Online Gambling Guide to Playing Pai Gow for 2023

Pai Gow is one of those games with unknown origins. While it's unclear who created it, the tiled game is traced back to China and dates back to almost 1000 years ago. It was most popular among soldiers and citizens. In the original game, players were dealt seven tiles which had to be arranged in the best two combos. There were 32 tiles and a total of 21 different special patterns. Winners were those who managed to create the best combinations.

The game moved from China to the US in 1985 but wasn't fully understood. At this time, an LA resident had the idea of combining the elements of Pai Gow with poker features. It was dubbed Pai Gow Poker, and by 1986 it was available in most casinos. From there, it grew into a popular game that reached casinos across the globe. Today, it's played in land-based and online casinos with many variations available.

Here are a few of the most popular terms you'll find used in Pai Gow game variants.

• Banker: This is the person you bet against.
• Bug: This slang term refers to the joker, which is the game's wild card.
• Commission: Refers to the 5% fee the casino gets out of all winnings paid by the bank.
• Hand Behind: This refers to a five-card Pai Gow poker hand.
• Hand in Front: This refers to a two-card Pai Gow poker hand
• House Way: This is the set of rules dealers must follow when creating their two Pai Gow poker hands.
• Push: This is a technical term for a tie referring to when one hand beats the dealer, but the other one loses.
• Low Hand: A Pai Gow Poker hand that only has two cards and sits lower on the table.
• High Hand: A five-card Pai Gow hand that sits higher on the table.
• Copies: A low or high hand that matches the hand of the banker. In other words, a tie. In such cases, the dealer wins.

There are a few basic rules to remember when playing Pai Gow. While the game seems complicated, it is very simple, with the main objective being to beat the dealer. The game is played with a 52-card deck and a joker. The top hands can be straight or flush.

When the game starts, you will place an ante bet, after which you and the dealer get 7 cards to face down. You will get to look at your cards and can arrange them into two separate hands, a five-card and a two-card hand.

The objective is to create a hand better than that of the dealer. You can either have a winning hand, a losing hand, or a tie.

Another big rule of the game is that your two-card hand can't be of higher rank than your five-card hand. The house will generally claim a 5% commission on every hand you win, and the dealer is required to follow the 'house way', which are the rules set out by the casino

When it comes to strategy, some have been designed for Pai Gow. Ultimately, strategies aren't always guaranteed to work. Many players have started using the House Way Strategy, which follows the House Way rules much like the dealer.

With the House Way Strategy, you get into the dealer's mind and ultimately play the dealer by thinking their way. The aim, after all, is to out-bet them. So why not do it by outsmarting them with their own rules?