled the 'Bonus Bet.'

Bonus Bet Return Table

EventDynasty PaysEnvy BonusCombinationsProbabilityDynasty ReturnEnvy Bonus
Natural 7-card Straight Flush8000$ 5000320.0000000.0016610.000208
Royal Flush + Natural AQ Suited2000$ 1000720.0000000.0009340.000093
Wild 7-card Straight Flush1000$ 5001960.0000010.0012720.000127
Five Aces400$ 25011280.0000070.0029270.000366
Royal Flush150$ 50260200.0001690.0253210.001688
Straight Flush50$ 201846440.0011980.0598940.004791
Four of a Kind25$ 53074720.0019950.0498680.001995
Full House5$ 041885280.0271730.1358650.000000
Flush4$ 061720880.0400410.1601650.000000
Three of a Kind3$ 076725000.0497750.1493260.000000
Straight2$ 0110342040.0715840.1431680.000000
Losing combinations-1$ 01245561960.808056-0.8080560.000000
Total:1541430801.000000-0.0776560.009268

The next table shows the overall house edge according to the number of players, including yourself, and various bet amounts. Note that the high edge is lowest at a bet of $1. This is because the win for the Envy Bonus is the same, regardless how much the player bets.

Face Up Pai Gow Poker Online

Bonus Bet House Edge

Players$1-$4 bet$5 bet$10 bet$15 bet$25 bet
67.77%3.13%5.45%6.22%6.84%
57.77%4.06%5.91%6.53%7.02%
47.77%4.99%6.38%6.84%7.21%
37.77%5.91%6.84%7.15%7.39%
27.77%6.84%7.30%7.46%7.58%
17.77%7.77%7.77%7.77%7.77%

This is a progressive side bet found with G3 electronic betting units. The player may bet $1 to $25. All jackpot wins are the same, regardless of bet size, so I would never bet more than $1. As usual with progressive bets, wins are on a 'for one' basis. That means you don't get your original bet back, even if you win. To be consistent with other pages on this site, the following page is on a 'return basis,' meaning what the player can expect to get back for his bet, based on a $1 bet.

G3 Progressive

Face Up Pai Gow Locations

Pai gow dealer rules
EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
7-card Straight FlushJackpot$ 2280.0000010.000000
Five Aces0.1×Jackpot$ 1,1280.0000070.000000
Royal Flush$500$ 26,0920.0001690.084636
Straight Flush$100$ 184,6440.0011980.119787
Four of a Kind$75$ 307,4720.0019950.149604
Full House$4$ 4,188,5280.0271730.108692
All other0$ 149,434,9880.9694560.000000
Total154,143,0801.0000000.462719

The bottom right corner shows a return of 46.27% on all fixed wins. The value of the progressive is 22.11% for each $100,000 in the meter. To reach 100% the meter would need to be $243,011.06.When I saw this bet at the Rampart casino on March 17, 2011, the meter was at $207,361, for a return of 92.12%. This was probably unusually high, because the Rampart has had a truck with a big sign in the back drive around Summerlin promoting the large jackpot.

My Pai Gow Poker Offerings

Pai Gow Poker Coverage

  • Dealer Probabilities: Shows the probability the dealer will form any given hand orless. Useful for making accurate strategy decisions.
  • When to split a two-pair: My advice on when to split a two pair.
  • Side Bets:Analysis of various side bets such as Fortune, Jackpot, and Emperor's Challenge.
  • No Push Pai Gow Poker: My analysis of this PGP variant.
  • Pai Gow Mania: My analysis.
  • Washington State Pai Gow Poker: In Washington often there is no commission charged if the player makes the Fortune bet. I address this rule variant in my 'Ask the Wizard' column.
  • Play Pai Gow Poker: Play my new and improved game.

House Way for...



Written by:Michael Shackleford