Pai Gow Strategies
by
Gayle
Mitchell
We continue with Pai
Gow strategies.
The following tips and
strategies will allow you to gain that edge playing this choice poker
game.
Poker
Rankings are as follows:
Five aces (4 aces plus
joker); royal
flush; A, 2, 3, 4, 5,
is the third highest straight flush (note: not all casinos or card
rooms follow
this rule-check before you play for 3rd highest hand ranking);
then
all other
straight flushes, 4 of a kind, full house, flush, straight, 3 of a
kind, two
pair, one pair, and high card.
Following are strategy
tips:
No pairs:
Play the second and third highest-ranked cards as the low hand and the
remaining five cards as high hand.
e.g.,
dealt -- K, Q, 10, 8, 6, 5, and 2.
Set the Q, 10 as low hand
and K, 8, 6, 5, 2 as high hand.
One
Pair: The
pair is set in the high hand
and your next two highest-ranked cards as low hand.
Two
Pair: Depends
on the rank of the pairs.
If one of your pairs is aces, kings or queens, then split the
pairs putting one
of the A’s, K’s or Q’s in high hand, and the other pair as low hand.
However, for all
other pairs, play them as
two pair in the high hand, and a king or ace in your low hand.
If
you were not
dealt a king or an ace for a low hand, then you are safer to split the
pairs
with the high pair in high hand and low pair in low hand.
Three
Pair: Highest-ranking
pair should be
your low hand.
Three
of a
Kind: Three
aces or kings, split, placing
ace or king in low hand and the pair in high hand. All other three of a
kind
should be played in high hand and two highest cards as the low hand.
Straights
and Flushes: This
should be high hand,
and remaining two cards as low hand. These two rankings are easy to
overlook,
so check for these two hands first before developing a second-hand
strategy.
Full House:
Three of a kind in high hand, and high pair as low hand--easy split and
decision here.
Four
of a
Kind: Always
split your four aces,
kings and queens-play one pair as low hand and the other in high hand.
With
four J’s-7’s, play them as a four of a kind in high hand only if you
have at
least a queen that you can use in low hand.
If you do not
have the latter, then
split the four of a kind (two in low hand, two in high hand). With four
2’s-6’s, never split, always play them in high hand.
Five
Aces: Split
the aces and play a pair of
aces in low hand, and three aces in high hand.
The casino’s
advantage is about 2.8%, lowered to 2.5% with
perfect strategy.
A skillful banker can
play an even
game against the casino;
therefore, try for the banker position as often as the casino allows,
placing
larger bets as your wager management plan will allow. However, bet the
minimum
only when you have to be the player.
For novice players, you
now have the
basic tools to practice
intelligent gambling.
Go get ‘em!
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