Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

Face up pai gow poker rules

Face up pai gow poker is a variant in which the dealer sets their hand openly before players arrange theirs, removing player banking and commissions.

House edge
1.8% 1
Commission
None collected 1
Player banking
Not permitted 1

Key points

  • The dealer exposes and sets their hand before players arrange theirs, giving players full information. 1
  • Any dealer Ace-high Pai Gow results in a table push, offsetting the player advantage from seeing the dealer's hand. 1
  • Players set their hands and compare them against the dealer's hand under normal pai gow poker comparison rules. 1
  • The variant originated in Las Vegas and is played without commissions or player banking. 1

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Pai gow poker odds — a term for probability and payoff calculations, not a game variant
Poker Pai gow poker The standard version of the game where the dealer's hand is set after players set theirs. Poker Pai gow poker joker rules Explains how the joker is used in pai gow poker. Poker Pai gow poker betting Covers betting options and procedures in pai gow poker. Poker Poker hold em rules Rules for Texas hold'em, a different poker game. Poker 5 card poker rules Rules for five-card draw and stud poker variants. Poker Poker hands Standard hand rankings used in most poker games.

Sources

  1. Pai gow poker en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition, house edge, rule changes, push rule, and origin for face up 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.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.