Your success when playing Pai Gow Poker is based primarily on the manner in which you split your cards. There will be instances when basic pai gow strategy requires that you split your 7-card hand in ways that seem counterintuitive.

Remember, the goal is to win both hands. It does no good to win one hand and lose the other. That’s a push. Your bet is returned to you. The only way to increase your bankroll is to split your cards so that your two hands outrank both of the dealer’s hands.

Below, we’ll give you several key Pai Gow Poker tips that will help you to accomplish that. You’ll find that these tips dovetail perfectly with the basic Pai Gow poker strategy we’ve described elsewhere on this site. We’ll start with a few basic Pai Gow tips before moving to a few advanced pointers. We’ll also reveal an important tip to remember when playing Pai Gow Poker in a land-based casino.

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Introductory Pai Gow Poker Tips

You’ll experience a lot of pushes in Pai Gow Poker. In fact, there’s a 41.48% chance that any given hand will be a push. It’s easy to become impatient and start taking unnecessary risks by making poor hand-splitting decisions. Don’t. Stick closely to these Pai Gow Poker tips:

First, let’s cover pairs.

• If you have only one pair in your hand, you cannot put it into your 2-card hand. One of the rules of the game is that your 5-card hand must outrank your 2-card hand. So, a single pair is simple. Don’t split a single pair in Pai Gow poker; keep it in your 5-card hand.
• Dealing with two pairs is normally easy. Keep the higher pair in your 5-card hand and place the lower one in your 2-card hand. In the next section, we’ll refine this strategy a bit.
• If you are dealt three pairs, keep the two lower pairs in your 5-card hand and place the remaining one in your 2-card hand.

Next, let’s cover 3s of a kind.

• If you’re dealt a single 3 of a kind, you should keep it intact within your 5-card hand. The only exception is when you’re holding 3 Aces. In that case, consider splitting them and placing an Ace within your 2-card hand (along with your next highest card). If you have two 3s of a kind, split the higher-ranking one and place a pair in your 2-card hand.

Now, let’s cover straights and flushes.

• Straights and flushes are treated in the same manner. Keep them intact unless you’re also holding two pairs or a 3 of a kind.
• If your hand has two pairs, follow the same strategy you would play when splitting pairs (put the lower one in your 2-card hand).
• If your hand has a 3 of a kind, split it. Keep the straight or flush intact, and move the resulting pair over.

And finally, let’s cover 4s of a kind.

• If your 4 of a kind is made up of 7s through Aces, split them and put a pair within your 2-card hand. The only exception is when you have an Ace or King in addition to the 4 of a kind. In that case, keep the 4 intact within your 5-card hand.
• If your 4 of a kind is made up of 2s through 6s, always keep them intact.

Pai Gow Poker Tips: The Next Level

Let’s revisit the strategy for playing two pairs. Above, we recommended splitting them. It’s an easy method to remember and usually works well. That said, we can hone it for even better results.

For this “advanced” Pai Gow Poker tip, we’re going to use the sum of your pairs’ ranks. For example, a pair of 2s and a pair of 4s would have a ranking sum of 6. A pair of 7s and a pair of 9s would have a ranking sum of 16.

If the ranking sum of your two pairs is 9 or less, and your hand also contains a King or Ace, split the pairs. If the ranking sum of your two pairs is 16 or less, and your hand contains an Ace, split the pairs.

Otherwise, keep them together within your 5-card hand.

When Playing In Land-Based Casinos

There are two important Pai Gow Poker tips to remember when you’re playing in a land-based casino. First, we mentioned that your 2-card hand cannot outrank your 5-card hand. If you make a mistake while playing in a live casino, it’s considered a foul and you’ll lose your bet. So, be careful.

Second, you’ll have a chance to be the “banker” in a live casino. In effect, that gives you an opportunity to serve as the dealer. You’ll pay winning players from your bankroll while collecting bets from losing players. You’ll also win ties, which can have a significant influence on your winnings. Be the banker whenever possible.

Best Casino To Put Your Pai Gow Poker Tips Into Action

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Whether you’re just learning Pai Gow Poker or you’ve been playing the game for years, we suggest that you visit Bodog Casino. Their flawless reputation has catapulted them to the top tier of online casinos. They provide a helpful, knowledgeable support staff that is available around the clock along with a stimulating playing environment that you can enjoy within your browser. Visit Bodog Casino today to start putting the above Pai Gow Poker tips into action.