Casino & Table Games
Pai gow betting strategy
A pai gow betting strategy tells a player how to split their cards or tiles into two hands, and when to bank, in order to get the best possible result against the dealer or other players.
- Applies to
- Pai gow poker hand setting, pai gow tiles hand arrangement, hi-low pai gow poker1
- Wizard Way tiles edge reduction
- Lowers house edge by 0.56% when not banking, 0.51% when banking (5% commission)5
- Tiles pair-split threshold
- Split certain pairs only to make at least 7/9, 6/8, 7/7, 7/8, 8/8, or 9/92
Key points
- In pai gow poker, the player sets a seven-card hand into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand, keeping the high hand stronger than the low hand.7
- In pai gow tiles, strategy involves splitting pairs or arranging tiles into front and rear hands based on point totals like pairs as 12, Gongs as 10, and Wongs as 11.6
- The term is broader than 'house way' (a casino's prescribed method) or 'optimal strategy' (a mathematically derived play for a specific variant).34
Where this term is used
Related terms
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Croupier meaning in English
The English translation and definition of the French term croupier.
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What the role of a croupier entails in a casino.
Sources
- Pai Gow Tiles - Part 2 of 3 - Pai Gow Strategy wizardofodds.com Defines the term and explains its application to pai gow tiles strategy.
- Pai Gow Tiles Strategy - Wizard of Odds wizardofodds.com Provides specific pair-split thresholds for pai gow tiles.
- Online Pai Gow Poker for Real Money or Free wizardofodds.com Describes pai gow poker hand-setting and distinguishes from house way.
- Pai Gow Poker - Wizard of Odds wizardofodds.com Distinguishes betting strategy from banking and house way.
- 'Wizard Way' Strategy for Pai Gow Tiles - Optimized Play Guide wizardofodds.com Gives house edge reduction figures for Wizard Way tiles strategy.
- Wizard Pai Gow Basic Strategy wizardofodds.com Provides basic tiles strategy point totals for hand arrangement.
- Pai gow poker en.wikipedia.org Explains the hand-setting rule in pai gow poker.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.