Best Real Money Pai Gow Sites (2024)

Pai Gow is a poker variant played against the dealer. The aim is to make a five-card and a two-card poker hand out of the seven cards you are dealt, with the aim of both your hands beating both the dealer’s hands.

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Multiple barriers exist on site with the intention of obstructing your ability to retrieve your bonus; intentionally perplexing terms and conditions are deliberately confusing and customer support takes on an aggressive approach.
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How to Play Pai Gow

  1. Bet

    Each player makes a single bet, this is the only bet made in Pai Gow (unless bonus bets are made)

  2. Cards Are Dealt

    The dealer deals seven cards to each player and themselves from a 53-card deck (52 cards and the joker)

  3. Make A Five-card & Two-card Hand

    Each player makes a five-card poker hand and a two-card poker hand from the seven cards they are dealt

  4. Five-card Must Be Greater

    The five-card hand must be higher in value than the two-card hand

  5. Follow Poker Rules

    The best five-card hands follow usual poker rules

  6. Two-card Is Pair Or High Card

    Two-card hands are either pairs or high card hands

  7. Joker Is Wild

    The joker is wild, giving the possibility for a five-of-a-kind hand, which is the highest value hand, beating a straight flush

  8. Card Comparison

    If both hands beat the dealer’s two hands, the player wins. If the reverse occurs, the dealer wins

  9. Possible Push

    If the dealer and the player win a hand each from the two hands, this results in a push and the player’s bet is returned



Different Types of Pai Gow

Pai Gow with dominoes (Pai Gow tiles)

This traditional form of Pai Gow was originated in China, and is played with 32 Chinese domino tiles. Player and dealer are given four tiles each, and must form a high and low hand of two tiles each. If both of the player’s hands beat the dealers, the player wins, if this is reversed, the dealer wins, one winning hand each way results in a push.


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FAQs

What is Pai Gow?

Pai Gow is a poker game based on the original Pai Gow game and is played with cards instead of tiles. Pai Gow is a fairly complex game to learn, but it is fun to play and fairly low risk. You play against the dealer, and the aim is to make the best five-card and two-card poker hands from the seven cards you are dealt.

Where did Pai Gow originate?

Pai Gow originated in China as a game using a set of 32 Chinese domino tiles. The modern Pai Gow poker was developed in the mid-1980s by an American casino operator, using a deck of 53 cards (52 normal cards and the joker). Sam Torosian, the casino owner who invented Pai Gow poker, did not patent the concept when he invented it.

How do you play Pai Gow?

Pai Gow poker is a simple game once you learn it. You are dealt seven cards (after making a single bet) and must make one poker hand with five of the cards, and a poker hand with the other two. The five-card hand must be higher in value than the second card hand. The aim is for both of your cards to beat the dealer’s two hands. The most common result is winning one of the two hands, which results in a push.

Where can I find the best online Pai Gow casino?

Pai Gow is a different form of poker compared to most, and you may assume it is rarer at online casinos as a result. While there are certainly less online casinos offering Pai Gow, there is no shortage, as the game has maintained a good level of popularity since its inception over 30 years ago. For the best online casinos offering Pai Gow, check out our list here.

What is the difference between Pai Gow poker and Pai Gow tiles?

Apart from the obvious (Pai Gow poker is played with cards, Pai Gow tiles is played with tiles) there are a few other differences between the games. Pai Gow poker is played with a 53 card deck (52 cards and a joker) while Pai Gow tiles is played with 32 Chinese domino tiles. Pai Gow tiles sees player and dealer dealt four tiles, whereas the poker variant is seven cards. In both games, the aim is to make two hands, one high and one low, and beat the dealer with both hands.

How do you play Pai Gow tiles?

Pai Gow tiles, with the exception of the number of tiles dealt, is similar in its basics to Pai Gow poker. You make two hands (of two tiles each) and must beat the dealer with both hands to win. The best hands in Pai Gow tiles are either a pair, or the total number of pips on the tiles adding up to nine. If you beat the dealer with both hands, you win, if the dealer wins both, you lose, if the hands are split, the result is a push.

Are there strategies I can use to increase my odds of winning?

Pai Gow is a reasonably low risk casino game as long as you play the regular game and avoid bonus bets (which have a much higher house edge). There is strategy to play here thanks to the five-card hand needing to be higher in value than the two-card hand. The best way to play as a beginner is to use ‘house-way’, basically betting as the house would. You can actually turn your cards over and ask the dealer, who will tell you how the house would play your hand.